FRIENDS OF FORT TRUMBULL- MAY MEETING

FRIENDS OF FORT TRUMBULL TO WELCOME AUTHOR OF “CONNECTICUT’S CIVIL WAR”

On Thursday, May 31, 2012, at 7 p.m. in the Fort Conference Center in New London, the Friends of Fort Trumbull will welcome as their speaker Sharon Smith, who is the author of Connecticut’s Civil War.  Her career began in news broadcasting in Texas; however, after a few years she moved to ESPN in Connecticut  where she appeared on hundreds of Sports  Center broadcasts.  Although she specialized in equine sports and has written several books on that subject, this book on the Civil War grew out of her life-long fascination with that topic. 

 In her book, Ms. Smith gives a complete guide to all the various sites in Connecticut related to the war. She talks about Inventors such as Eli Whitney, whose cotton gin made the institution of slavery even more profitable.  She also focuses on the arms factories in Hartford, New Haven, Middletown and Norwich where Connecticut’s production of guns and gun powder was formidable.   In Eastern Connecticut, many of the textile mills produced the fabric for uniforms for the Union Soldiers.  In the Naugatuck Valley, the brass making manufacturers began to turn out shell casings, uniform buttons and other hardware used in the weapons.

This book is unique in that it offers descriptions and directions to the homes of the Inventors, the Abolitionists, and the Authors, the Manufacturing Centers, the Monuments, and the Museums.  You will be amazed at the extent of the importance of the state’s role in the conflict. Although no battles of the Civil War were fought in Connecticut, the role that our state played was a vital one.

The program is open to the public and new members are always welcome.  For more information visit our website a www.fortfriends.org