Connecticut's Civil War Monuments
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| Hartford | PETERSBURG EXPRESS State Capitol Grounds Dedicated: September 25, 1902 Historical Significance PETERSBURG EXPRESS, State Capitol Grounds, Hartford, is significant historically because it was used by the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery in the campaign before Petersburg in 1864 and 1865. It was mounted on a railway car, moving from one firing position to another. The General Assembly authorized the erection of a monument on the State Capitol grounds by the Regimental Association of the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery, at a cost of $1,000, by Special Act 471, passed July 9, 1895. Artistic Significance The PETERSBURG EXPRESS mortar itself is without artistic significance. The pedestal, however, is a good example of monumental stonework. The proportions and the mixture of quarry-faced and smoothly finished surfaces work well together. The individual pieces of stone are large. No information is at hand regarding the source of the stone or the identity of the stonecutters. Little is known of Paul E. Cabaret's New York City foundry. Description PETERSBURG EXPRESS is located close to Capitol Avenue at the southeast entrance of the roadway approaching the front (south facade) of the State Capitol. It is a large (13") seacoast mortar mounted on a granite pedestal, with bronze plaques, dedicated to 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery. The pedestal base is quarry-finished. Its smooth top slants upward to the die, which is quarry-finished. The plaques are inset in the stone, except for the bronze Seal of the State of Connecticut, which is affixed to the surface on the north side. At the top of the die a smooth scotia molding serves in place of a frieze below the top stone slab, which is quarry-finished. The 13" mortar is on wheels mounted on I beams, the whole surrounded by a saw-toothed metal edge. Three cannonballs are under the front of the gun, four at the back. The carriage is painted pink, the gun black. A long curved rod with eyelets at its ends is attached to the left front of the gun, extending upward and forward. Several statues and monuments are located in the grounds of the State Capitol. See ANDERSONVILLE BOY. Others are recorded in the work of SOS! Connecticut. Lettering Lower right hand corner of plaques, small incised caps: Right (east), recessed 30" x 72" bronze plaque, raised caps: OF THE REGIMENT AND THE VETERAN AND ACTIVE COMPANIES HARTFORD CITY GUARD TO THE FIRST VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION THAT WAS MUSTERED FOR THREE YEARS INTO THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE WAR OF 1861-1865 South, 30" x 42": MORTAR WAS IN ACTUAL USE BY THE REGIMENT DURING THE CAMPAIGN IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG 1864-1865 AND WIDELY KNOWN AS THE "PETERSBURG EXPRESS" West, larger letters: ORIGINALLY 4TH CONN. INFANTRY MUSTERED IN MAY 22, 1861 MUSTERED OUT SEPT. 25, 1865 TOTAL ENROLLMENT OFFICERS AND MEN 3802 Sources Baruch, p. 12. Report of the [Connecticut] State Librarian, for the year ended September 30, 1903, p. 46. Lester Smith, Suffield Municipal Historian, paper prepared for 100th anniversary of SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, Suffield, 1988. Special Acts of the Connecticut State General Assembly, vol. XII, p. 632. |
