America 250 Resources at the State Library

America 250 at the CT State Library

In 2024, the Connecticut State Library formed an internal committee to consider how best to commemorate the Semiquincentennial of the United States. In addition to advising on an exhibit planned to open at the Museum of Connecticut History in 2026, the group has curated this selection of Revolutionary War resources from the Connecticut State Library's vast collection. The below list is a work in progress. Please check back often for updates and additions!

UPCOMING EVENTS

A Discussion with Michael E. Shay, author of "The Whites of Their Eyes: The Life of Revolutionary War Hero Israel Putnam from Rogers' Rangers to Bunker Hill."

Thursday, November 13, 2025, 12 - 1:00 p.m. 
Memorial Hall, Museum of Connecticut History at the Connecticut State Library
231 Capitol Avenue, Hartford CT, 06106

Michael E. Shay will discuss one of the most legendary participants in the American Revolution: Connecticut’s own Israel Putnam. In his book, The Whites of Their Eyes: The Life of Revolutionary War Hero Israel Putnam from Rogers' Rangers to Bunker Hill, Shay recounts the life and times of Israel Putnam, a larger-than-life general, a gregarious tavern keeper and farmer, who was a folk hero in Connecticut and the probable source of legendary words during the Revolutionary War—and whose exploits make him one of the most interesting officers in American military history.

PAST EVENTS

"Jordan Freeman: The Fight To Set a People Free," a presentation by Kevin Johnson 

Thursday, September 18, 2025, 12 - 1:00 p.m. 
Museum of Connecticut History at the Connecticut State Library
231 Capitol Avenue, Hartford CT, 06106

“Jordan Freeman: The Fight to Set a People Free” is a moving narrative that vividly illustrates the contributions made by African Americans in Connecticut during the Revolutionary War.

Mr. Johnson's presentation is based on extensive research in the collections of the CSL and Museum of Connecticut History. A native of Old Lyme, CT, Jordan Freeman was an African American enslaved by John Ledyard and the body servant of Col. William Ledyard during the Revolutionary War. Although Jordan Freeman did not enlist in the army, he witnessed key events of the war for independence while with Col. Ledyard. Historians estimate the number of black soldiers in the American Revolution war to have been about 5,000 men, serving in militias, seagoing services, and support activities, including nearly 500 from Connecticut. Some enlisted because they felt it was their duty; others because they were offered their freedom in return for satisfactory completion of a set period of service. 

“Jordan Freeman: The Fight to Set a People Free,” is free and open to the public. Registration is requested at https://forms.office.com/g/xNBa7BkQEt

Why Libraries & Museums Matter? A Conversation with State Librarian Deborah Schander and State Historian Andy Horowitz
Thursday, July 17, 2025

The upcoming 250^th anniversary of our nation’s founding has many of us thinking about the importance of history and the institutions that preserve its many stories. How has the State of Connecticut, as one of the original thirteen colonies, documented and preserved its history over the years – and how does it do so today? This conversation between Connecticut’s State Librarian and State Historian ranged from Connecticut State Library’s unique role in government throughout time and the significance of its non-partisan mission, a discussion of the current uncertain state of humanities funding, and an examination of why libraries and museums still matter in the digital age. The conversation was recorded by the Connecticut Network and is available here.

Museum of Connecticut History

The Museum of Connecticut History at Connecticut State Library connects the experience of residents and museum visitors to the artifacts, images and documents of the past, increasing awareness of and pride in the state's political, military, and industrial history and building commitment to preserving and sharing its cultural heritage.

Featured Revolutionary War-era Collection Item 

Fragment, King George III statue, Joseph Wilton, 1770
Museum of Connecticut History #1960.013

British sculptor Joseph Wilton was commissioned by the New York Assembly in the late 1760s to create a statue of King George III, along with another of politician William Pitt. The royal statue, designed in the Roman equestrian style and made of gilt covered lead, was installed at Bowling Green Park, Manhattan, New York in 1770 as a symbol of gratitude to the monarch from his colonial subjects.

By July of 1776, however, popular colonial sentiment against British rule had begun to foment. When the Declaration of Independence was read aloud on July 9 at Bowling Green, a group of Patriots committed symbolic regicide by tearing down the statue, deciding that the valuable lead would be better served in the shape of bullets than that of the monarch. According to legend, nearly 4,000 pounds of lead traveled by schooner up the East River to Norwalk, CT, where it was next loaded into ox carts. The carts stopped in Wilton, CT, where the drivers spent the night at the Clapp Raymond Tavern. Wilton was a Tory stronghold, and mysteriously overnight, numerous statue pieces went missing, perhaps being taken as Loyalist souvenirs. The ox carts and the remaining statue pieces travelled another 50 miles to reach its final destination of Litchfield, CT, where they would be melted down and reshaped as musket balls in Oliver Wolcott’s foundry.

In the 1830s, residents of Wilton were surprised to unearth several amorphous chunks of lead from a swampland. It was later determined that these were the missing fragments of the King George III statue that had been stolen from the carts. Since the rest of the statue was melted down into bullets, the fragments found in Wilton are the only survivors of this piece of history. One of the fragments, a piece of the monarch’s caped shoulder, was donated to the Museum of Connecticut History in 1960. The New York Historical Society owns the horse’s tail and a few small fragments, while other pieces, such as King George III’s arm, are held in private collection.