A Pre-Memorial Day Look at Hartford's Monuments

Memorial Day, when America remembers the men and women who have died while serving in the armed forces of the United States, is next Monday. Hartford commemorates those who have fallen in war over the centuries with monuments and statues across the city. Here are some to seek out on May 26.

Colonel Thomas Knowlton Statue

Near Trinity Street and Capitol Avenue on the grounds of the State Capitol Building. Knowlton, who grew up in Ashford, fought in the French and Indian War at the age of 15. He later led a group of scouts (including Nathan Hale) gathering intelligence during the Revolutionary War. He was killed in the Battle of Harlem Heights in 1776.

Griffin A. Stedman Monument

Campfield Avenue (named for the fields where Connecticut's volunteer infantry trained) in Barry Square. Stedman, from Hartford, was wounded at Antietam and killed in Petersburg, Virginia at the age of 26. His grave can be found in Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch

Bushnell Park. The iconic arch at the entrance to the park commemorates Hartford's Civil War veterans, 400 of whom were killed during the war.

Nathan Hale Statue

Main Street, near Wadsworth Atheneum. Connecticut's State Hero, from Coventry, was captured and hanged as a spy during the Revolution.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

New Britain and Fairfield Avenues. This monument records the names of the 39 Hartford residents killed or missing in action in Vietnam.

General John Sedgwick Statue

South elevation of the State Capitol grounds. Sedgewick was from Cornwall, and fought in the Mexican-American War before his death in the Civil War Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.

General David Wooster Statue

West elevation of the State Capitol. Wooster, born in Stratford, was killed after General Tryon's attack on Danbury in 1777.

General Casimir Pulaski Statue

394 Main Street. Pulaski, a Polish Count, was the first foreign leader killed in the American Revolution.

Weld Monument

Old North Cemetery, 1741 Main Street. This monument honors brothers Charles Theodore Weld and Lewis Ledyard Weld of Hartford. Charles was killed at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, and Lewis died of illness on the Appomattox River.

For more monuments, and biographical and artistic details, visit ctmonuments.net and see this list compiled by the Hartford History Center at the Hartford Public Library.