Elliot David Puffer was born in Sunderland on the 21st day of August 1847. He lived on the family farm on what is present day Reservation road. At the age of 17 he enlisted in the Massachusetts 34th regiment, being mustered in on December 30, 1863. He served during the war and was captured at Salem Virginia on the 15th of May 1864. While imprisoned at Andersonville Georgia he was tortured and starved, eventually dying of scurvy on the 12th of November 1864. He is buried at Andersonville National cemetery Georgia.
This image was taken by former Sunderland resident Mary Gorman who visited Andersonville while researching for her published book on the "Andersonville Raiders". In a 2021 correspondence with the Swampfield Historical Society Gorman stated that visiting the grave, taking the photo and presenting it to the society "seemed like the neighborly thing to do".