Henry C. Woodworth was a resident of Mansfield on August 11, 1862 when he enlisted as a Private in Co. D of the 21st Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; he was discharged for disability January 18, 1863.
The descriptive muster roll of the 21st Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry lists his age as 43 and his occupation as farmer. He is described as 5’ 8” tall with a dark complexion and blue eyes and dark hair. His marital status is married.
He was born about 1816 in Connecticut; in the 1860 U.S. census in Mansfield, he is a 42 year old farmer and head of household. Henry Woodworth of Coventry married Eunice A. Crain of Mansfield on June 25, 1839. He is said to have married, second Lucy Jane Ward on March 11, 1845 in Coventry and Amorett Crossman Dunham on March 16, 1846 in Coventry. Children with his third wife include: Frank Woodworth, born about 1852 and Edwin Woodworth, born about 1855. After the Civil War, he returned to Mansfield and worked as a farmer.
On September 30, 1871, he applied for an invalid pension, No. 169,364 that was granted under certificate No. 431,252. His widow filed for a pension on December 26, 1895.
Henry C. Woodworth died on November 21, 1895 in Willington and is buried at the Willington Hill Cemetery in Willington, Connecticut.
James P. Wooster was a resident of Mansfield on January 9, 1864 when he enlisted as a Private in Co. K of the 29th (Colored) Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; he entered Knight’s General Hospital in New Haven on February 20, 1864. He is said to have deserted in New York on April 13, 1864 on his way to join his regiment.
The descriptive muster roll of the 29th (Colored) Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry lists his age as 27 and his occupation as farmer. He is described as 5’ 8 ¾” tall with a black complexion and black eyes and black hair. His marital status is married.
He was born about 1837 in Salisbury, Connecticut and he was not living in Mansfield in the 1860 U.S. census. No further information is known.
Whiting Wyllys was a resident of Mansfield on August 18, 1862 when he enlisted as a Private in Co. D of the 21st Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; he died January 18, 1863 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The March 6, 1863 issue of The Willimantic Journal reported that “E. C. Wyllys, son of Mr. Bennett Wyllys of Mansfield, a member of the 21st Reg’t recently died of fever in the hospital at Falmouth. His remains reached home on Friday last and his funeral was attended on Tuesday afternoon.”
The descriptive muster roll of the 21st Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry lists his age as 18 and his occupation as farmer. He is described as 5’ 8” tall with a light complexion and blue eyes and light hair. His marital status is single.
He was born about 1844 in Windham, Connecticut to Bennett and Frances L. _____ Wyllys. In the 1860 U.S. census in Mansfield, he is a 16 year old farm laborer in the household of Bennett Wyllys.
Frances L. Wyllys applied for a dependent mother’s pension in 1869, No. 171,249 that was granted under certificate No. 133,363. According to the list of pensioners on the roll in 1883, Frances L. Wyllys was receiving a pension of $8 per month as a dependent mother that commenced in August 1869.
Whiting S. Wyllys was about 19 when he died; he is buried at the Chewink Cemetery in Chaplin, Connecticut.
Recruiting of black soldiers was not authorized until 1862 due to President Lincoln’s concerns that this would cause border states to secede. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863, to free all slaves in rebellious areas. Black soldiers were actively recruited in the Northern States after that date as regiments were established. The first black regiment that Connecticut authorized was the 29th (Colored) Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, formed in 1863; the regimental roster was completed in January 1864. They fought at Petersburg and Chapin’s Farm, Virginia, and two companies were the first Union infantry into Richmond.
