Connecticut History News and Events

Silas Deane, the Real Hero of the American Revolution

Michael — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:08:35 +0000

Connecticut resident Silas Deane, not Benjamin Franklin, was responsible for winning French backing for the American Revolution, maintains law professor Joel Richard Paul in his new book, “Unlikely Allies, How a Merchant, a Playwright and a Spy Saved the American Revolution.”

The conventional view is that Deane, a Wethersfield merchant, was a minor player in securing French support that was instrumental in the American victory. But Paul argues that the traditional belief is all wrong. Deane drafted the terms of the Franco-American alliance. He also helped expose a cross-dressing French diplomat who was blackmailing King Louis XVI, an act that freed the king to the support the American Revolution with arms, the arms he helped obtain were the key to an American victory at Saratoga, a battle that turned the tide in revolution.

Deane was latter accused of treason due to his poor handling of expense receipts in France. According to Paul, he was falsely accused by Arthur Lee of Virginia, who held a grudge against Deane. The author, a California lawyer and former Connecticut resident, came to his startling conclusion after wading through personal papers and correspondence held by the Connecticut Historical Society.

The title of the book refers to Deane, playwright Caron de Beaumarchais, and Chevalier d’Eon, the cross-dressing French officer working as a spy. The book is exciting and full of political intrigue, according to reviewers

Skull of American Revolutionary War Soldier Reburied

Michael — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:36:16 +0000

A skull that may have belonged to a Revolutionary War soldier was reburied at Milford Cemetery with full military honors Saturday. A crowd of over 100, many dressed in period garb, attended a funeral at the First United Church of Christ Congregational before proceeding to the cemetery. The skull was found near a site where 46 American soldiers, who were captured in the Battle of New York, died from smallpox. Read More

Skull of Revolutionary War Soldier Found

Michael — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:10:35 +0000

Two local history buffs have tracked down the skull of a Revolutionary War solder, reports the Connecticut Post.

Battle of Port Royal Reenactment

Michael — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:00:55 +0000

Reenactors of the 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Heavily Artillery Regiment and 100 other Civil War reenactors gathered at Fort Nathan Hale to reenact the Battle of Port Royal in South Carolina, reports the New Haven Independent.

Preservationists Worry About Milford Hose

Michael — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:39:01 +0000

Preservationists and Milford city officials are trying to to save a deteriorating historic home from “demolition by neglect,” according to the Connecticut Post.

Bethlehem’s Past Celebrated in a New Book

Michael — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:20:11 +0000

A new book by Carol Ann Brown, president of the Bethlehem Historical Society, featues photographs of Bethlehem. The book is available from Arcadia Publishing.

Settled in 1734, Bethlehem is a typical Litchfield hill town and retains much of its rural charm. Around its green are an old post tavern at the Woodward House, two historic churches, and the Bellamy-Ferriday House and Garden. Rev. Joseph Bellamy came to Bethlehem in 1738 and stayed to establish the first theological school in the country, educating Aaron Burr, James Morris, and later John C. Calhoun. In 1938, postmaster Earl Johnson designed a rubber stamp to adorn cards sent from the post office attached to his family’s general store.

This first cachet became an annual project and established Bethlehem as “the Christmas town.” In 1946, two Benedictine nuns came to stay with artist Lauren Ford while establishing the Abbey of Regina Laudis in a factory donated by local businessman Robert Leather. Every September for the last 85 years, the Bethlehem Fair

Witch Hunting in Colonial Connecticut

Michael — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:42:03 +0000

A generation before Salem, Connecticut suffered witch hunt hysteria.

State Historian Walter Woodward will give a muli-media presentation on Hartford witch hunts at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum in Norwalk Sept. 27 at 2 p.m.

Why did people believe in witches? Why were most witches women? How could people be so afraid of witches’ powers that they were willing to kill their neighbors? How did the Hartford witch hunt change witchcraft prosecution in Connecticut and New England? You’ve always known about Salem; now learn about the rest of the story.

New Medical Library Opens

Michael — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:28:22 +0000

The University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington will unveil its new Hartford Medical Society Historical Library on Thursday, Sept. 10. The library has medical journals from their first volumes, manuscripts going back to the 17th century, and artifacts such as old vial cases and medicine chests, instruments and surgical tools, and a physician’s saddlebag.

The collection includes writings by Horace Wells, credited with being the first to use nitrous oxided as an anesthetic.

The open house starts at 3 p.m. in front of the Stowe Library. It will inclde tours and a scavenger hunt. Lynn Laskowski and Francis Coan from Tunxis Community College will present “Mark Twain and the “Majestic Literary Fossil,” at 4 p.m. in the Low Learning Center.

From the Hartford Courant http://www.courant.com/community/hc-community-articleresults,0,5942637,results.formprofile?Query=17348HC

A New Information Source for History Buffs

Michael — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:44:44 +0000

This blog will cover history news and events in Connecticut and surrounding states – a clearing house of information for local history buffs and others looking for interesting things to do or learn about. Visit this blog find what historical societies, museums, and other organizations are planning. You’ll be able to learn about historical activities you can participate in, what historical events you can watch, and what historical articles are appearing in in newspapers and magazines.