This living history weekend will bring visitors back to 19th century America, when the nation was imperiled by a vast sectional conflict that threatened its very survival. Step back in time to the Civil War as more than 600 Union, Confederate, and civilian reenactors portray those who lived through this great struggle.

This year's event focuses on the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862. This single bloodiest day in American history, some 23,000 men were killed and wounded. Yet the battle was not all about the destruction unleashed. It also served as the catalyst for Abraham Lincoln's famous Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in the rebel held states. This act changed the entire nature of the war, from merely saving the Union to wider goals of freedom and humanity.

Connecticut to Arms: 1892 will bring to life this remarkable period in American history with New England's largest encampment, battle reenactments, living history presentations, speakers on a variety of topics, historical society and museum displays, and period suttlers selling their wares.