County Regiment

County Regiment is Dudley Landon Vaill's intimate portrait of the Second Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery, a unit that began as the Nineteenth Volunteer Infantry and was transformed through the crucible of the American Civil War. Vaill traces the journey of Connecticut farmers, craftsmen, and mechanics who left their plows and shops to become artillerymen, chronicling their enlistment, training, and deployment through the war's most punishing campaigns. More than a roster of battles, this sketch captures the bonds between men who shared trenches and marched together through seasons of brutal combat. The transformation from infantry to heavy artillery meant learning to man massive guns, facing different dangers, and adopting new identities as soldiers. Vaill preserves what histories often lose: the texture of daily life in camp, the particular hardships of Connecticut volunteers far from home, and the weight of duty carried by ordinary men. This account endures because it humanizes a regiment that served with distinction, offering readers a window into the courage and endurance of those who fought to preserve the Union.