FREDERICK GUNN and THE GUNNERY
Frederick W. Gunn
Influenced by his older brother, John, and the Yale professor, Theodore Woolsey, F.W. Gunn embraced the abolitionist cause, when he graduated from Yale in 1837 and began a teaching career in Washington. However, his abolistionist ideals were not shared by all member of Washington.
In 1839, his brother, brother-in-law Lewis Canfield, and Daniel Platt brought the fiery abolitionist speaker, Abby Kelly, to the Congregational Church, where she was denounced by the pastor, Gordon Hayes. That same year, they and Daniel Brinsmade were active in establishing the Anti-Slavery Society in Torrington.
Because the church (and social arbiter of the period) opposed the abolitionists, Frederick Gunn was unable to make a living as a teacher because people would not send their children to him. After a brief period in slightly more reformist New Preston, he went into exile in Towanda, PA in 1847.
In 1849, having married Abigail Brinsmade, daughter of a deacon of the church and had his first son, Daniel, he returned to Washington and established The Gunnery. He became a leader in the Underground Railroad movement in Washington and an outspoken advocate of Temperance.
The nationally known abolitionist preacher, Henry Ward Beecher and his sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin both sent their children to be educated at The Gunnery during the Civil War years.
Influenced by his older brother, John, and the Yale professor, Theodore Woolsey, F.W. Gunn embraced the abolitionist cause, when he graduated from Yale in 1837 and began a teaching career in Washington. However, his abolistionist ideals were not shared by all member of Washington.
In 1839, his brother, brother-in-law Lewis Canfield, and Daniel Platt brought the fiery abolitionist speaker, Abby Kelly, to the Congregational Church, where she was denounced by the pastor, Gordon Hayes. That same year, they and Daniel Brinsmade were active in establishing the Anti-Slavery Society in Torrington.
Because the church (and social arbiter of the period) opposed the abolitionists, Frederick Gunn was unable to make a living as a teacher because people would not send their children to him. After a brief period in slightly more reformist New Preston, he went into exile in Towanda, PA in 1847.
In 1849, having married Abigail Brinsmade, daughter of a deacon of the church and had his first son, Daniel, he returned to Washington and established The Gunnery. He became a leader in the Underground Railroad movement in Washington and an outspoken advocate of Temperance.
The nationally known abolitionist preacher, Henry Ward Beecher and his sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin both sent their children to be educated at The Gunnery during the Civil War years.
The Gunnery and the Civil War
When the Civil War began, F.W. Gunn, who was too old to go, sought to prepare his students at The Gunnery for service in the Union Army in the fight against slavery, by creating soldiers’ camps and drilling with an instructor, Prof. Schmeideberg. The scholars adopted the Zouave uniforms, as pictured here (to the right) on Washington Green.
Mr. Gunn is creidted for successfully enspiring men in Washington to enlist, including a number of his students. The following is a list of Gunnery Students who served.
George Bissell
Gustave Black
Frank B. Boudinot
Edgar W. Calhoun
Cornelius B. Gold (class of 1854)
Lewis Hollister
Joseph Knowles
John Logan
Samuel J. Nettleton
John O'Brien
Edward Hook van Ingen
John Whittlesey (class of 1850s)
In August of 1861, Mr. Gunn marched the students 38 miles to Milford, CT and the shores of Long Island Sound. There they camped, drilled, and sang patriotic songs with a harmonium around the evening campfires for two weeks. The camping trips were such a success that he repeated them in 1863 and 1865.
After the war, Gunn established an annual summer semester camp at nearby Point Beautiful on Lake Waramaug which continued until his death in 1881. Parents and siblings of his scholars were welcome in the camps.
For these activities, F.W. Gunn is recognized by the American Camping Association as the originator of recreational camping in the United States.
Mr. Gunn is creidted for successfully enspiring men in Washington to enlist, including a number of his students. The following is a list of Gunnery Students who served.
George Bissell
Gustave Black
Frank B. Boudinot
Edgar W. Calhoun
Cornelius B. Gold (class of 1854)
Lewis Hollister
Joseph Knowles
John Logan
Samuel J. Nettleton
John O'Brien
Edward Hook van Ingen
John Whittlesey (class of 1850s)
In August of 1861, Mr. Gunn marched the students 38 miles to Milford, CT and the shores of Long Island Sound. There they camped, drilled, and sang patriotic songs with a harmonium around the evening campfires for two weeks. The camping trips were such a success that he repeated them in 1863 and 1865.
After the war, Gunn established an annual summer semester camp at nearby Point Beautiful on Lake Waramaug which continued until his death in 1881. Parents and siblings of his scholars were welcome in the camps.
For these activities, F.W. Gunn is recognized by the American Camping Association as the originator of recreational camping in the United States.