Charles W. Thorp II

Life Dates1836 – 1891

Charles W. Thorp was born in Fairfield on July 13, 1836 to Charles and Amelia (Beers) Thorp. When the Civil War broke out Thorp at age 25 joined the First Connecticut Volunteer Cavalry. He mustered into the unit on November 2, 1861, about the same time that John B. Morehouse joined the unit, and served as fourth and third corporal until being reduced to the rank of private on March 26, 1862, where he stayed until his term expired on November 2, 1864. Among the 90 or so engagements that the unit participated in, Thorp saw action at the second battle of Bull Run, Cold Harbor, Spotsylvania, and numerous cavalry raids. He returned to Fairfield in the fall of 1864 and presumably returned to what he had done before the war, farming. In 1870, he married Sarah Matilda Gould (1845-1933) with whom he had three children: Anna Louise Thorp (1871-1943), Alice Thorp (1878-) and Charles Willis Thorp (1889-1978) He was an active member within the G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) after the war, and continued to be so until he died on March 11, 1891. Among the FHS collections are Thorp's pistol, pistol holster, belt, cap pouch and G.A.R. hat, and picture.