Local History Professor Reveals Avon's Ties to the Civil War

Even though there were no battles of the Civil War fought in Connecticut, that doesn’t mean the state wasn’t affected by the war.

Dr. Matthew Warshauer, a history professor at Central Connecticut State University and co-chair of the Connecticut Civil War Commemoration Commission, spoke to the significance that the Civil War had to this state, and more specifically to the town of Avon. 

Warshau is also the author of the book, "Connecticut in the American Civil War: Slavery, Sacrifice, & Survival."

On April 20, 1864, Warshauer said Avon experienced the single worst day when the 16th Connecticut regiment was camped in North Carolina. Ten out of the 420 the men in the regiment hailed from Avon. When large Confederate forces attacked, the regiment was on the verge of being captured after a couple days of battle, Warshauer said. 

“The worst fate you can have as a soldier is to have your flag taken,” Warshauer said. 

In an effort to preserve their flag, the regiment ripped the flag from the staff and tore it into pieces, sticking parts in their uniforms. Eventually, the men were captured and sent to prisons in the south. Out of the 420 men that went into the camps, Warshauer said only about half survived.  And, three out of the 10 from Avon died while imprisoned. The men that were later released, he said, came out dirty, covered in lice and described them as walking cadavers.

“They were literally covered in black from the dirt in these camps,” Warshauer said. “And starving.”

Overall, Warshauer said Connecticut ultimately sent about 55,000 men into war, with about 85 to 100 men who came from Avon. That figure was roughly 8 percent of the town, Warshauer said. 

Warshauer said the state of Connecticut had many “firsts” during the war. The first general killed in the battle and the first admiral from the Navy killed during battle were from Connecticut, Warshauer  said. The first soldiers’ aid society consisting of women on the home front was also formed in Bridgeport, which supported the troops with bandages, food, magazines and anything else they could gather and send to the men. 

“This is not merely a man’s war,” Warshauer said. “The Civil War literally couldn’t have been fought without the women on the home front.”

The war impacted every aspect of society, Warshauer said, with not only the men on the front lines being affected, but also those who didn’t go into battle. Warshauer said there are more than 130 Civil War monuments in the state, which commemorate the honor and courage of those affected by the war. 

“There’s a huge history in the moments themselves,” Warshauer said.

The story they tell, he said, is of a community’s connection with a traumatic event and the attempt by that community to come together and remember what has happened. This act of a community can be compared to what has been occurring this week across the nation in light of the death of Osama bin Laden and reflections on 9/11.