Salisbury, Connecticut is a small town in the Litchfield Hills just an hour from New York City. It was first settled by Europeans in 1720. The original Europeans were of Dutch background coming from the Hudson Valley in New York. By 1731, a deposit of iron ore had been discovered and Anglo settlers came in to exploit the mineral. In 1744, the Established Church was founded, now called the Congregational Church, by the growing number of English settlers.
In 1762, Salisbury’s first blast furnace was built. It was used to smelt the ore so that the iron could be extracted. A decade later, the Salisbury Furnace was used to produce the iron for cannons during the Revolution. Estimates are that over 800 cannons were produced there. During the Civil War, Salisbury produced cannon and train car wheels for the war effort. In manufacturing artillery shells, local artisans developed explosive shells that were used by the Union Army.
The Salisbury Monument is at the intersection of Route 44 and Route 41 near the center of town. There is a flag pole in the small triangular park with the monument right behind it. Unfortunately, there are advertisements for the towns activities that are placed randomly around. The town has pretty the same population as it had during the Civil War. In 1860 there were 3,100 people there and in 2020 it was 4,200.
On June 17, 1891 the new monument was unveiled. The monument was designed by George Edwin Bissell, a Connecticut sculptor. He had served as a private in the 23rd Regiment Connecticut Infantry. When he received the commission for the monument, he was living in Salisbury. The Quincy Granite monument was placed in the Civil War Memorial Park.
The woman at the top is called Columbia in some accounts, and Freedom or Union in others. She has her foot on the bonds of slavery.
The statue is dedicated to all the men of Salisbury who fought for the Union in the Civil War, The bronze dedication says:
TO HER LOYAL SONS
WHO FOUGHT FOR THE UNION,
SALISBURY
ERECTS THIS MEMORIAL.
1891
At the base are two of the battles that her men fought in, Cold Harbor and Olustee in Florida. At the base is one of four cannon incorporated into the monument.
On the sides of the memorial are the names of the men of the town who enlisted. These include the men of the 2nd Conn. Heavy Artillery, which was converted to infantry during the Overland Campaign and suffered more than 200 dead. This unit seems to have the most men from Salisbury, perhaps because they were workers making cannons.
The 5th Conn. Infantry fought in many battles including Front, Royal, Winchester, 2nd Battel at Bull Run, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Atlanta Campaign and the Carolina Campaign.
There are 21 names inscribed from the 7th Connecticut Regiment. The fought at the Battle of Olustee, which may account for the Florida battle being listed on the monument. The also saw combat at Drewry’s Bluff, at Petersburg, and a half-a-dozen other fights. Eight men fought with the 10th Connecticut Regiment in 23 battles. 24 men were in the 11th Connecticut Regiment. They initially served off the Carolina Coast and then in 1864 they to aid the Siege of Petersburg and the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff.
Other units listed at the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery, 2nd Conn. Infantry, 6th Conn. Infantry, 8th Conn. Infantry, 12th Conn. Infantry, 13th Conn. Infantry, 13th Conn. Infantry, 14th Conn. Infantry, 22nd Conn. Infantry, 23rd Conn. Infantry,
In addition to the men listed by their regiments, there is also a list with Salisbury men who enlisted in other states’ regiments:
Ball Luther T. 84th Ills. Inf. • Reid John C. 8th Ohio Vol. Inf. • Addison Worthy 14th R.I. H’vy Art. • Cummings James 14th R.I. H’vy Art. • Dauchey John P. 38th N.Y. Inf. • McCarrick Rob’t 20th N.Y. Inf. • Hollister Cha’s 11th Inf. U.S.A. • Peck Joshua 14th Inf. U.S.A. • Woodin Theo. E. 47th N.Y. Inf. • Vosburg Graham 41st Mass. Inf. • Frink George 31st Mass. Inf. • Frink W’m R. 31st Mass. Inf. • Scribner William H. 3rd N.Y. Cav.
Seventy-four men served in the 28th Conn. Regiment. This unit was deployed in the Gulf region and fought at Port Hudson in Louisiana. Nine men enlisted in the 29th Conn. Regiment, a Black regiment formed in March of 1864. It fought in the Siege of Petersburg and battles nearby, and in the Appomattox Campaign. Both Massachusetts and Connecticut designated Black units as state units,
The Historical Marker Database lists the names of those soldiers on the monument:
[ east side ]
Ja’s • Ostrander Henry • Powell Charles • Rapp Jacob F. • Roark William • Roraback Nath’l • Scoville Wilson • Sherwood Gro. F. • Silvernail Warren • Sparks Walter C. • Snyder Joel • Speed Reuben R. • Speed Luther E. • Stephens Henry • Surdam W’m H. • Surdam James • Taylor Daniel E. • Turner John W. • Voelker Henry • Vandusen Henry • Waters William • Wooden Amos • Wheeler Henry S. • Whiteman Monroe • White Alfred • Young Francis J.
Winchester
[ north side ]
• French Geo. E. • Halstead Josiah • Ham Judson T. • Newell Geo. W. • Owen Douglass • Owen Orville D. • Palmatier Rich’d D. • Rowe Robert • Speed John W.
Bond Joseph B.
Whittlsey Cha’s
Ayers Whiting L. • Ball Harvy L. • Ball Andrew • Benedict John • Bishop J. Milton • Blake George H. • Blake Orville D. • Bostwich Joseph • Bradley Milton • Brant John • Bragg Rob’t W. • Brazee Jourdan • Briggs Nic’s O. • Broderick Tho’s • Bushnell Geo. • Burns Peter
Drewry’s Bluff
[ west side ]
Conn. Vo’ls.Cleaveland Fred’k • Coon Robert A. • Dailey Warren C. • Decker George • Donahue John • Dunbar Harlan • Dutton Joseph • Duvall Dan’l W. • French Calvin N. • French Sanf’d W. • Fuller W’m H. • Jewell Aug. L. • Jones John D. • Jones Nelson • Knickerbocker Geo A. • Knickerbocker M. H. • Landon Cha’s B. • Matson Wilfred H. • McArthur Renselaer • Masner John • Mason Elijah F. • Moore Dwight • Morgan W’m H. • Newberry Steph. • Niver Walter • Niver Elias D. • Nott Egbert F. • Orton Tho’s B. • Oviatt David F. • Ostrander Myron • Palmer Smith • Pitkin Edward • Rowland Henry • Rossiter Reuben • Saunders Edward • Scribner Smith • Schlittenhart Mich’l • Scott Jerry • Shaw Dwight • Smith J. Harper • Speed Andrew • Speed Bradford • Storm Peter C. • Stupplebeen H. M. • Surrener Henry E. • Sweet Ward W. • Tallardy Seneca • Thornton Henry • Turner G. Martin • Turner Walter • Turner Cornelius • Tyler Morgan • Tyler Gordon • Welch John • Wheatley Rich’d • Wike Leopold • Williams John • Wolcott Eben P. • Woodworth Cha’s • Wright Henry V.
Ball Luther T. 84th Ills. Inf. • Reid John C. 8th Ohio Vol. Inf. • Addison Worthy 14th R.I. H’vy Art. • Cummings
James 14th R.I. H’vy Art. • Dauchey John P. 38th N.Y. Inf. • McCarrick Rob’t 20th N.Y. Inf. • Hollister Cha’s 11th Inf. U.S.A. • Peck Joshua 14th Inf. U.S.A. • Woodin Theo. E. 47th N.Y. Inf. • Vosburg Graham 41st Mass. Inf. • Frink George 31st Mass. Inf. • Frink W’m R. 31st Mass. Inf. • Scribner William H. 3rd N.Y. Cav.
Petersburg
The assembled crowd for the dedication was addressed by Connecticut’s Senator Joseph Hawley. The Hartford Courant on September 30, 1886 said “No civic rite since the war has been thought complete unless the people were addressed by Senator Hawley.” Is that praise?
Hawley was born in 1826 in North Carolina. When he was ten years old, his family moved to Connecticut. As an adult, he helped found the state’s Republican Party and became editor of the Hartford Current. In 1861, he enlisted in the First Connecticut and recruited a company. He was commissioned as a captain and he fought at the First Bull Run.
Note: All color photos of buildings in this post were taken by Patrick Young except as noted.
Sources:
A Landscape Transformed: The Ironmaking District of Salisbury Connecticut by Robert B. Gordon pub. Oxford University Press (2001)
Connecticut’s Civil War Monuments
Civil War Monuments of Connecticut by Dave Pelland
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