Aaron Dwight Stevens Day

HARTFORD – Rep. Doug Dubitsky (R-47) attended April 9 a press conference honoring authors Tom Coletti of Sprague and Vic Butsch of Norwich. They are about to release a novel titled “A Journey to the Gallows” that chronicles the life of Aaron Dwight Stevens. The year 2015 marks the 155th anniversary of his hanging.
Stevens was a Norwich native and Civil War solider who served as Captain John Brown’s chief military aide during the failed raid on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. He was a staunch abolitionist who was sentenced to death at the age of 29 after confessing to the murder of a slave owner. Though he died young, he is known as one of the most zealous American abolitionists of all time.
Coletti and Butsch were honored with a legislative citation and a proclamation from the Governor proclaiming April 9 as “Aaron Dwight Stevens Day.
“I am proud to honor all three of these men who have at one point resided in my district,” Rep. Dubitsky said. “The preservation of history is incredibly important, and Stevens’s story is certainly one that needs to be told.”
The book will be released on April 14 and is available for pre-order at their website.
Citation presentation
Pictured from left: Tom Coletti, Rep. Dubitsky, Sen. Osten, Vic Butsch

