Jon Fuller, a Massachusetts retiree with a passion for Civil War artifacts, spent years searching for a fallen sailor killed during the War of 1812. The British crewman from the H. M.
S. Terror was killed by local militiamen on the Connecticut coast and buried in an unmarked grave beneath an apple tree in Packer Cemetery. Fuller, who keeps Civil War cannonballs and swords at his home, decided to identify the man and mark his grave after reading about the incident.
He enlisted help from a friend to engrave a stone reading "Unknown H. M. S.
Terror August 13, 1814" and an archaeologist to locate the burial site. He visited the grave annually, playing "Scotland the Brave" from his phone. Then Mystery Grace Cleere, a retired historian who grew up near Fort Griswold Battlefield, discovered the grave while strolling through Packer Cemetery.
Her family history with historical sites and her work returning a World War II veteran's dog tag to his daughter revealed the sailor's identity, changing everything for Fuller.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing