History of Gun Factories Walk Tour

"Horace Smith (b. Cheshire, Massachusetts; 1808-1893) and Daniel B. Wesson (b. Worcester, Massachusetts 1825-1906) joined their talents in Norwich to develop in the early 1850s the first repeating rifle, the Winchester, which was manufactured in Springfield, Massachusetts, and New Haven beginning in 1866. Smith also secured the first U.S. patent for a metallic cartridge in 1854. Christian Sharps (b. New Jersey; 1811-1874) invented the Sharps breech-loading rifle, manufactured in Hartford after 1854. Christopher Spencer (1833-1922) developed the famous Spencer repeating rifle used so effectively by Union forces at the decisive Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War." - from Connecticut's Heritage Gateway, a detailed resource about inventors in the state and their ties to the region.

Meet in front of Norwich City Hall (Union Square) for the free tour that takes place 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Members of Guns of Norwich Historical Society will guide visitors back in time with stories to learn about the city's many gun factories and the role the city played in American history.

Fun for the entire family will be happening at Harbor Days in Norwich on Friday, June 26, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, June 27, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, June 28, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Norwich, part of a year-long celebration of the city's 350th anniversary.

Free and open to the public, highlights include live entertainment, vendor booths, and a laser light show each night at 9 p.m. (across from the harbor area).

The Mystic Whaler schooner will be dockside at the American Wharf on Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Admission is $2 and includes a cup of clam chowder with oyster crackers. Listen to pirate story-telling sessions, watch knot-tying demonstrations, or try out the mechanical advantage station.

Faces of History: Then . . . . and Now

The careful restoration of this (above, top) Civil War soldier monument in Mansfield was part of the offerings at the recent Connecticut Gravestone Network (CGN) Spring Symposium.

For more about gravestone preservation, visit www.gravestonepreservation.info/resources.asp

For more information about CGN contact Ruth Shapleigh-Brown at (860) 643-5652

Hope at Andersonville: A Perspective

Sometimes looking back helps with looking at the right now - this carved-out-of-bone brooch was made by Private Norman L. Hope, Company A, 16th Connecticut Volunteers, while he was imprisoned at the infamous Andersonville Prison in Georgia during the Civil War.

For those unfamiliar with Andersonville, it was one of the largest military prisons established by the Confederacy. More than 45,000 Union soldiers were confined there and some 13,000 died in the 26½-acre stockade. Today it is a National Park Service site.

Author MacKinley Kantor brought the incredible true story to life in his book of the same name, Andersonville, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize.

Think the current times are tough? Dip into the book and see what can be borne when necessary.

The brooch is part of Museum of Connecticut History at the Connecticut State Library in Hartford. (Also see the Connecticut Genealogy site, www.cslib.org/genealogy.htm, for more resources.)

Easy to miss this one small object. Hard to forget it.

Quietest Residents, Indian Hill Beauty Amid Snow

Dedicated to "Fraternity, Charity, Loyalty. To The Memory Of Deceased Soldiers & Sailors by Mansfield Post No. 53, Connecticut G.A.R., A.D. 1884" this stone sentinel stands in Indian Hill Cemetery, Middletown, Connecticut. The monument is flanked by simple headstones listing soldiers from Massachusetts and Connecticut and New York regiments.

The Godfrey Memorial Library in Middletown owns copies of six volumes of the Indian Hill plot books. The volumes list a wealth of information including name, cause of death, and other revealing facts for people buried in the cemetery.

The Godfrey was founded by A. Fremont Rider, a well-known publisher, author, inventor, genealogist, and librarian, who was for many years, librarian at Wesleyan's Olin Library. While in that position, he started putting together the idea for a monumental index that would help genealogists all over the world in their research. That was the beginning of the American Genealogical Biographical Index (AGBI) and the Godfrey Memorial Library, according to the library's Web site.

Researchers will find help on their quest for family or local history by e-mailing library@Godfrey.org, filling out a search form at www.godfrey.org, or by calling (860) 346-4375.