Howard Morrison couldn’t wait until next month to catch a glimpse of the monument to the 29th Connecticut Colored Regiment, which fought in the Civil War. Those soldiers trained and shipped out to the front from what is now Criscuolo Park, then known as Grapevine Point. That is where the monument is being readied for major unveilings and receptions on Sept. 20 and 26.
“We heard a lot about this at our [Newhallville Senior Center],” Morrison said. “And lots of us wrote letters to Governor Rell to support the project.”
Morrison is an amateur historian and photographer when not at his day job at the post office.
He was photographing, at the northwest corner of the park, where the black granite stelae, engraved with the names of the soldiers from throughout Connecticut’s towns and cities who served, are arranged in a solemn semi circle.
The stelae are still wrapped in plastic, as is the central plinth, which will bear a plaque and, apparently, an image of the regiment in action.
The 29th’s soldiers, among other engagements, were the first to enter Richmond. The unit was comprised of ex-slaves, freemen, Native Americans, and it was commanded by white officers, with Colonel Williams B. Wooster, of Norwich, at the top.
Only the plaque remains to be installed, according to Jackie Buster, the communications director for the Descendants of the 29th Connecticut Colored Regiment C.V. Infantry, the non-profit which for years has been raising funds for this effort.
The sculptor is Edward Hamilton, widely known for his traditional historical sculptures, such as the Amistad Memorial adjacent to New Haven’s City Hall and the Booker T. Washington Memorial at Hampton University in Virginia.
Private funds, as well contributions from public entities such as the City of New Haven, have complemented support raised through state bonding initiatives.
The 29th was formed when then Gov. William Buckingham, a thoroughgoing racist, consented to the formation of a black regiment when he heard that locals were going to Massachusetts and other states to join up. Terrified at the prospect of blacks drilling with real guns, he ordered the training be done not on the Green but as far away as possible from the population center.
Click here for the schedule of the Sept. 20 and 26 events that will involve local schools, reenactments, and an artist’s reception. The keynote speaker will be Dick Gregory.
Howard Morrison is looking forward to the unveiling. His brother served in the Air Force. He has taken pleasure in visiting the Buffalo Soldiers Museum in Houston, the country’s only museum dedicated to African-American military history.
Come September, he’ll have an important new piece of that finally commemorated history close to home