Commodore Joel Abbot, Camp No. 21

Private John Cook Headstone Repair

Brothers Guiot, left, and Lucier, right, make the finishing touches to the headstone of Private Cook. Notice Newport Harbor in the background.

The headstone of Private John Cook, 15th United States Infantry, in Fort Adams Cemetery, Newport, Rhode Island, had fallen and was broken in several places. Brother John Duchesneau of Commodore Joel Abbot, Camp No. 21, Rhode Island Department, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, brought this to the attention of Donald C. Walker Sr., Commander of Camp No. 21. Commander Walker formed a committee of Brothers Duchesneau, Ken Lucier, and Mike Kennedy and directed them to repair and reset the headstone.

Private Cook was killed in the line of duty while attempting to rescue the occupants of a sailboat which had capsized near Fort Adams on September 16th, 1863. He was 18 years old. His grave is the oldest grave in the Fort Adams cemetery.

Permission was received in mid June from Naval Station Newport, Director of Public Works, the cognizant authority responsible for Fort Adams Cemetery, to remove and repair the headstone. Brothers Lucier and Curt Berggren of Camp No. 21, and Brother Brian Guiot (PCC) of Elisha Hunt Rhodes, Camp No. 11, carefully removed the pieces of the headstone and transported them to Brother Guiot's house where the cleaning and repair would be accomplished.

Brother Guiot, who owns a monument company, had volunteered his time and resources to repair the headstone. Brother Guiot spent over twelve hours of his spare time cleaning and repairing the one hundred and thirty seven-year-old headstone. The work was especially delicate due to the age and material of the headstone. Because the headstone was made of marble, and marble dries out with age, the stone had become extremely brittle. The slightest mistake could have shattered the entire headstone. Brother Guiot expertly performed the cleaning and repair, and the headstone was ready for re-installation at the beginning of August.

Repaired Headstone of Private Cook.

On the 19th of August 2000, Brother Lucier and Brothers Guiot and Eugene Carpenter of Camp No. 11 re-installed the headstone. This entire project was very challenging due to the logistics involved and the condition of the headstone. Brothers Lucier, Guiot, Berggren, Carpenter and Duchesneau are to be commended for their selfless dedication to duty and tireless devotion to the principles of the SUVCW.

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