Civil War

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch (1886)

When the city of Hartford chose to have an arch over a bridge (which once crossed the Park River, now underground) as its Civil War monument, it was seeking a design quite different from the usual types of Civil War monuments. It would be the first permanent triumphal arch in America. It is also one of the earliest monuments to use the term “Civil War.” A competition was announced, which irritated the architect George Keller–as a famous designer of Civil War monuments, he was unhappy not to be commissioned or even consulted. As all of the submitted designs went over budget, Keller was eventually able to reconcile with the city and plan the monument. The structure he created still remains a unique achievement for combining Classical and Gothic elements in a unified design. It is Keller’s most famous project (along with the James A. Garfield Memorial in Cleveland, Ohio). The monument, located on the edge of Hartford’s Bushnell Park, was built of Portland brownstone and was dedicated on September 17, 1886, the anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. The ashes of Keller and his wife were later interred in the east tower. The Arch was restored in 1986-1988, but has sometimes suffered damage due to cars crashing into it.

Allis-Bushnell House (1785)

Built around 1785 on the Boston Post Road in Madison, the Allis-Bushnell House was at one time the home of Cornelius Scranton Bushnell, a railroad executive and shipbuilder, who played an important role in the building of the Civil War ironclad, the U.S.S. Monitor. Later he was a founder of the Union Pacific Railway. In the early twentieth century, the house was the home and office of Dr. Milo Rindye. It is currently the home of the Madison Historical Society.

General Mansfield House (1810)

Built in 1810 on Main Street in Middletown for the merchant Samuel Mather, the Federal-style General Mansfield House was later home to Mather’s daughter Louisa and her husband, General Joseph K. F. Mansfield. At the start of the Civil War, Mansfield was in charge of the defense of Washington, D.C. On September 17, 1862, he was killed at the Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg) in Maryland, haven just taken command two days before of the XII Corps of the Army of the Potomac. A monument and a mortuary cannon are dedicated to him on the battlefield of Antietam. There is also a monument in Middletown’s Indian Hill Cemetery, where he is buried. His house was later occupied by his descendants. Slated for demolition in the 1950s, it was saved by the Middlesex County Historical Society and now serves as the Society’s headquarters and museum.

Memorial Building, Rockville (1890)

Built in 1889-1890 in Rockville (part of Vernon) to serve as the Town Hall, the second floor features a Grand Army of the Republic Hall. It is the longest continuously operated GAR hall and the only one still intact with its original contents in Connecticut. Today it is open to the public as the New England Civil War Museum. The museum displays original stained glass windows and Civil War artifacts, including the Thomas F. Burpee Collection and the Hirst Brothers Collection. Originally planned to be constructed of wood, it was eventually decided to build the Memorial Building in stone, as the nearby Congregational church, which had been made of wood, burned down twice! After the church burned down in 1888, the new Union Congregational Church of 1890 was also built in stone. The Memorial Building was built by GAR veterans, one worker falling to his death during the construction. In Central Park in front of the building is the Cogswell Fountain, donated to the town by the temperance activist Henry D. Cogswell in 1883.