State Honoring First Puerto Rican In American Military, New Haven's Civil War Hero, Augusto Rodriguez

NEW HAVEN, CT — In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, a light is being shown on on the life of Second Lieutenant Augusto Rodriguez of the 15th Connecticut Infantry Regiment, the first Puerto Rican to serve in the American military, and a former New Haven resident now buried in Evergreen Cemetery.

Publisher Dr. Katherine Hermes, and writer and educator A. J. Schenkman featured Rodriquez in Connecticut Explored magazine, a Connecticut history publication.

"What’s most remarkable about Rodriguez is that he was willing to fight and die for his adopted country," Schenkman said. "It’s very powerful; when I delve into his life and share it with my students it’s a bit like breathing life back into his story."

According to Schenkman’s article, as Rodriguez began his second enlistment in 1862, he joined his fellow soldiers in singing 'Glory, Hallelujah' as they marched down 4th Avenue and Broadway in NYC amid a heavy thunderstorm. From there they journeyed to Washington D.C. to defend the nation’s capital.

According to the New Haven Museum's release on Rodriguez, during the Civil War, the 15th Regiment took part in two major battles: Fredericksburg and Wyse Fork. By the time he arrived at Fredericksburg, in December of 1862, Rodriguez had attained the rank of lieutenant.

Schenkman notes that Rodriguez did not recall this time with any fondness.

"In his pension application, written nearly a decade later, Rodriguez mentioned that the exposure from a winter march 'induced an attack of inflammatory rheumatism.' Despite enduring significant pain, his military service record showed no absences from duty," .Schenkman said. "He asserted that fellow soldiers sometimes took turns caring for him."

This is his story, as shared by the New Haven Museum:

On April 13, 1864, Rodriguez was promoted to second lieutenant. In the Battle of Wyse Fork Rodriguez and most of the 15th Connecticut were surrounded and forced to surrender. He was imprisoned at Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. Records of prisoners of war indicate that he was sent to a parole camp in Maryland in March 1865. Finally, in April 1865, he was formally exchanged and returned to his regiment.

Rodriguez returned to New Haven and his prewar job as a grocer’s clerk. The 1866–1867 “Benham’s New Haven Directory” listed him working at 247 State Street and living at 142 George Street with his wife, Eliza, and their daughter. Throughout the 1860s, he remained a clerk while moving to different residences. In 1871 and 1872, he vanished from business directories, likely due to worsening bouts of rheumatism. He applied for a military pension in 1873, with a surgeon noting that he could no longer work. His condition deteriorated further, leading to heart disease. By 1874, he found work in a cigar store and later as a bartender. In 1879, a doctor described him as physically weakened and “broken down in constitution.”

Rodriguez passed away on March 22, 1880. His obituary in The New Haven Evening Register reported that his “friends ministered to his wants” during his “long and painful illness.” It also explained that, since he served as a firefighter in Mutual Hook and Ladder No. 1,.

Rodriguez would be buried in the firemen’s lot at Evergreen Cemetery. His stone simply reads 'Rodirique.' In 2019, 'a portion of his earthly remains' were exhumed from Evergreen Cemetery, flown to Puerto Rico, and interred at Puerto Rico National Cemetery in Bayamon with full military honors.

"Lt. Rodriguez emigrated to the US from Puerto Rico when the island still belonged to Spain. As we approach the 250th anniversary of our country’s fight for Independence, it’s important to honor men like Rodriguez, especially during Hispanic Heritage Month, because they believed so ardently in liberty for all," Hermes said.

Schenkman discovered Rodriguez’s story while researching Hispanic history to share with his seventh-grade social-studies students in Danbury.

"I’m always trying to help students connect to their own history," he says. "There are 5,000-6,000 years of history in these kids and it’s important to tell their stories."