Hiram Appelman

He had been a storekeeper in Mystic, then sailed on the whaleship Trescott around Cape Horn in January 1849 to the goldfields of California. He never prospected for gold, but did have a successful store at Yerba Buena for 7 years. He went to Kanas in 1856 and established a farm, but returned to Mystic, CT in 1858 and studied to be a lawyer. Soon after the outbreak of War, on 7 May 1861, he enlisted as Private in Rifle Company C, 2nd Connecticut Infantry, and saw action at First Bull Run before mustering out on 7 August.

In response to President Lincoln's call to the states, the 12th Connecticut Regiment was one of those organized in Hartford in the fall of 1861, a few months after the war began with the firing on Fort Sumter. Company G initially had nearly eighty men from Stonington, under the command of Captain Hiram Appelman of Stonington, and with Stonington lieutenants Thomas Sheffield, Henry Morgan, and Andrew Morgan.

As commander of the Regiment - Colonel Harland commanding the Brigade - he led his men from Snavely's Ford in the afternoon of the 17th attacking toward Sharpsburg at the far left flank of the Army. He was wounded and his unit was seriously mauled in the attack.

He resigned his commission on 23 December 1862. He was admitted to the bar in Connecticut in 1863 and was active in politics. He was elected Secretary of State (CT) in 1869 and 1871, resigning for declining health in 1873.

Basic service data from Ingersoll1. The quote above from an article by James Boylan in Historical Footnotes (August 1999) online from the Stonington Historical Society. Further background from Carol W Kimball in The Day (New London) of 25 August 1999. The photo here from one provided by John Banks and also online from the collection at the Mystic River Historical Society.

06/23/1825; Mystic (Groton), CT

09/04/1873; Mystic Bridge (Stonington), CT; burial in Elm Grove Cemetery, Mystic, CT