Ceremony to Honor Civil War Officer Alden Skinner Scheduled for Saturday

To commemorate of the 150th Anniversary of the death of Dr. Alden Skinner, the surgeon of the 25th Connecticut Volunteers, members of Alden Skinner Camp No. 45, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, will conduct a memorial service at his graveside at Grove Hill Cemetery in Rockville on Saturday.

The ceremony is scheduled to commence at noon.The Skinner Camp meets at the New England Civil War Museum at the Vernon Town Hall.

In the fall of 1862, at the age of 64, Skinner, a local physician, volunteered for military service and was commissioned as surgeon of the 25th Connecticut Volunteers.

Known to his soldiers as a man with a "big heart" and an "uncommonly strong and vigorous intellect,"  Skinner traveled with the regiment south to Louisiana, where it spent the winter around Baton Rouge.  Then in early spring, the regiment was ordered to make a diversion on the Confederate stronghold at Port Hudson.  On the return march, during a heavy rainstorm, Skinner contracted malaria and typhoid. He was transported back to Baton Rouge and was admitted to the General Hospital there. He succumbed to the effects of his illness on March 30, 1863.  

His remains were shipped home to Rockville, where he was laid to rest at Grove Hill Cemetery. In 1890, when the Rockville Sons of Union Veterans camp was chartered, it was named it in his honor.

For more information, visit The New England Civil War Museum Web site.