Union, Connecticut is one of the smallest towns in the state in population.This town had 732 people in the 1860 Census and today it has 785 residents. The Civil War monument there is among a rare group of local memorials dedicated to the mothers of the soldiers who served in the Union Army.
Union, Ct. is near the Massachusetts border, just half hour from Sturbridge Village. It is about a three hour ride from New York City and an hour and a half ride from Boston. While Connecticut has one of the densest populated of all the states, this area is rural, with hiking trails and lakes and creeks.
The monument is dedicated “IN GRATEFUL MEMORY TO THE MOTHERS WHO GAVE THEIR SONS…”
The monument is on the Town Green, the traditional center of New England villagers’ civic and social life. 
Union Green, where the monument lies, is an historic district at Town Hall Road and Buckley Highway about five minutes off of I-84.
At the same Green is a time capsule buried in 1884 that will be opened in 2031.
Here is the history of the town.
The Union history says that no men living in Union enlisted in the army in 1861. It was only in 1862 that men began to join the army. The 22nd Connecticut received a lot of men from the town. After 1862, local men became reluctant to volunteer. Several local Black men were recruited into the 29th United States Colored Infantry. These included Henry Antone, George Johnson, John Wilson, and Thomas Wormsley. Thomas Wilson was in the 15th Colored Infantry.
In addition to the plaques on the monument, it includes an artillery piece with cannon balls piled up in front of it. The base is granite. It was dedicated on May 30, 1902, Memorial Day.
Behind it is a Congregational Church on a hill overlooking the Green.
A plaque lists the charter members of the local Grant Army of the Republic post.
One side contains the names of 66 Union men who served. As Dave Pelland says in his guide Civil War Monuments of Connecticut, John W. Corbin is listed as serving, even though he purchased a substitute. His substitute, Frank Walker, is listed as serving also. Corbin’s family paid for the monument.
The cannon was surrounded by four stacks of cannon balls, but now only one remains.
Below is the local Congregational Church, built in 1841, that served as a comfort to a community experiencing war.
The flag is in front of the 1847 Town Meeting House.
There are only a few homes near the Green.
All color photos were taken by Pat Young. To see more sites Pat visited CLICK HERE for Google Earth view.
Sources:
“National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Union Green Historic District”. National Park Service and Accompanying 16 photos from 1990 (see photo captions pages 17-18 of text document)
Dave Pelland Civil War Monuments of Connecticut
Connecticut Civil War Monuments
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