‘Connecticut Yankees At Gettysburg’

WASHINGTON GREEN — Dr Walter L. Powell will present a lecture called “Connecticut at Gettysburg” at 2 pm on Saturday, March 6, at Gunn Memorial Library. Attendees will learn about the important role Connecticut soldiers played in the Civil War battle of Gettysburg.

The Nutmeg State sent 35,000 of its men to the Union by 1863, every one a volunteer. By the time of Gettysburg, half of all Connecticut men between the ages of 18 and 40 shouldered a rifle for President Lincoln. Thirteen hundred of those men fought at Gettysburg in five under-strength infantry regiments (the Fifth, Fourteenth, Seventeenth, Twentieth and Twenty-Seventh) and one artillery battery (2nd CT Light Artillery).

Dr Powell is an author, historian, and adjunct professor of history at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md. He holds an MA in history and a PhD in English from Kent State University. For 17 years he served as director of planning and historic preservation for the Borough of Gettysburg, where, among many other projects, he directed the restoration of the Gettysburg Railroad Station (built 1858) and served as the borough’s principal liaison to the National Park Service Project Team that planned the exhibits and restoration of the David Wills House — where President Abraham Lincoln completed the Gettysburg Address.

The former president of the Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides and the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association, he has written and lectured widely on Gettysburg’s history and on Battlefield Preservation. Dr Powell lives on a portion of the Gettysburg Battlefield with his wife Susan and children Nat and Sally.

After the presentation Dr Powell will sign copies of Connecticut Yankees at Gettysburg, a 1993 release written by Charles P. Hamblen and Dr Powell. With their book, the authors found a new angle on the battle and paid tribute to Connecticut’s sons at the same time. They explain Connecticut’s military contributions in great detail without losing sight of what combat was like for the common soldier.

The event is free and open to the public. Snow date is Saturday, March 13, at 2 pm.

Gunn Memorial Library & Museum is at 5 Wykeham Road, at the intersection of Route 47; call 860-868-7756 for additional information.