Tag Archives: Connecticut

It was known as The Stone Fleet, and the captains of each old whaling ship  did not know the ship’s final destination as they set sail. But each had a job  to do during the American Civil War.

The ships sailed south in the fall of 1861 to carry out a plan not known to  the general public. Ships in a number of Connecticut harbors had been purchased by the Department of  the Navy. Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott had drawn up what was considered a complex  proposal called The Anaconda Plan.

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The series of Civil War novels by turn-of-the-20th century author Joseph Altsheler probably will never be considered American classics, but the tales of a two Kentucky cousins — one a Union soldier, the other a Confederate officer — fascinated Charles Pankenier as a young boy.

Nearly six decades later, the interest the books sparked continues to grow, and it has taken the retired IBM public relations man, one-time disc jockey, ex-English teacher and his wife, Judi, to nearly every major Civil War battlefield east of the Rocky Mountains.

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Standing on the edge of Hanover Pond, it’s difficult to picture what the place would have looked like 150 years ago. Maps from the time indicate that the pond didn’t exist yet. There was just the Quinnipiac River flowing through the area, then designated as Hanover.

In October 1861, this part of Meriden became home to a bustling training encampment, Camp Tyler. The 1st Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Cavalry used the camp to train before heading off to fight in the Civil War.

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