Community Corner

Annual Ceremony Honors Vernon Civil War Hero

It was the 150th anniversary of Alden Skinner's death.

A group of re-enactors, a member of Congress and officials from the New England Civil War Museum were among those who gathered at Grove Hill Cemetery on Saturday to pay homage to a local hero on the 150th anniversary of his death.

Dr. Alden Skinner was the surgeon of the 25th Connecticut Volunteers during the Civil War and a graveside ceremony honors him each year. The Alden Skinner Camp No. 45, Sons of Union Veterans, is a host camp of the New England Civil War Museum - and the Grand Army of the Republic Hall at the Vernon Town Hall.

A wreath was placed at the grave.

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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.

Skinner was often described by 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. In early spring, the regiment was ordered to make a diversion on the Confederate stronghold at Port Hudson as a cooperative effort with Ulysses Grant's Vicksburg campaign.

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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.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Courtney attended the ceremony.

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


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