Arts & Entertainment

Monumental Genius: James G. Batterson, the Civil War and the Making of Monuments with Historian William Hosley at Windsor Historical Society

Join historian Bill Hosley at Windsor Historical Society on the evening of May 10 for a special tour
and program on Civil War monument maker James G. Batterson. Meet at the Society at 6:30 to view
some Batterson gravestones in Palisado Cemetery; Hosley’s illustrated lecture begins at 7:30.
Born in Bloomfield (then Windsor) in 1823, James G. Batterson today is best known as the founder
of Traveler’s Insurance Company. Yet he was first and foremost a gravestone and monument maker.
After apprenticing with his father, Batterson relocated to Hartford at the dawn of the industrial age and
transformed the modest family monument-making company into an industrial leviathan that redefined
the meaning of monuments and public sculpture in American. He was also the quintessential local
booster, joiner and civic champion, emerging from the war with the best political connections of
anyone in the monument industry.
Prior to the Civil War, there were few statues or monuments commemorating great events or deeds
in the life of our country. This changed after the Civil War, an event of cataclysmic emotional and
cultural significance. Emotional need coupled with new technologies in monument building resulted in
an era of inspiring public sculpture in America. Batterson was able to parlay his political connections
into commissions for the most important war memorials and monuments in the country, including
the monuments at the national cemeteries at Gettysburg and Antietam. Hosley’s lecture will provide
fascinating insights into the life of a famous Windsor native, and an armchair tour of the Civil War
memorials he built.
Cost for the program is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and $4 for WHS members.
This program is partially supported by a grant for Civil War programming from the Connecticut
Humanities Council. For more information, contact the Society at 860/688-3813 or online at
www.windsorhistoricalsociety.org. The Society is located at 96 Palisado Avenue (Route 159) in
Windsor. Parking is available in the Windsor Discovery Center and First Church parking lots and
around Palisado Green.
The Windsor Historical Society, founded in 1921, invites visitors to explore the people, places, and
events that have shaped Windsor for over 375 years. The Society’s museum includes changing and
permanent exhibition galleries; a hands-on-history learning center for families; a research library and
manuscript collection housing Windsor photographs, documents, ephemera, and genealogical materials;
a museum gift shop and two historic houses open to the public: the 1758 John and Sarah Strong House
and the 1767 Dr. Hezekiah Chaffee House.
The Windsor Historical Society is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. General
admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and students, and free to children under 12 and Society
members. Call (860) 688-3813 or visit us on the web at http://windsorhistoricalsociety.org for directions
to the Society and more information about programs. To receive e-reminders for public programs, please

send your e-mail address to jalberti@windsorhistoricalsociety.org.


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