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MUSTERED OUT LbNA #4904

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jul 21, 2003
Location:
City:????
County:Mystery
State:Connecticut
Boxes:1
Planted by:The Engraver
Found by: Flutterby Flew By
Last found:Nov 2, 2008
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Jul 21, 2003
MUSTERED OUT, a Civil War Monument in West Cemetery, is signifcant historically because it marks an interest on the part of the people of this town and the State of Connecticut to provide burial places for men who died in the Civil War who were not otherwise provided for. This town set aside West Cemetery in 1894 for the burial of soldiers not having plots of their own. The monument was raised at that time."A few veterans have from time to time been interred on the lot," and that, in 1903, the State of Connecticut erected 23 headstones for these men who were buried in unknown graves on Southern soil. If the present count of 34 is complete, only nine stones were erected under the 1894 program.
Artistic Significance:
MUSTERED OUT is significant artisically because of the originally and innovative character of its concept. The idea of associating termination of service by death with termination by being mustered out in a ceremony to the roll of a drum was a novel idea for a Civil War monument. So far as it is known, it was not used elsewhere in Connecticut. The concept seems entirely appropriate and introduces an out-of-the-ordinary concept to monument design. Regrettably, no information has come to hand on how this unusual approach to Civil War monument design happened to occur in this town in 1894.
Drums were used in the Civil War for communication, sending messages and giving orders, as well as for band instruments. Drums played a prominent part in the ceremony when a unit was "mustered out" at the conclusion of its war-time service. The term also applied to termination of an individual's service without ceremonies.
The quality of the execution of the lettering and the likeness of the drum appear to be first class; after 100 years the monument is in excellent condition.
Standing facing the monument take a 20' reading, 1/3 up the wall, behind a flat rock you will find "MUSTERED OUT LETTERBOX"