It Happened in Middlebury – Civil War took Bronson family member

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Deacon Leonard Bronson wrote this letter to his son Isaac on the occasion of Isaac’s 21st birthday. (Middlebury Historical Society photo)

By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD

On the same day, May 2, 1863, that Confederate General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson lay mortally wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville, a Middlebury man, Captain Isaac Richardson Bronson, a soldier in the 11th Connecticut Volunteers, also lay mortally wounded in that battle. He succumbed to his wounds on June 2 at Potomac Creek, Va., and his body was laid to rest with military honors in our Middlebury Cemetery on June 12.

Although he previously had been wounded, Captain Bronson fought on with his regiment. “When the responsibilities of the battlefield were upon him, Capt. Bronson was perfectly self-possessed and fearless,” said his surgeon. He visited his family in Middlebury in April 1863 and then returned to his regiment to fight at Chancellorsville under Gen. Hooker.

Isaac Bronson was born in Middlebury May 22, 1826, to Deacon Leonard (1797-1869) and Nancy (Richardson) (1797-1884) Bronson and grew up in a home on Breakneck Hill. He was the great-grandson of the first white child born in Middlebury, in 1707, Isaac Bronson III. His heritage from both his mother and father traced back to some of the earliest settlers and founders of our country. Isaac married a distant cousin, Louise Maria Bronson, in 1851 and they had three children.

This Bronson family was highly esteemed in the Waterbury area; Leonard was a respected teacher, farmer, surveyor, legislator and justice of the peace. After Isaac married, he and his brother, Edward Leonard Bronson (1828-1890), established the firm of Bronson Brothers, “stationers and manufacturers of blank books.” Isaac was cut down at a relatively young age, but Edward would go on to become a business leader in the firm of Benedict and Burnham Manufacturing Co. in Waterbury.

Speaking and writing in the early 19th century were very different from today’s practices, but the style, vocabulary and content of some examples from that time are often uplifting and inspiring. At our historical society, we are fortunate to have access to an 1848 letter from Leonard Bronson to his son Isaac as the latter turned 21.

In touching words, the venerable deacon coaxes his son to, “Keep in mind continually that the surest way to secure a good or better place, is constantly to strive after improvements in your Moral, Mental, and business habits … We are exceedingly anxious that you should without delay secure the favor of that Being who is able to shield you from the dangers that surround you, and who will if sought aright impart that wisdom which is equal to all possible exigencies — ‘Keep thyself Pure” Yours Paternally, L. Bronson.”

In his life and in his death, Captain Isaac Richardson Bronson was a tribute to his loving family, to the values he developed in Middlebury and to the country that he served so valiantly. .

Bob Rafford is the Middlebury Historical Society president and Middlebury’s municipal historian. To join or contact the society, visit MiddleburyHistoricalSociety.org or call Bob at 203-206-4717. Your membership would be a valuable addition.