New Britain is a small city in Connecticut with a population of just over 74,000. In the Civil War period, only about 10,000 people lived here. The Stanleys were an important part in the growth of the city during the Civil War. The antecedents of the modern Stanley Tools, Frederick Stanley made measuring equipment in New Britain and manufactured bolts and hinges before the war. By 1850 he was elected first warden of New Britain and during the Reconstruction Period he was elected the first mayor of the new City of New Britain. New Britain became known as “Hardware City.”
Although the city is fairly small, it has an impressive Civil War monument. It is in Prospect Park at the intersection of Main Street and Court Street. As early as 1868 the town began discussing a monument. It was not until 1897 that the monument was started and it was dedicated in 1900. The cost was $28,000 dollars, over half a million dollars in today’s money.
The monument was designed by Ernest Flagg, born in 1857, who used the Beaux-Arts approach to architecture. The Beaux-Arts was used increasingly in 1890s and continued to be widespread until the Depression. However, it was not used very often on Civil War memorials. Flagg took on many architecture projects. His most famous existing work is the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Flagg may have been chosen because his uncle was the mayor of the city.
At the foot of the monument is a short history of New Britain. It does not mention the Civil War.
Flagg wrote that the memorial was based on the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates at Athens from three centuries before the Christian Era. The monument was designed to look like a tomb with the top crowned with a gilded Winged Victory. The monument was dedicated to all New Britain residents who served in the Union forces during the Civil War. The monument is constructed out of limestone with gold gilding used as well.
At the base of the monument are wrought iron doors that a gilded. Inside are incised the names of New Britain’s “Honor Roll” from the war.
Around the central monument are four piers with battle names engraved on the. Each pier has two round lamps.
Two sides of each pier have battle names carved in.
In the upper portion of the monument there are several phrases honoring the men recalled here. This side says:
FOR YOU AND ME THEY / PUT THEIR ARMOR ON
Above that are Ulysses S. Grant’s Words:
LET US HAVE PEACE
Central Park is less than an acre in size, but as you can see it frames the monument very nicely. It has three flag poles and a dedicatory planter. There are also several interpretive markers and the park stands across from the city hall built by McKim, Mead, and White.
Another pier.
During the war, at least five members of the Stanley family enlisted, two of whom died during their service.
During the 1850s, as New Britain manufacturing grew, many immigrants came to the town. In 1853 the New Britain Turner Society was organized by German workmen. The Turners were a multinational group of liberal German societies which, after the outbreak of war, heavily supported the Union effort. In 1855, the St. Patrick’s Benevolent Society was formed to provide mutual support for the growing Irish community.
During the Civil War, New Britain held one of the first community meetings in Connecticut. At the time of the surrender of Fort Sumter, a town meeting was called on April 14, 1861 to decide what could be done. The town voted to support Abraham Lincoln’s actions. Men began signing up for the army at the conclusion of the meeting. On April 22, Company G of the First Connecticut from New Britain was mustered into service. 643 men would enroll in three year regiments and another 60 in 90 day regiments during the war. Eighty men from New Britain were killed from wounds received in battle, died from disease, or died in prisoner of war camps.
Here inscribed are Lincoln’s words:
WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE WITH CHARITY FOR ALL WITH FIRMNESS IN THE RIGHT
Here are inscribed:
OH RARE AND ROYAL WAS THESACRIFICE
There is also a dedicatory statement on the monument:
THIS MONUMENT IS BUILT IN
GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF
THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS
WHO IN THE WAR TO MAINTAIN
THE UNION OFFERED THEIR
LIVES IN THE CAUSE OF MANKIND
THAT COMING GENERATIONS
TAUGHT BY THEIR EXAMPLE MAY
CHERISH THE FRUITS OF THEIR
VALOR AND DEVOTION AND MAKE
THEIR MEMORY IMMORTAL
The monument is 44 feet high. The seven foot Winged Victory is set at the top. This statue was replaced in 1999 and the original is on display at the nearby City Hall.
There are words for the dead:
THEY JOINED THE MORTAL STRUGGLE AND WENT DOWN
Both the living and the dead are remembered:
TO HEROES LIVING AND DEAR MARTYRS DEAD
The monument urges remembrance by contemporaries of the sacrifice made by Union soldiers and sailors.
FOR YOU AND ME THEY STOOD IN GRIM ARRAY
The words of Daniel Webster are engraved on another side:
LIBERTY AND UNION NOW AND FOREVER ONE AND INSEPARABLE
Of course now we think of Daniel Webster as a hopeless compromiser with the Slave Power behind the compromise of 1850, but in the late 19th Century he was seen as a tireless spokesperson against disunion.
The monument and City Hall are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
How the monument looked one hundred years ago in a postcard.
Across from the monument is this interpretive sign. It says that the monument was built to honor the 483 men of New Britain who served in Union forces during the Civil War. Now that number varies from the estimate of the number of men who served in the history of the city.
After I took my photos, I walked down Main Street to Taste of the 215 located at 50 Main St, New Britain, CT 06051. This was not a classic New England eatery. Here the owner, born in Philadelphia, devotes himself to the food of that city. My lunch there was less than $20.
While the restaurant is know for its cheesesteaks, its chili dogs are equally sought after.
The restaurant is also a go-to place for water-ices to cool off.
Note: All color photos in this post were taken by Patrick Young except as noted.
