Usually when I drive up to Connecticut, I bring Dave Pelland’s authoritative book on that state’s Civil War monuments. Two weeks ago I was up Stamford to take in the Buffalo Bills game at the sports bar Bobby V’s. As I was driving around, I came across this obviously Civil War memorial in nearby Norwalk in a neighborhood called Rowayton. I could not find it in Pelland’s volume. I stopped not long after the snow storm had passed and found that it was originally erected to honor those from the neighborhood who fought to preserve the Union, and that it was used twice more to recall those men who served during the First World War, and the Second.
The Rowayton Veterans Memorial is located where Rowayton Avenue and Wilson Avenue intersect.
The site is well-maintained. It is on a little island where the two streets come together within sight of a nearby creek. There is plenty of free parking just across the street from the memorial.
The original inscription on the monument says:
Memorial Gun
A Cannon of the Heroic Deeds of Our
Soldiers and Sailors of the Republic in the War
of the Rebellion for the Preservation of the Union
Erected 1901
From U.S.S. Tallapossa
I have tried to find out more about the ship U.S.S. Tallapossa but I could not.
The piece of artillery was made at the West Point Foundry in 1836. The foundry was the principal place for manufacturing cannons before and at the time of the Civil War.
It was interesting that none of the standard works on Connecticut Civil War monuments listed this.
In the pictures above and below you can see the tributes to the men who fought in World War I and World War II.
According to the Rowayton Historical Society, there were approximately 60 men from the neighborhood who fought in the Civil War. The Society has published a list of soldiers from the area who served in the Union forces:
Arnold, Frederick H Co., MN 4th Infantry
Ayres, Elbert B. B Co., 17th CT Infantry
Ayres, Edward D Co., CT 7th Infantry
Baker, Henry G Co., 3rd CT Infantry
Bechtold, John H. D Co., OH 29th Infantry
Boomer, Hiram E. C Co., CT 21st Infantry
Brady, Edwin L. U.S. Navy
Brady, William Nicholas U.S. Navy
Brundage, John G. F Co., 4th Infantry/17th Infantry
Brundage, Joseph L F Co., NY 5th Heavy Artillery
Clock, Charles H. G Co., CT 10th Infantry
Cowperthwaite, William W. K Co., NJ 22nd Infantry
Crockett, William Gardiner H Co., CT 8th Infantry
Cushman, William H. U.S. Navy
Cutbill, Henry C. L Co., NY 6th Cavalry
Dauchy, Allen F Co., CT 8th Infantry Volunteers
Dauchy, William E. F Co., CT 8th Infantry Volunteers
Dauchy, William E Co., CT 12th Infantry, CT 17th Infantry
Dingee, George C Co., CT 28th Infantry
Doty, Charles E. F Co, CT 17th Infantry Co. D/B/I
Fairweather, George Nelson H Co., CT 8th Infantry
Ferris, Stephen, H. H Co., CT 8th Infantry
Ferris, William H. Jr. H Co., CT 28th Infantry/I Co., CT 10th Inf.
Finch, Lyman S. G Co., CT 10th Infantry
Fowler, Douglas A Co., 17th Infantry CT
Grant, Jacob H Co., CT 8th Infantry
Gregory, James G. K Co., NY 48th Regt. C Co.
Gregory, Henry S. I Co., 23rd Infantry, CT
Guider, Charles H. U.S. Navy
Hackley, Charles E. NY 2nd Cavalry
Homan, William Howard G Co., CT 10th Infantry
Hooton, Thomas D Co., CT 7th Infantry, also E Co.
Hoyt, George A. H Co. CT 8th Infantry
Hoyt, John F Co., CT 3rd Infantry
Hoyt, Lorenzo L. B Co., CT 17th Infantry
Hyler, William K Co., NY 9th Infantry
Ingersoll, Martin Van Buren G Co., CT 23rd Volunteer Infantry
Ives, Charles F Co., NY Vol. 16th
Johnson, Elias B Co., CT 17th Infantry
Johnston, Henry U.S. Navy
Knowlton, Martin H Co., CT 8th Infantry
Lockwood, W. Henry B Co., CT 28th Infantry
Malkin, William H Co., CT 13th infantry
McGraw, John K Co., CT 8th Infantry
Meeker, Seth H. G Co., CT 10th Infantry/F Co., CT 3rd Inf.
Metcalf, John W. F Co., CT 17th Infantry
Mills, William E. B Co., CT 17th Infantry
Mills, William H. C Co., CT 28th
Millspaugh, Andrew K Co., NY 124th Infantry
Morrison, Samuel C. A Co., 17th CT Infantry
Morton, Fred 0. H Co., MA 10th Infantry
Nash, Wilbur C Co., CT 27th Infantry
Oakes, William Charles B Co., CT 6th Infantry
Raymond, Horace H. G Co., CT 15th Infantry
Raymond, Henry M G Co., 10th Infantry
Sammis, William A H Co., CT 8th Infantry
Scofield, David C. B Co., CT 28th Infantry
Scofield, Theodore C. K Co., CT 6th Infantry
Seeley, Albert O. F Co., 3rd Infantry; B Co., CT 17th Infantry
Sherwood, Samuel B. M Co., NY 16th Heavy Artillery
Smith, Henry T. A Co., CT 17th Infantry
St. John, Benjamin I Co., CT 23rd Infantry
Stevens, James A. F Co., CT 17th Infantry
Swords, Alfred A Co., CT 17th Infantry/Co. 75th 2nd IV
Tooker, John G Co., CT 10th Infantry
Tuttle, Edwin L. G Co., CT 5th Infantry
Tuttle, George O. A Co., CT 17th Infantry
Vincent, Gilbert G Co., CT 10th Infantry
Waterbury, Samuel W. D Co., CT 7th Infantry
Webb, Henry L. G Co., CT 10th Infantry
Whitney, James F Co., CT 17th Infantry/Co. G, VRC 7th
White, Edward
Wilkins, William H. H Co., CT 8th Infantry
Wing, Henry E. C Co., CT 27th Infantry
Winus, John H. I Co., CT 10th Infantry
Because Rowayton and Norwalk were seaports and also harvested fish and oysters from Long Island Sound, it is no surprise that several of the men enlisted in the Navy.
After I visited the memorial, I went for lunch at a spot nearby. The Colony Grill at 515 West Ave, Norwalk, CT 06850 is just a short drive from the cannon. If you know pizza, you know that Connecticut is the Pizza State. It says so on the “Welcome to Connecticut” signs at the entrances to the state! New Haven Pizza is considered some of the best in the country, but I was not in New Haven, I was in Norwalk. I drove to a neighborhood where the classic Norwalk Pizza was offered. It is a small pie topped with hot oil. You might think this was an Italian neighborhood, but it was Irish! The Irish pub owner wanted something that customers could afford and that they could not make at home. If you are Irish, you know that Irish can’t make pizza at home. He came up with a unique recipe. It was so popular that his operation is now over ninety years old. The pizza is, frankly, not as good as New Haven, but it is filling and cheap. You can get an individual pie for less than fifteen bucks.
Note: All color photos in this post were taken by Patrick Young except as noted.
