Zophar Skinner - Veteran of the Civil War

Zophar Skinner, a Civil War Veteran, was my great-great-grandfather. He died on Veteran's Day exactly 85 years ago at the age of 83.

Zophar Skinner
12 September 1843 - 11 November 1926

 Zophar enlisted in the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry, Company C on 5 June 1861 as a private.. He mustered out of the same unit on the 17 June 1864 as a full corporal. Despite serving in many of the major battles of the Civil War, he was one of the lucky ones and returned home unwounded.

Zophar died of a heart attack on the morning of 11 November 1926 in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, where he was born and had lived his entire life.

 An obituary published in the Pawtucket Times, 15 November 1926 said:

"As the body of the venerable veteran was laid to its final resting place the firing squad set off three volleys. Roger Calderwood sounded the call which comes at the end of a soldier's day - Taps."

Zophar had been active in the many Veteran's organizations that flourished at the end of the Civil War, and had served as a department commander of the G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) in Rhode Island. His obituary states that "the ritual of the Grand Army of the Republic was recited by Commander Henry Clark of the Ballou Post, G.A.R."