Picture Connecticut: The 29th Connecticut Monument

NEW HAVEN, CT — This week's stop on the Picture Connecticut Tour has a Juneteenth connection. It's the 29th Connecticut Monument in New Haven.

The 29th certainly had something to say about freedom in the Civil War. The 29th marched into Richmond as the first troops to occupy the surrendered Confederate capital. That was April 3, 1865.

The writings of the Rev. Henry G. Marshall, the unit historian, extend the tale to the following day, when Abraham Lincoln arrived and credited members of the 29th with "setting free" Richmond residents of color.

According to the Connecticut State Library, the 29th was mustered into service on March 8, 1864 at more than 1,000 strong. The unit was comprised of non-white or "colored" recruits of varying origins, ages, and occupational backgrounds who were willing to fight for the Union.

Under the command of Col. William B. Wooster of Derby, and led by an all-white officer staff (as was the custom of the day), the black troops of the 29th would distinguish themselves not only at the siege of Richmond, but also at places like Beaufort, Petersburg, Chaffins Farm, Darbytown Road and Kell House.

Enlistment records show volunteers came from the far reaches of the state, like George Johnson, a 22-year-old barber who settled in Union and Isaac Merritt, a 41-year-old laborer from Greenwich. Many are listed as farmers on the books. One of the farmers was Albert Bailey, a 22-year-old who moved to Hartford from New Orleans. Another soldier who came from the South was William Carter, 21, a boatman who settled in Clinton by way of Clark County in Virginia.

Volunteers came from as far away as Trinidad in the West Indies in the case of John Alderman, 19, who settled in Suffield and whose listed occupation is listed as "waiter."

The New Haven monument is located on the 29th's former training grounds at what is now Criscuolo Park. It lists the 45 officers and enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, and the 152 enlisted men and one officer who died from disease or accident.

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Picture Connecticut is a weekly series that features images of the state, past and present.

Here are past images:

2024

• Hangin' in the Hangar, Windsor Locks
• The Little Drummer Boy, Bridgeport
• The 14th Connecticut, Gettysburg
• A sculpture for a Famous Sculptor, West Hartford
• The Attack of the Flamingos, anywhere
• Historic Tower Turns Red, Vernon
• Eagle Rock, Hebron

• The Cirque, Hartford
• The Amerbelle Spillway, Rockville
• The ECSU Gallery, Willimantic
• Great Captain Island, Greenwich
• Bobblehead Madness, Storrs
• Bobby Sands/Hunger Strike Memorial, Hartford
• Mr. Jonathan Goes To Hartford, Hartford
• The Latest Discount Airline, New Haven
• State Groundhog Gets Arrested, Manchester
• Historic Wartime Sutures, Willington
• Big Business Week In CT, statewide
• The Marketplace at Guilford Food Center Guilford
• Main Street at night, Middletown
• The Hide-and-Seek Bear, Tolland
• The MLK Mural, Manchester
• The Mount Southington Summit, Southington

2023

• All Faiths Gather At Town Park, Vernon
• Riverside Igloos, Milford
• The TPC Pro Shop, Cromwell
• The Santa House, North Pole, er, Northern Connecticut
• Mile 4 Funnel, Manchester Road Race, Manchester
• UConn Lacrosse Giving Back, Connecticut River Valley
• The Capitol Grounds Tour, Part 3, Hartford
• The Capitol Grounds Tour, Part 2, Hartford
• The Capitol Grounds Tour, Part 1, Hartford
• The Doughboy, East Hartford
• The Walt Whitman Stone, West Hartford
• The indoor bush plane, Hartford County
• The Big Pink Chair, Ellington
• The Notch, Granby
• The CT 9/11 Monument, Westport
• Vintage Gas Pump, Somers
• Tobacco Harvest, East Windsor
• Late Afternoon, Lakeside, Coventry
• Fogarea, New Haven County
• Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens, Washington Depot
• Connecticut River Police Boat, Rocky Hill
• The first dentist, Windsor
• The Frog Bridge, Willimantic
• The World War Bridge Rapids, Putnam
• The Peeking Cow, Tolland County
• The Ivy Lacrosse Tournament, New Canaan
• The Bradley International Airport runway, Windsor Locks
• The Underground Railroad, Unionville
• The cow carousel, Ellington
• Charles Island, Milford
• State Veterans Cemetery, Middletown
• Glastonbury-Rocky Hill Ferry, Glastonbury/Rocky Hill
• The Old County Jailhouse, Tolland
• Agent Orange Monument, Andover
• The Sunken Garden, Farmington
• Lafayette Tour Monument, Vernon
• The Pinchot Sycamore, Simsbury
• Bob's Discount Furniture Studios, Manchester