Page 32 - 4092-BOOK1-FLIPBOOK

30
The pistol’s exact provenance is not recorded, but researching the inscription proved enlightening. Major Theodore Hubert Rockwood (1835-1864) was the son of Josiah Rockwood (1802-1859), a deacon in the First Baptist Church,
and Emily Phelps Rockwood (1809-1900). Reverend Sylvanus Dryden Phelps was his uncle and first took the pulpit at First Baptist in 1845 and remained
its leader until 1882. Clearly, the family formed a very important part of the congregation which a church history published in the early 20th century noted was “strongly pro-Union” during the Civil War and had one hundred of their men in the Union Army. It seems likely that Rockwood was a member of the choir, and the pistol may have been presented when he intended to enlist to fight for the Union early in the Civil War. It was common for influential men to be presented sidearms by members of their community or their comrades in arms as they headed off to war. The lack of a rank suggests it was presented before Rockwood enlisted as First Lieutenant in Company E of the 4th Connecticut Regiment (subsequently re-designated the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery) in May 1861. It is also possible it was presented prior to the war.