A new image has been added to the Rank and File section. A post-war image of Jacob Krieg (who is listed on the rolls of Company B as Jacob Kreig) was provided by descendant Phillip Dwigans. Krieg listed his age…
Category: Chancellorsville
New material added
Another letter from Stephen Wilcox written prior to the Battle of Chancellorsville was added to the site today. Thanks once more to Paul Keroack from the Norwalk History Room at the Norwalk (CT) Public Library for finding this letter and…
The 17th Connecticut and the National Weather Service
What do the 17th Connecticut and the National Weather Service have in common? Henry Eugene Williams. Who? Henry Williams was an 18-year-old teacher living in Bethel, CT when he enlisted as H. Eugene Williams in Company C of the 17th…
“I do not regret having done as I have done, for I with many thousands was honest and enlisted for our country. If I was home and knew as much as I do now I would enlist at the first opportunity.”
Sue Curry, the great-great granddaughter of Captain Wilson French, Company G, provided the following excerpt of a letter written home to his wife Mattie less than 2 weeks after the battle at Chancellorsville. At the time of the battle he…
Another Ruscoe letter posted
A new letter from Floyd Ruscoe has been posted this afternoon. This letter, written to his father, is from April 1863 and covers the regiment’s participation in the XI Corps review for new commanding General O.O. Howard as well as…
“It is enough to break the stoutest heart…”
Today marks the 150th anniversary of the 17th CVI’s introduction to combat in the Civil War. At around 5PM, after settling down to cook their evening meals, the full fury of Stonewall Jackson’s attack on the right flank of the…
Calm before the storm
By evening of April 30th the regiment was camped on and around the Talley Farm (or, as it is usually referred to in their accounts, the Hatch house). May 1st the members of the regiment heard the sound of battle…
Germanna Ford on the Rapidan River
The 17th crossed the Rapidan River in the early morning hours of April 30, 1863. The area of the crossing is seen in this 2008 photograph, but the description written by Lt. Albert H. Wilcoxson provides a vivid description: “A…
Kelly’s Ford
After marching from Hartwood Church, the 17th marched throughout April 28th until it reached the area of Kelly’s Ford at the Rappahannock River. With two army corps marching on the same route traffic jams ensued and the regiment, halted a…
Chancellorsville campaign
150 years ago today, April 27, 1863, the 17th CVI marched out of camp and headed off to what would become there first battle at Chancellorsville. It’s fitting that the new Civil War park in Stafford, VA opens today. Their…