“Connecticans in the American West”
February 14, 21, 28, 3:30 – 5 p.m.
In collaboration with the Presidents’ College, University of Hartford. Lectures held on University of Hartford campus. For questions, call 860-768-4495
REGISTER HERE
February 14: The Untold Story of Connecticut and the Mexican Front
Dave Corrigan, Curator, Museum of Connecticut History
In March 1916, Mexican Revolutionary Francisco “Pancho” Villa raided Columbus, New Mexico. By June, 2,500 Connecticut National Guardsmen were stationed in Nogales, Arizona, joining nearly 150,000 National Guard troops to secure the border with Mexico. Less than a year later, the Connecticut troops were in France as the U.S. entered World War I. Soldiers’ diaries and photographs chronicle their time in the West, a story that few Connecticans know.
February 21: Teaching on the Frontier
Allison Speicher, assistant professor of English, Eastern Connecticut State University
February 28: Mining for Silver in the Arizona Territory
Leah Glaser, associate professor of history and public history, Central Connecticut State University
In 1857 – 1858, Samuel Colt invested $10,000 in cash and $10,000 worth of firearms in the Sonora Exploring and Mining Company. The company’s sense that their troubles were over was premature. Even so, Colt left an indelible stamp on Arizona—a place he never visited. Glaser’s talk will be based on her and Nicholas Thomas’s essay in the Journal of Arizona History (Spring 2015).