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The Melancholy Tale of Private Cornelius Dayton
John Banks recently released book, Hidden History of Connecticut Union Soldiers, acknowledged the help of Soldier’s Monument commission member, Virginia Shultz-Charette, whose work on the biographies of the monument’s soldiers coincided with the needs of his work. In the process, Soldiers’ Monument Commission member, Noreen Marchand and her husband Peter, took Banks and Shultz-Charette on a tour of Winchester in search of the Dayton homestead which was found still standing on Rugg Brook Road. Also found was the outbuilding where Dayton was held, under lock and key, for almost 50 years. Following is an expanded version of the story from the information collected by Banks and Shultz-Charette.
**********************************************************************************
The New York Times issue of December 28, 1910 regaled readers with this lurid headline:
LIVES 45 YEARS IN A CAGE
War Veteran Has Been Insane Since
He Was Sunstruck on a Battlefield
Other news press throughout the country ran with the story. The Times was one of the less sensational as it merely stated that Dayton was “a dangerous maniac… {who} lived in a cage like a wild beast”. Civil War veterans who had heard this through the grapevine, had wanted an investigation which resulted in these articles.
In 1862, a young, healthy Cornelius Dayton went off to war after first trying farming in Winchester, then moving for a short time to Derby to work in a hoop skirt factory. The family, however, had moved back to Winchester and immersed itself in farming until the outbreak of the war. Neighbors, like the Rugg brothers, enlisted and on August 13, 1862, a cousin, Prescott Parsons of Unionville, enlisted in the 15th Connecticut Volunteers. Less than two months later, Cornelius Dayton, possibly for economic reasons and a sense of adventure, enlisted in Company F of the 28th Connecticut Volunteers. This company was comprised of mostly Winsted/Winchester men led by Lt. Col. Wheelock T. Batcheller of Winsted.
Most of their duty was far from the action while stationed along the Gulf Coast. However, near the expiration of their nine month enlistment they were sent to Port Hudson, Louisiana to trap the Confederates within a fort. This tactical maneuver was to keep the Confederates from reinforcing the rebels upstream at Vicksburg. Part of the company saw action on June 14, 1863 though it is not known if Dayton was selected to make the assault on the heavily fortified fort. Nevertheless, the Louisiana swamp took more lives than the battle- sunstroke, an unhealthy climate, foul water floating with animal carcasses and used as an open latrine by the soldiers made the two-month siege as unhealthy for the attackers as it was for those imprisoned in the fort. Soldiers of the 28th died in Louisiana, and enroute home- particularly along the Mississippi. Indeed, men continued to die after they returned home. The August 18, 1863 edition of the Winsted Herald stated “The mortality which has prevailed among members of this regiment since its return from Port Hudson is truly frightful… we regret to observe that a fearfully large portion of those who thus sicken do not recover. One can almost recognize a Port Hudson man upon the street, by the lassitude, emaciation and debility he exhibits.”
One of the victims of the experience was Cornelius-unlike his cousin in the 15th who succumbed in 1864 to yellow fever while stationed in New Bern, North Carolina- he did not die. It is not known just when the family suspected that the Cornelius who returned was not the same, healthy young man who left less than a year earlier. When Chester Dayton, the soldier’s father, filed for a pension based on his son’s insanity in 1869, the affidavits by Dayton’s superior, 2nd Lt. Jabez Alvord claimed that he did not know that Dayton had ever been seen by a physician while in the service. The claim was apparently not approved. In 1871, after another petition from the father, Dr. James Welch who had given Dayton his physical prior to entering the service stated in a legal document that when Dayton returned he was suffering from chronic diarrhea and mental instability which had since increased until he was “perfectly insane”. Alvord again testified that the reason Dayton hadn’t been seen by a physician while in the service was that the only doctor had himself died while stationed at Port Hudson. 1st Lt. Caleb Newman also helped with the claim, by stating that “Claimant was severely exposed to hard strife and suffering at and after the siege of Port Hudson.” He stated that “after such exposure Claimant seemed to become more careless and heedless of himself, and he gave evidence of mental disability beyond anything that had been observed before.” This time the claim was approved and the family was awarded $25.00 a month for the soldier’s care (it ultimately rose to $72 a month, one of the highest in the state).
In 1882, Chester died and the care of the unstable young man was transferred to Dayton’s mother, Julia. Apparently, Cornelius could be a handful as his volatile moods bordered on the dangerous, often tearing his clothes from his body while in a rage. By 1901, when Julia’s daughter, Emma Dayton Marius was widowed, the younger woman moved into the home to take care of her aging mother and brother. Several years later, Emma- a woman in her sixties- married Cornelius Andrus, a man half her age. This, apparently, to help with her brother and her fragile mother who was now half-blind.
In 1910, although the headlines insinuated Cornelius Dayton was held in a cage like a beast, the Connecticut Humane Society who, at that time, investigated domestic abuse cases as well as animal abuse, had already investigated and found that the “cage” was actually a shed-like structure reinforced with barred windows. Agents Dwight W. Thrall of Hartford and John Simmons of Winsted found that Dayton paced his “cell” up and down, “carrying a spoon as he did his gun in the war.” Dayton explained to the investigators that he was on guard duty. The agents found the room “scrupulously clean” and that he was being cared for “as well as possible under the circumstances.” Nevertheless, in 1912, Julia A. Dayton resigned as guardian, the paperwork noting “pensioner” having been adjudged “incapable”. Jonathan Marsh of Winsted was appointed Conservator. Julia also turned over the property to his capable hands. Marsh did not serve as guardian long as the Winsted Evening Citizen proclaimed on June 4, 1913 that:
VETERAN RENDERED
INSANE BY SUNSTROKE
49 YEARS AGO DEAD
Julia Dayton outlived her son. In 1916 headlines in the Hartford Courant proclaimed:
WINCHESTER LOSES OLDEST RESIDENT
Nowhere in any of the newspapers was Cornelius Dayton ever mentioned in his mother’s obituary. However, the Winsted Evening Citizen stated that the matriarch who died at the age of 97 “lived a quiet life and was very devoted to her family.” Her daughter, Emma, lived until 1933 and Emma’s second husband, Cornelius Andrus, never remarried and died in 1961. The ripple effects of the Civil War on this family lasted almost a century.
*************************************************************************************
I encourage anyone interested in Connecticut’s role in the Civil War to pick up a copy of John Banks most recent book Hidden History of Connecticut Union Soldiers. Several soldiers are either listed on the Winsted Soldiers’ Monument, or had some dealings in our town. John also has a wonderful blog which can be reached through the links page on the Soldiers’ Monument website: http://www.soldiersmonumentwinsted.org
John Banks recently released book, Hidden History of Connecticut Union Soldiers, acknowledged the help of Soldier’s Monument commission member, Virginia Shultz-Charette, whose work on the biographies of the monument’s soldiers coincided with the needs of his work. In the process, Soldiers’ Monument Commission member, Noreen Marchand and her husband Peter, took Banks and Shultz-Charette on a tour of Winchester in search of the Dayton homestead which was found still standing on Rugg Brook Road. Also found was the outbuilding where Dayton was held, under lock and key, for almost 50 years. Following is an expanded version of the story from the information collected by Banks and Shultz-Charette.
**********************************************************************************
The New York Times issue of December 28, 1910 regaled readers with this lurid headline:
LIVES 45 YEARS IN A CAGE
War Veteran Has Been Insane Since
He Was Sunstruck on a Battlefield
Other news press throughout the country ran with the story. The Times was one of the less sensational as it merely stated that Dayton was “a dangerous maniac… {who} lived in a cage like a wild beast”. Civil War veterans who had heard this through the grapevine, had wanted an investigation which resulted in these articles.
In 1862, a young, healthy Cornelius Dayton went off to war after first trying farming in Winchester, then moving for a short time to Derby to work in a hoop skirt factory. The family, however, had moved back to Winchester and immersed itself in farming until the outbreak of the war. Neighbors, like the Rugg brothers, enlisted and on August 13, 1862, a cousin, Prescott Parsons of Unionville, enlisted in the 15th Connecticut Volunteers. Less than two months later, Cornelius Dayton, possibly for economic reasons and a sense of adventure, enlisted in Company F of the 28th Connecticut Volunteers. This company was comprised of mostly Winsted/Winchester men led by Lt. Col. Wheelock T. Batcheller of Winsted.
Most of their duty was far from the action while stationed along the Gulf Coast. However, near the expiration of their nine month enlistment they were sent to Port Hudson, Louisiana to trap the Confederates within a fort. This tactical maneuver was to keep the Confederates from reinforcing the rebels upstream at Vicksburg. Part of the company saw action on June 14, 1863 though it is not known if Dayton was selected to make the assault on the heavily fortified fort. Nevertheless, the Louisiana swamp took more lives than the battle- sunstroke, an unhealthy climate, foul water floating with animal carcasses and used as an open latrine by the soldiers made the two-month siege as unhealthy for the attackers as it was for those imprisoned in the fort. Soldiers of the 28th died in Louisiana, and enroute home- particularly along the Mississippi. Indeed, men continued to die after they returned home. The August 18, 1863 edition of the Winsted Herald stated “The mortality which has prevailed among members of this regiment since its return from Port Hudson is truly frightful… we regret to observe that a fearfully large portion of those who thus sicken do not recover. One can almost recognize a Port Hudson man upon the street, by the lassitude, emaciation and debility he exhibits.”
One of the victims of the experience was Cornelius-unlike his cousin in the 15th who succumbed in 1864 to yellow fever while stationed in New Bern, North Carolina- he did not die. It is not known just when the family suspected that the Cornelius who returned was not the same, healthy young man who left less than a year earlier. When Chester Dayton, the soldier’s father, filed for a pension based on his son’s insanity in 1869, the affidavits by Dayton’s superior, 2nd Lt. Jabez Alvord claimed that he did not know that Dayton had ever been seen by a physician while in the service. The claim was apparently not approved. In 1871, after another petition from the father, Dr. James Welch who had given Dayton his physical prior to entering the service stated in a legal document that when Dayton returned he was suffering from chronic diarrhea and mental instability which had since increased until he was “perfectly insane”. Alvord again testified that the reason Dayton hadn’t been seen by a physician while in the service was that the only doctor had himself died while stationed at Port Hudson. 1st Lt. Caleb Newman also helped with the claim, by stating that “Claimant was severely exposed to hard strife and suffering at and after the siege of Port Hudson.” He stated that “after such exposure Claimant seemed to become more careless and heedless of himself, and he gave evidence of mental disability beyond anything that had been observed before.” This time the claim was approved and the family was awarded $25.00 a month for the soldier’s care (it ultimately rose to $72 a month, one of the highest in the state).
In 1882, Chester died and the care of the unstable young man was transferred to Dayton’s mother, Julia. Apparently, Cornelius could be a handful as his volatile moods bordered on the dangerous, often tearing his clothes from his body while in a rage. By 1901, when Julia’s daughter, Emma Dayton Marius was widowed, the younger woman moved into the home to take care of her aging mother and brother. Several years later, Emma- a woman in her sixties- married Cornelius Andrus, a man half her age. This, apparently, to help with her brother and her fragile mother who was now half-blind.
In 1910, although the headlines insinuated Cornelius Dayton was held in a cage like a beast, the Connecticut Humane Society who, at that time, investigated domestic abuse cases as well as animal abuse, had already investigated and found that the “cage” was actually a shed-like structure reinforced with barred windows. Agents Dwight W. Thrall of Hartford and John Simmons of Winsted found that Dayton paced his “cell” up and down, “carrying a spoon as he did his gun in the war.” Dayton explained to the investigators that he was on guard duty. The agents found the room “scrupulously clean” and that he was being cared for “as well as possible under the circumstances.” Nevertheless, in 1912, Julia A. Dayton resigned as guardian, the paperwork noting “pensioner” having been adjudged “incapable”. Jonathan Marsh of Winsted was appointed Conservator. Julia also turned over the property to his capable hands. Marsh did not serve as guardian long as the Winsted Evening Citizen proclaimed on June 4, 1913 that:
VETERAN RENDERED
INSANE BY SUNSTROKE
49 YEARS AGO DEAD
Julia Dayton outlived her son. In 1916 headlines in the Hartford Courant proclaimed:
WINCHESTER LOSES OLDEST RESIDENT
Nowhere in any of the newspapers was Cornelius Dayton ever mentioned in his mother’s obituary. However, the Winsted Evening Citizen stated that the matriarch who died at the age of 97 “lived a quiet life and was very devoted to her family.” Her daughter, Emma, lived until 1933 and Emma’s second husband, Cornelius Andrus, never remarried and died in 1961. The ripple effects of the Civil War on this family lasted almost a century.
*************************************************************************************
I encourage anyone interested in Connecticut’s role in the Civil War to pick up a copy of John Banks most recent book Hidden History of Connecticut Union Soldiers. Several soldiers are either listed on the Winsted Soldiers’ Monument, or had some dealings in our town. John also has a wonderful blog which can be reached through the links page on the Soldiers’ Monument website: http://www.soldiersmonumentwinsted.org
