Community Corner

Hidden Gems Of Hartford And Tolland Counties

This week's Hidden Gem maintains a Civil War theme in a familiar place.

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An 1860s drum at the New England Civil War Museum and Research Center.
An 1860s drum at the New England Civil War Museum and Research Center. (Chris Dehnel/Patch )

VERNON, CT — This week's Hidden Gem maintains the Civil War theme of the previous Gem, but adds a different twist. Unlike the old powder keg from the Hazard Powder Company in Enfield that represented the sheer violence of the war, this week we turn to the music and a vintage drum that's part of a revised exhibit at the New England Civil War Museum and Research Center.

The museum is located in the second floor of the Vernon Town Hall in a fully preserved former Grand Army of the Republic Hall. The drum is on loan from the Buckingham Memorial Association.

The snare drum was manufactured by New York State's William Hall, who obtained his first military contract in 1861, museum archives tell us. He continued to supply the army with instruments throughout the war, according to the archives.

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Musicians, according to the museum, were classified into two groups — field musicians and regimental musicians. Regimental bands would play outside battles to boost morale. Band members would often assist medics. Field musicians would play during battles to both communicate and boost morale.

The original carrier of the drum is unknown.

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To see the drum, the powder keg and other Civil War artifacts with Connecticut connections, visit the museum. See the hours of operation here.
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The Hidden Gems series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path, all located within Hartford and Tolland counties. Do you have a favorite "hidden gem" in the area that you wish to see featured in this column? Email your ideas to tim.jensen@patch.com.
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