A brownstone monument in the Talcottville section of Vernon honors eight local residents who died during Civil War service.
The monument, in Mount Hope Cemetery, was dedicated in 1869 and restored in 2008. The monument stands on a hill near the cemetery’s Elm Hill Road entrance.
The base of the monument’s front (south) face bears a dedication reading, “Erected to the memory of the soldiers from this place who gave their lives to their country in the War Against the Rebellion.”
The south face also honors two Vernon residents who died during in the war. Frank E. Stoughton, who served in the 14th Regiment of the Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, enlisted in July of 1862 and was wounded during the Battle of Gettysburg. Stoughton was discharged due to disability in 1865, and died on January 1, 1866.
Horace Hunn, who served in the 16th Regiment, was wounded during the Battle of Antietam and died in a hospital on October 12, 1862. He is buried in the Antietam National Cemetery.
The 16th Regiment was formed in July of 1862 and left for Washington on August 29, 1862. The regiment saw its first action during the Battle of Antietam when the unit, barely trained, fought in the 40-Acre Cornfield.
The 16th sent 779 men into combat, and 43 were killed and 161 were wounded. A monument honoring the regiment was dedicated on the Antietam battlefield in 1894.
The east face of the Talcottville monument honors Philip F. Foster of Vernon, another member of the 16th Regiment killed at Antietam. Like Hunn, Foster is buried in the Antietam National Cemetery.
The east face also honors Henry S. Loomis of Vernon, who drowned in the Potomac on April 24, 1865 (a little over two weeks after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox).
The north face honors two other members of the 16th Regiment: Alonzo Hills, who died as a prisoner of war in Charleston, South Carolina, on October 6, 1864; and James Bushnell, who died in a hospital on November 15, 1862.
The west face honors Orrin O. Brown, who served with the 106th Regiment of the New York Volunteer Infantry. Brown died on April 22, 1863, while serving as part of a garrison protecting the Baltimore and Ohio railroad from Confederate raids in western Virginia.
The west face also honors Frances Bantley, a member of the 6th Regiment of the Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. Bantley died in the Confederate prisoner of war camp at Andersonville, Georgia, and is buried in the National Cemetery there.
Tags: Talcottville, Vernon