Lesley J. Gordon - A Broken Regiment: The 16th Connecticuts Civil War

A BROKEN REGIMENT

Conflicting Worlds: New Dimensions of the American Civil War
T. MICHAEL PARRISH, Series Editor

THE 16TH CONNECTICUTS

CIVIL WAR

LESLEY J. GORDON

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS BATON ROUGE

Published with the assistance of the V. Ray Cardozier Fund

Published by Louisiana State University Press
Copyright 2014 by Louisiana State University Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
FIRST PRINTING

All maps by Mary Lee Eggart

DESIGNER: Mandy McDonald Scallan
TYPEFACE: Whitman
PRINTER AND BINDER: Maple Press, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gordon, Lesley J. (Lesley Jill)
A broken regiment : the 16th Connecticuts Civil War / Lesley J. Gordon.
pages cm.(Conflicting words: new dimensions of the
American Civil War)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8071-5730-5 (cloth : alk. paper)ISBN 978-0-8071-5731-2 (pdf)ISBN 978-0-8071-5732-9 (epub)ISBN 978-0-8071-5733-6 (mobi) 1. United States. Army. Connecticut Infantry Regiment, 16th (18621865) 2. United States HistoryCivil War, 18611865Regimental histories. 3. ConnecticutHistoryCivil War, 18611865Regimental histories. 4. SoldiersConnecticutBiography. I. Title.
E499.516th .G66 2015
973.7446dc23

2014011004

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

For my children,
Colin and Caitlyn

Maps

Photographs

I first began this project in December 1996, thinking it would be a short article. Since that time, I have accumulated a considerable debt of gratitude to the many archivists and librarians who aided me with my research. I owe a special thank you to the outstanding past and present staff at the Connecticut State Library and Connecticut Historical Society, including Mark Jones, Bruce Stark, Mel Smith, Richard Roberts, Dean Nelson, Bonnie Linck, Christine Pittsley, Paul Baran, and Kelly Nolin. Nora Howard of the Avon Historical Society, Carol Laun of the Salmon Brook Historical Society, Betty Guinan from the East Granby Historical Society, Lawrence S. Carleton from the Canton Historical Society, and Stephen E. Simon of the Simsbury Historical Society helped me immensely with town and local histories. Harry L. Thompson, curator of Port O Plymouth Museum in Plymouth, North Carolina, was equally generous with his time and expertise. Michael T. Meier, formerly at the National Archives, was a valuable ally and friend in Washington, D.C. The staff of the library and archives at the Military History Institute at the Army War College in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the Friends of Andersonville National Historic Site in Georgia also provided me with important materials. Ted Alexander at the Antietam National Battlefield Park in Maryland opened up a treasure trove of files to me during an unannounced visit several years ago. And I thank the patient staff at the University of Akrons Bierce Library, Ohio, particularly those in the interlibrary loan office, who diligently hunted down numerous articles, books, and newspapers for me.

A number of individuals kindly shared their private collections, personal knowledge, and valuable research related to the 16th Connecticut: Pat Holland, Edward Reller, Cliff Alderman, Shirley McLellan, Alice Collins, Thomas Lowry, and James Burton. Scott Holmes did yeomen work accumulating information on the 16th Connecticut and assisting me with my every request. George Deutsch introduced me to Deac Manross, who generously shipped to me an entire folder of materials full of information on Captain Newton Manross and the 16th Connecticut.

Several fellow historians read, critiqued, and contributed ideas to this manuscript. These include Gary Gallagher, Glenn Robins, George Rable, Richard Mc-Murry, Paul Cimbala, William Blair, Scott Nelson, J. Matthew Gallman, Peter Carmichael, Dana Shoaf, James Marten, Steve Berry, and Matthew Warshauer. Kevin Adams and Brian Miller, my editorial teammates at Civil War History, graciously agreed to read a draft of the manuscript when I urgently needed outside advice. A special thanks to Susannah Ural, Anne Sarah Rubin, and Dan Sutherland for their willingness to read portions of the manuscript as well. I also thank John Inscoe for his mentoring, friendship, and support of me over many years. Michael Fellman died just as I was finishing this manuscript. I wish he could have seen the final product.

T. Michael Parrish, series editor at LSU Press, was enthused from the start about this book. He read several drafts, offered advice, and suggested important works that I incorporate. I thank him for his amazing patience and can only hope that this book was worth the wait. Sylvia Frank Rodrigue, formerly at LSU Press, was also one of my early advocates. She has moved on to a different press but remains a good friend, and I thank her too for her faith in me when this project was merely an idea. As the manuscript moved to final publication, Ive been pleased to work with Rand Dodson, Lee Campbell Sioles, Neal Novak, and Jennifer Keegan at LSU Press, and copyeditor Julia Smith.

Graduate students at Murray State University, the University of Akron, the University of Georgia, and Central Connecticut State University hunted down sources, scanned newspapers, and previewed maps. These include Carolyn Starr Stephen, Steve Nash, Jennifer Harrold, Angela Zombek, Steve Noble, Barbara Wittman, and Angela Riotto.

I also appreciated the opportunity to share my research and ideas with students and faculty at Beloit College, the College of William and Mary, Columbus State University, Gettysburg College, Marquette University, Pennsylvania State University, SUNY-Oswego, Texas Christian University, the University of Georgia, West Virginia University, and Youngstown State University, and at Civil War Roundtables in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Arizona, as well as Civil War conferences at Mount Alto, Pennsylvania, and Middleburg, Virginia.

At the University of Akron, Ive had wonderful departmental support. I especially thank Stephen Harp, Constance Bouchard, Martin Wainwright, Janet Klein, Martha Santos, and Shelley Baranowski. I gained greatly from two faculty research grants from the University of Akron during the summers of 1999 and 2006. I thank Jan Yoder, too, in Akrons Psychology Department, for her early help with this project.

I also thank my family, including my cousins Alan and Linda Skulsky, who provided food and lodging so I could camp out near the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. My parents, Bob and Fran Gordon, have always given me unconditional support and love. I thank my husband John for keeping our young children occupied as I stole away precious hours to work. He is a talented editor, and he read drafts of the manuscript that improved my writing considerably.

Our children Colin and Caitlyn were born in the midst of my researching and writing this book. They are now old enough to ask thoughtful questions about my work and act as two of my greatest supporters. I can only hope that one day they will forgive me for the time it has taken me away from them to complete it.