Hartford in World War I

Book excerpt: When the United States Congress declared war in April 1917, Connecticut answered the call to arms. As the capital, Hartford was the hub of the state's war effort. The city hosted major rallies and recruitment drives, and leaders from Hartford directed efforts to inspire patriotism and sacrifice. Allied needs for war materiel and goods were insatiable, and local manufacturers like Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company worked around the clock to meet the demand. Men and women from the area battled in the trenches, volunteered in the hospitals and canteens and served in the air and on the high seas. A century later, this legacy of service and sacrifice is memorialized by local monuments. Author David Drury traces the extraordinary story of Hartford during World War I.