Civil War Discharge Certificates
00-2005-24-0
Scope and Contents
Two Civil War Discharge Certificates, 2005-24-0, of soldiers in the Second Regiment of the Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery. One is for Charles W. Beeman of Brookfield, Connecticut who was a 1st Sergeant in Company A when we was discharged at Fort Ethan Allen, Virginia on Auugust 18, 1865. The other was for Thomas Sherman, who was a private in Company G and was discharged from Fort Ethan Allen, Virginia on July 7, 1865.
Dates
- Other: Majority of material found in 1865
- Other: Date acquired: 11/09/2005
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection are in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Biographical or Historical Information
The 19th Connecticut Infantry was mustered in on July 25, 1862. L.W. Wessells was colonel and Elisha S. Kellogg lieutenant colonel. It was sent to Washington, D.C. a few weeks later. In September, Wessells resigned due to ill health and Kellogg was promoted to colonel in his place. The regiment was reorganized as a heavy artillery regiment on November 23, 1863, although it fought as infantry throughout the war.
In May 1864, the 2nd was sent to the Army of the Potomac, where it was assigned to the Second Brigade, First Division, VI Corps. It suffered its first loss during skirmish duty along the North Anna River. The 2nd Connecticut's first battle was at Cold Harbor on June 1, 1864, where it suffered 323 men killed or wounded, including Kellogg dead with two bullets to the head. It managed to capture 300 prisoners and it briefly reach the Confederate breastworks, but Confederate fire was too heavy for the regiment to maintain its position. Hubbard declined promotion to command of the regiment, so Ranald S. Mackenzie was transferred from the engineers to take command. The regiment participated in the beginning stages of the Siege of Petersburg.
It was transferred to the VI Corps to participate in the 1864 Shenandoah Campaign, during which it suffered heavy losses. In December, the regiment was sent back to the Army of the Potomac. Mackenzie was promoted to brigadier general on December 28, and Hubbard was promoted to colonel a week later. It fought in the breakthrough at Petersburg and the Appomattox Campaign. After the surrender at Appomattox Court House, the 2nd was sent to North Carolina to assist Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman in forcing the surrender of the Army of Tennessee. In May, the remaining members of the 14th Connecticut Infantry were assigned to the regiment. After participating in the Grand Review, the regiment garrisoned several forts around Washington. The 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery was mustered out on September 5, 1865 with only 183 original men who served with the 19th Connecticut remaining.
Note written by
Extent
2.00 items
1.00 folders
Language of Materials
English
Source of Acquisition
2nd Connecticut Volunteeer Heavy Artillery Re-enactors
Method of Acquisition
Gift
Existence and Location of Originals
multi-part note content
- Title
- Civil War Discharge Certificates
- Author
- Kathy Craughwell-Varda
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Litchfield Historical Society Repository
7 South Street
P.O. Box 385
Litchfield CT 06759
860-567-4501
860-567-3565 (Fax)
archivist@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org