Members of Stanley Post #11

The following names of soldiers of the 8th Connecticut were members of Stanley Post #11 of the Grand Army of the Republic in New Britain, Connecticut. Stanley Post was named after New Britain native, Lieutenant Theodore Stanley (Co. F, 14th Connecticut) who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

The names are obtained from the Post records which are housed at the New England Civil War Museum in Rockville, Connecticut. www.newenglandcivilwarmuseum.com

Company A

Sergeant Francis Hart

Private George C. Root

Company B

Private Thomas Smart

Company C

1st Lieutenant Charles T. Andrews

Musician Theodore Brockway

Private Ebenezer Hackney

Private Napoleon B. Remington

Private Albert H. Cross

Company I

Private Lucius Fox

Company K

Private Bartholomew Bailey

The Dead Buried at Antietam (Part 1)

During a recent visit to the Antietam Battlefield, I ventured into the National Cemetery for the first time. I had always wanted to go there, but for some reason never did. As I finished my battlefield tour, I made a point to go over and visit the Connecticut section and see if I could locate soldiers of the 8th Connecticut. I was very suprised to find many of the headstones, unreadable. Seemingly forgotten. So for a serious of posts, I will post an image of one of the gravestones of the soldiers of the 8th Connecticut who is buried at Antietam National Cemetery with a brief history of their service.

This is the grave of Henry E. Strickland. Grave# 1115. His residence at the time of his enlistment was New Hartford, Connecticut, a town in the hills of Litchfield County. When he mustered into Company A, he was given the rank of Sergeant, which he would hold up until Antietam. Sometime during the assault upon the Harpers Ferry Road, he was struck in the left thigh. His wound would prove to be mortal and Strickland would die on October 10, 1862, twenty-three days after the battle.

Members of the 8th Connecticut on Local Civil War Monuments, Part I

After the war many small towns and cities raisied money to erect monuments to honor their citizens who volunteered to protect the Union. Today starts a series of posts showcasing those monuments who mention a member of the 8th Connecticut Regiment.

Today's monument is located in Union Park in Middletown, Connecticut. The monument erected in 1874 bears the name of one soldier from Company K, John K. Doolittle. Doolittle first enlisted in May of 1861 and served in Co. B of the 3rd Connecticut Regiment. The 3rd Connecticut saw limited action in the First Battle of Bull Run before returning home in August to muster out.

A little less than two months after returning home, John enlisted again . After enlisting, he was mustered into Company K, one of the 8th Connecticut's flank companies. He would be present during Burnside's eastern North Carolina campaign in 1861. Company K was kept especially busy with constant duty on the skirmish line. When the regiment was transferred to Virginia in the summer of 1862, Doolittle was with them. Marching northward and then westward to counter Robert E. Lee's 1862 Maryland invasion, the 8th Connecticut was engaged at Antietam where Company K was deployed on the regiment's left flank during the "Final Assault." During the assault upon the Harper's Ferry road, Company K briefly captured the abandoned guns of the Pee Dee South Carolina Artillery. As A.P. Hill Division launched its assault, Company K was forced to abandon the guns and fall back to the regiment. The regiment continued to stand its ground alone in front of the Harper's Ferry Road for over 20 minutes being attacked on three sides. Eventually it was forced to retire back to the Lower Bridge.

The regiment lost almost half its strength that day, including Doolittle who had been wounded in the knee. As the Army of the Potomac gave chase to the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia after the battle, Doolittle remained in the Sharpsburg area in a field hospital. He would remain there until October 9th, when he succumbed to his wound and died.