Cornwall’s soldiers served in a dozen different regiments. The majority served in the 5th, 8th, 11th, 13th, and 19th Infantry (later the 2nd Heavy Artillery). Cornwall’s African American soldiers served primarily with the 29th Colored Infantry Regiment.

Fifth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry
More than two dozen men from Cornwall enlisted in Company I of the 5th C.V.I. in the summer of 1861. A few men from nearby towns, including Roxbury, Plymouth, and New Milford, also enlisted at Cornwall during those early months. A handful of others enlisted or were drafted into the regiment in the ensuing years.

Among the first men to join the 5th C.V.I. were several English and Irish immigrants employed by the West Cornwall shear factory. The other volunteers included farmer laborers, carpenters, and colliers. Of the thirty-two men who joined the 5th C.V.I., six died during their service.

Brief Service Record
Mustered into service, July 22, 1861
Guard/Outpost Duty, Upper Potomac region, August 1861 to February 1862.
Battle of Front Royal, May 23, 1862
Battle of Winchester, May 24 and 25, 1862
Battle of Cedar Mountain, August 9, 1862
Battle of Bull Run, August 29-30, 1862
Battle of Chancellorsville, May 1-5, 1863
Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863
Battle of Resaca, May 14-15, 1864
Battle of New Hope Church, May 25, 1864

Eighth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry
Eleven Cornwall men enlisted in the Eighth C.V.I. in September 1861.

Brief Service Record
Mustered into service, October 17, 1861
Battle of Roanoke Island, February 8, 1862
Battle of Newberne, March 14, 1862
Capture of Fort Macon, April 26, 1862
Battle of Antietam, September 16-17, 1862
Battle of Fredericksburg, December 12-15, 1862
Siege of Suffolk, April 12 – May 4, 1863
Battle of Drewry’s Bluff, May 14-16, 1864
Battle of Cold Harbor, June 1-12, 1864
Siege against Petersburg and Richmond, June 16, 1864 – April 2, 1865
Occupation of Richmond, April 3, 1865

Eleventh Connecticut Volunteer Infantry
Ten Cornwall men enlisted in the Eighth C.V.I. between October and December, 1861. Two others were transferred to the regiment at later dates.

Brief Service Record
Mustered into service, December, 1861
Battle of Roanoke Island, February 8, 1862
Battle of Newberne, March 14, 1862
Battle of South Mountain, September 14, 1862
Battle of Antietam, September 16-17, 1862
Siege of Suffolk, April 12 – May 4, 1863
Battle of Drewry’s Bluff, May 14-16, 1864
Battle of Cold Harbor, June 1-12, 1864
Siege against Petersburg and Richmond, June 16, 1864 – April 2, 1865
Occupation of Richmond, April 3, 1865

Thirteenth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry
Company C of the 13th C.V.I. was raised by West Cornwall’s Charles D. Blinn, his uncle Isaac F. Nettleton in Kent (originally from Cornwall), and Charles E. Tibbets of New Milford. Recruiting offices were set up in Cornwall and Kent, and the company of 83 men consisted almost entirely of Litchfield County residents. Company C marched to New Haven in November 1861. They served as the color company for the regiment, carrying the flags of Connecticut and the United States into battle.

Brief Service Record
Mustered into service, January 7, 1862
Occupation of New Orleans. May 1, 1862
Operations against Port Hudson, March 7-27, 1863
Teche Campaign, Louisiana, April 11-20, 1863
Battle of Irish Bend, Louisiana, April 14, 1863
Siege of Port Hudson, May 26 – July 9, 1863
Construction of dam at Alexandria, April 30 – May 10, 1864
Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign, August to December, 1864
Battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864

Nineteenth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry / Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery
The 19th C.V.I. was formed in Litchfield County in July and August of 1862. Most of the enlistments from Cornwall during those months joined Company G, along with men from Sharon. The regiment mustered on the Green in Litchfield on September 11, 1862 and departed for Alexandria, Virginia a few days later. The 19th C.V.I. was assigned to patrol duty in and defense of Washington, D.C. until May 1864.

On November 23, 1863, following an inspection by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, the regiment was designated the Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery. A new wave of recruits joined the regiment during the ensuing months.

Charge of the 2d Connecticut Heavy Artillery at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Va., published in The County Regiment by Dudley Landon Vaill, 1908.

Brief Service Record
Mustered into service, July 25, 1862
Garrison duty, defenses of Washington, D.C., September 1862 to May 1864
Designated Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery, November 23, 1863
Battle of Cold Harbor, June 1-12, 1864
Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign, August to December, 1864
Battle of Opequon/Third Winchester, September 19, 1864
Battle of Fisher’s Hill, September 21-22, 1864
Battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864
Appomattox Campaign, March 19 – April 9, 1865

Twenty-Ninth Connecticut Infantry Regiment
The U.S. War Department ordered the formation of regiments of “United States Colored Troops” on May 22, 1863. The regiments, comprised of black men led by white officers, were formed under state designations and were later designated as United States regiments. In Connecticut, recruitment of African Americans began in August 1863. By January of 1864, the 29th Connecticut Regiment Infantry, Colored was full, and the 30th was being organized.

The 29th regiment arrived in Maryland in March, then traveled on to Hilton Head, South Carolina, arriving there on April 16, 1864. The soldiers’ pay caused some initial dissent. During their enlistment, the recruits had been promised bonuses totaling $685, but received only $310. Upon arriving in South Carolina, they discovered that their monthly pay would be only $7 per month, less than half what the white soldiers were paid. The matter was resolved by a visit from General Saxton, who declared that they would receive the same pay as white soldiers. The shortfall in bonus pay was never corrected.

The 29th C.V.I. served trench duty twice, in 1864 and 1865. They were the first Infantry Regiment to enter Richmond, Virginia on April 3, 1865, and they were present for the surrender of General Robert E. Lee on April 9, 1865. The regiment returned to Connecticut on November 24, 1865.

Brief Service Record
Siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond, August 13, 1864 to April 2, 1865
Occupation of Richmond, April 3, 1865
Guard duty at Brownsville, Texas, July to October, 1865