The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest military award in the United States. The medal was first awarded in the Civil War and is usually presented by the President of the United States to a recipient whose voluntary action was above and beyond the call of duty, and at the risk of one’s own life.

Of the tens of millions of men and women who have served the United States since the Civil War, only 3,498 have received the Medal of Honor.

Residents of Groton and Mystic can take great pride in knowing that two former residents, Robert A. Gray and John K. Bucklyn, were recipients of this prestigious military award during the Civil War.

Gray, a 27-year-old stonemason from Groton, enlisted as a private in the Union Army on Aug. 3, 1862 — Company C of the 21st Connecticut Infantry. Four months after enlisting, he was promoted to sergeant.

He participated in Civil War engagements at Fredericksburg, Suffolk, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Fort Harrison and Drewry’s Bluff.

Sgt. Gray was awarded the Medal of Honor as a result of his courageous and brave actions during a contested battle of Drewry’s Bluff in Virginia on May 16, 1864. The citation for his award read in part: “This soldier, while retreating with his regiment that had been repulsed, voluntarily returned in the face of enemy’s fire to a former position and rescued a wounded officer of his company who was unable to walk.”

Gray did not receive the award until July 1897, some 33 years later, not unusual in those days.

After the war, Gray returned to Groton where he spent the rest of his life. He resided on Ramsdell Street in Groton Bank and became a partner in the Groton-based granite and marble quarry business Merritt, Gray & Company.

He took an active interest in community civic life, serving as a representative to the General Assembly in 1880-1881 and vice president of the Groton Heights Centennial Committee in 1881. He was an active worker and participant in the perpetuation of historic Fort Griswold and served as vice president of the Groton Heights Centennial Committee in 1881.

Sgt. Gray passed away on Nov. 22, 1906, and is buried in the Colonel Ledyard Cemetery where, ironically, he had worked for over 10 years cutting grass, removing and burying stumps and building walls.

John K. Bucklyn was born March 15, 1834, in Foster, R.I. He was very well educated, first graduating from the Academy in East Greenwich. He received a college degree from Smithville Seminary in 1856 and subsequently graduated with honors from Brown University in Providence in 1861. He was a school teacher until the outbreak of the Civil War, enlisting in the Army in Providence on Sept. 23, 1861 — Battery E of the Rhode Island 1st Regiment Light Artillery.

Although offered a commission as an officer, Bucklyn enlisted as a private, rose through the non-commissioned ranks, and was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1862.

By his own account, he participated in over 45 battles during the war, including those at Fishers Hill, Cedar Creek, Petersburg, Gettysburg and Chancellorsville.

Lt. Bucklyn was awarded the Medal of Honor for his personal actions during the battle at Chancellorsville, Va., on May 3, 1863. The citation for his award reads: “Though himself wounded, [he] gallantly fought his section of the battery under a fierce fire from the enemy until his ammunition was all expended, many of the cannoneers and most of the horses killed or wounded, and the enemy with 25 yards of the guns, when disabling one piece, he brought off the other in safety.”

Bucklyn, who was promoted to the rank of captain, remained in the Army until 1865.

Just as was the case with Sgt. Gray, Bucklyn did not receive his award until July 1899 – 33 years after his action.

After the war, he became principal of a public school in Mystic. In 1868, he established the Mystic Valley Institute, located on Lincoln Avenue in Mystic. The facility, a private and co-educational boarding school, offered select courses not available at public schools.

In 1902, a scandalous newspaper article concerning unsanitary conditions at the school adversely affected its attendance numbers. The school ceased operation in June 1906.

Capt. Bucklyn, who died on May 15, 1906, is buried in a large granite mausoleum in the Lower Mystic Cemetery.

Our community has always shown a great deal of gratitude to the men and woman who have served their country in military service. It certainly is with great pride that we can say that two of our local residents, Robert A. Gray and John K. Bucklyn, are recipients of our nation’s highest military award – the Medal of Honor.