History of the Sixteenth Connecticut Volunteers

In Short

This regimental history records the three-year journey of the 16th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War. Raised in Hartford County in 1862, the regiment is pitched into the bloodiest single day of the war at Antietam with virtually no tactical training. After fighting through Virginia and North Carolina, the main body is captured at the Siege of Plymouth and scattered among Confederate military prisons, including Andersonville. It endures as an essential, unvarnished primary account of ordinary citizen-soldiers who transformed from raw volunteers into resilient, battle-tested veterans.

The Story

The narrative opens in the summer of 1862, when the 16th Connecticut Volunteers assemble at Camp Williams. Composed of young men from prominent, respectable Hartford families, the regiment musters in response to President Lincoln's call for three hundred thousand three-year troops. Sent south with almost no instruction in drill or firearms handling, the men find themselves pitched into the Battle of Antietam just days after receiving their muskets. Under relentless artillery fire and confused command, they suffer heavy casualties in the cornfields of Sharpsburg. The immediate aftermath brings the somber duty of burying forty comrades under a single tree near a stone wall, setting a sobering tone for their service.

Following Antietam, the regiment endures the cold, disease-ridden winter months of campaign life. The unit undergoes a dramatic transformation when Lieutenant Colonel John H. Burnham assumes command, instilling rigorous discipline and energy alongside Surgeon Mayer, who dramatically improves sanitary conditions and medical care. The regiment sees action across Virginia, engaging in successful skirmishes near Suffolk and building a highly organized, civilized camp at Portsmouth complete with log cabins, a chapel, and visits from wives and family members.

Their fortunes turn sharply in the spring of 1864 in Plymouth, North Carolina. Surprised and heavily outnumbered by Confederate forces under General Hoke and the ironclad ram Albemarle, the garrison makes a desperate, murderous stand in the redoubts and town streets. Company G and their fellow defenders hold out until overwhelmed by thousands of enemy troops. The surrender of Plymouth marks the collapse of the regiment as a field unit, as its officers and enlisted men are stripped of their freedom and separated.

The second half of the narrative details the harrowing reality of captivity. The officers are shuttled between Southern jail yards and camps in Macon, Charleston, and Columbia, repeatedly enduring artillery fire from their own Union batteries while paroled in Charleston. Many officers attempt bold, desperate escapes—hiding under floorboards or jumping from moving trains to reach General Sherman's advancing lines. Meanwhile, the enlisted men face much harsher conditions upon arriving at Camp Sumter in Andersonville, Georgia, where disease, starvation, and exposure decimate their ranks.

When the surviving remnants finally secure exchange and return to Hartford in June 1865, only one hundred and thirty enlisted men step off the train to be mustered out, leaving behind a legacy of immense sacrifice.

How It Unfolds

The rush to the field Citizens from Hartford County enlist in the summer of 1862, loading their muskets for the very first time on the dark night preceding the Battle of Antietam.

Disaster at Sharpsburg The untrained regiment steps into the violent chaos of Antietam, suffering terrible losses in a blood-soaked cornfield and burying their dead under a solitary tree.

Reorganization and rebirth Under the strict, energetic leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Burnham and the clean medical practices of Surgeon Mayer, the regiment recovers its spirit, sharpens its drill, and establishes orderly encampments in Virginia.

The fall of Plymouth Surrounded by superior Confederate forces and artillery at Plymouth, North Carolina, the men fight a bloody, fifteen-minute defense inside Coneby Redoubt before being forced to surrender the town.

Divided in captivity The captured soldiers are separated, sending officers to Southern cities like Charleston under Union artillery fire and dispatching enlisted men to the brutal conditions of Andersonville.

Escapes and liberation Imprisoned officers scheme constantly to break free by jumping from moving trains or hiding beneath hospital floorboards until General Sherman's army liberates the region.

Return to Hartford The surviving fragment of the regiment arrives back in Connecticut to receive official thanks from Governor Buckingham before paying out and disbanding forever.

The People

• Lieutenant Colonel John H. Burnham: A prompt, energetic, and highly skilled officer who takes command after Antietam. He transforms a depleted, exhausted unit into one of the best-drilled and most reliable regiments in the service, earning the lasting affection of his men.
• Surgeon Mayer: The regiment's exceptionally capable physician. He revolutionizes camp hygiene, improves hospital sanitation, enforces clean cooking practices, and tirelessly tends to wounded soldiers on the field and in prison.
• Colonel Francis Beach: A handsome, well-read regular army officer dubbed "Little Moustache" by his men. Though initially viewed with suspicion by green volunteers unused to strict military discipline, he eventually earns their intense pride and devotion through his courage.
• Captain N.S. Manross: A brilliant former Amherst professor and Yale graduate who leaves his scientific career to lead his neighbors. He dies heroically at Antietam after being struck by a cannonball, murmuring of his wife as he expires.
• Corporal Sam Belden: A witty, resourceful soldier who, alongside Private John Quinn, uses an official clothing book to trick a local resident into letting them enter a forbidden house by pretending to take the town census.

In Its Own Voice

"A musket was accidentally discharged; in a second the troops were on their feet, with arms at a 'ready,' and as they stood peering into the darkness ahead you could hear both lines of battle spring to arms for miles."

— On the tense, terrifying atmosphere during the night before the regiment's first major battle at Antietam.

"Said he to his wife, 'You can better afford to have a country without a husband than a husband without a country.'"

— Capturing the selfless patriotism of Captain N.S. Manross before he was killed in action.

"While the New York battery at our side thought first of all of erecting a theatre, we built a hospital and a chapel."

— Reflecting on the distinct, sober character of the Connecticut soldiers while establishing their winter camp.

What It's Really About

At its core, the narrative explores the dramatic friction between citizen-soldier ideals and the harsh realities of industrialized warfare. It examines how untrained civilians adapt to military discipline, transforming raw patriotism into professional competence. The book delves deeply into the psychological bond formed among men who endure shared trauma, contrasting the orderly, civilized community life they build in winter camps with the horrifying dehumanization of military prisons like Andersonville. Ultimately, it is an inquiry into duty, endurance, and the heavy personal price exacted from local communities when a nation goes to war against itself.

Why Read It Today

This account offers an exceptionally grounded, unpretentious view of the Civil War through the eyes of a soldier who was there. Readers interested in military history or primary historical sources will appreciate its absolute lack of romantic embellishment. Blakeslee writes with straightforward clarity, relying on diary entries written during his youth rather than post-war mythmaking.

The narrative does carry minor difficulties typical of period regimental histories: it occasionally pauses for dry administrative details, lists of promotions, or lengthy newspaper transcripts from the era. It also includes local period jargon—such as classifying prisoners as "fresh fish" or "dried herrings." However, these historical quirks only heighten its authenticity. What remains with the reader is a deeply moving sense of human vulnerability—the image of boys receiving muskets hours before battle, officers hiding under floorboards to reach friendly lines, and a shattered remnant of a regiment returning home to quiet New England towns.