This page is dedicated to our Maine ancestors, sons and grandsons; fathers, uncles and cousins who served in the Civil War. While all were born in Maine, some served in regiments of other states.
Of the 32 Maine sons and grandsons whose Civil War service records I found, 15 were killed in action, or died of their wounds or disease. Civil War casualty rates were high, but not almost half. I’m probably missing service records of some Maine relatives who survived.
Organized in Augusta, Maine on October 31, 1861 for three years. The original members were mustered out on November 25, 1864 when their service was up, but later recruits, along with members of the 1st District of Columbia Cavalry and those who chose to reenlist, were retained in the regiment until its mustering out at Petersburg, Virginia on August 1, 1865.
Joseph COLEMAN’s grandson John Eldridge Coleman (1827-1902) served in Company B 1st Regiment, Maine Heavy Artillery
Dudley COLEMAN’s son-in-law William Wallace Gilbert (b. 3 Jun 1839 in Leeds, Kennebec, Maine – d. 21 Apr 1916 in Vassalboro, Maine.) He enlisted 30 Jan 1864 and transferred to Company G, Maine 1st Cavalry Regiment on 19 Feb 1864. Mustered out on 01 Aug 1865 at Petersburg, VA.
WW Gilbert Age 52
Detail showing WW Gilbert
Three hundred selected men from the 1st Regiment participated in the daring raid of Gen.Kilpatrick to the vicinity of Richmond, Feb. 27 to March 12, 1864, the loss of the 1st in this famous raid being 93 men killed, wounded or missing and over 200 horses. It also moved with the cavalry corps on Gen. Sheridan’s first raid, May 9, 1864, until within 3 miles of Richmond. In the engagement at Trevilian Station, June 24, 1864, its loss was 10 officers and 58 enlisted men.
During August of this year its loss in killed, wounded and missing was 49 men and 75 horses, and the total casualties during 1864 amounted to 295 officers and enlisted men. In Aug., 1864, seven companies of the 1st D. C. cavalry were transferred and assigned to the several companies of this regiment by a special order of the war department. The original members of the regiment whose term of service expired Nov. 4, 1864, were mustered out at Augusta, Me., on the 25th, while the regiment, now composed of veterans recruits and members of the 1st D. C. cavalry whose term had not expired, participated in the closing battles of the war; was mustered out of the U. S. service at Petersburg, Va., Aug., 1, 1865, and arrived in Augusta, Me., on the 9th.
Suffered more casualties in an ill-fated charge during the Siege of Petersburg June 18, 1864, than any Union regiment lost in a single day of combat throughout the war. It was also the Union regiment with the highest number of officers killed (23).
The regiment was mustered in Bangor, Maine, in 1862 as the 18th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment and consisted mostly of men and officers from the Penobscot River Valley (the area around Bangor and points east). It was commanded by Col. Daniel Chaplin, a Bangor merchant. Charles Hamlin, son of Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, was originally an officer in this regiment, but was promoted to a position on the staff of Maj. Gen. Hiram G. Berry before it saw significant action.
The regiment’s name was changed in 1863 to the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery Regiment, and it served in the defenses of Washington, D.C. before being reassigned to the Army of the Potomac during the Overland Campaign in the spring of 1864. At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, (May 8, 1864 – May 21, 1864) the regiment took its first heavy casualties—6 officers and 76 men killed, and another 6 officers and 388 men wounded.
At Petersburg, however, an ill-advised charge across an open field toward Confederate breastworks on June 18, 1864, ordered by Chaplin, resulted in the greatest single loss of life in a Union regiment to occur in the war, with 7 officers and 108 men killed, and another 25 officers and 464 men wounded. These casualties constituted 67% of the strength of the 900-man force. Chaplin survived the action but was killed by a sharpshooter Aug. 18 at Deep Bottom.
The regiment subsequently participated in the battles of Totopotomy, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Deep Bottom, Boydton road, Weldon railroad, Hatcher’s run, and in all the final movements resulting in the evacuation of Richmond and Petersburg and the surrender of Gen. Lee.
In the action on the Boydton plank road, Oct. 27, the regiment lost 3 commissioned officers and 29 men. In an engagement of a little more than an hour at Hatcher’s run, March 25, 1865 it lost 1 officer and 3 men killed, and 23 wounded and captured. The regiment was at Bailey’s cross-roads April 16, and later participated in the grand review at Washington.
All in all, the 1st Maine sustained one of the highest casualty rates in the war, with 421 killed, and another 260 dead of disease.
A monument to the 1st Maine stands on the former battlefield at Petersburg.
Isaac HAWES’ grandson Hadley O. Hawes (1847-1902) was drafted to Company G, Maine 3rd Infantry Regiment on 29 Aug 1863, two months after Gettysburg. Transferred on 28 Jun 1864, just 10 days after the ill-fated Petersburg charge to Company K, Maine 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment. Mustered out on 01 Sep 1866. Hadley’s twin Henry served in the 21st Maine
Samuel FOSTER’sgreat grandson Eben Foster (1837 Maine – 1864) enlisted in Company C, Maine 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment on 05 Feb 1863. Eben was killed in the Civil War. Eben enlisted in Company C, Maine 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment on 05 Feb 1863. Killed Company C, 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment Maine on 19 May 1864 at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia. In the end, the battle was tactically inconclusive, but with almost 32,000 casualties on both sides, it was the costliest battle of the Overland campaign. Eben was killed at the Harris Farm Engagement which claimed 1,598 casualties on both sides. The Harris Farm Engagement was the end of the long Battle of the Spotsylvania Courthouse.
Confederate dead lined up for burial at the Alsop farm May 19, 1864
Mustered in at Augusta, Maine for three year’s service on June 4, 1861 and were mustered out on June 28, 1864. Veterans who had re-enlisted and those recruits still liable to serve were transferred to 17th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
The 3rd Maine enrolled 1,586 men during its existence. It lost 10 officers and 124 enlisted men killed in action or died of wounds received in battle and an additional 1 officer and 148 enlisted men died of disease. 33 men died in Confederate prisons. Total fatalities for the regiment were 316 (20%)
The loss of the 3rd in killed and wounded at the battle of Fair Oaks was nearly one-third of the men engaged. It was in this engagement that Sergt.-Maj. F. W. Haskell of Waterville so greatly distinguished himself as to win the commendation of his colonel and of the entire regiment.
The 3d gave an excellent account of itself in the battle of Gettysburg. At the close of the second day’s fighting Gen. Sickles declared that, “The little 3d Me. saved the army today.” Its loss at Gettysburg was 113 killed, wounded and missing. On the return of the regiment to Augusta, June 11, 1864, only 17 officers and 176 enlisted men were left to be mustered out. Sixty-four of these men reenlisted, and together with the recruits were transferred to the 17th Me. Not one of the original field and staff officers returned with the regiment and only one of the original captains–the veteran Moses B. Lakeman–who returned in command of the regiment.
Oliver WEBBER’s son Herman Webber (b. Oct 1839, Vassalboro, Maine – d. 10 Aug 1862 New York from wounds suffered at Fair Oaks VA)
Herman enlisted in Company B, Maine 3rd Infantry Regiment on 04 Jun 1861. Mustered out on 30 Jun 1862. Herman was wounded at Fair Oaks, 4 June 1862, and died 10 Aug 1862.
Wounded at Battle of Fair Oaks (Peninsular Campaign) 1 Jun 1862. Admitted to General Hospital, Davids Island, New York Harbor 8 Jun 1862. Amputation of arm. Died 30 Jun 1862 (tetanic convulsions). Burial: Cypress Hill, 30 Jun 1862, grave number 143
Pvt Herman S. Webber (1839 – 1862) Co. B, 3rd Maine Infantry, 1861 Courtesy Chuck Russell Find A Grave Memorial# 105998579
Isaac HAWES’ grandson Hadley O. Hawes (1847-1902) was drafted to Company G, Maine 3rd Infantry Regiment on 29 Aug 1863, two months after Gettysburg. Transferred on 28 Jun 1864 to Company K, Maine 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment. Mustered out on 01 Sep 1866.
The Battle of Fair Oaks, also known as the Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks Station took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign. The battle was frequently remembered by the Union soldiers as the Battle of Fair Oaks Station because that is where they did their best fighting, whereas the Confederates, for the same reason, called it Seven Pines.
The Battle of Fair Oaks, Va. by Currier and Ives (1862)
It was the culmination of an offensive up the Virginia Peninsula by Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, in which the Army of the Potomac reached the outskirts of Richmond. Both sides claimed victory with roughly equal casualties, but neither side’s accomplishment was impressive. George B. McClellan’s advance on Richmond was halted and the Army of Northern Virginia fell back into the Richmond defensive works.
After the Battle of Seven Pines June 1862
Although the battle was tactically inconclusive, it was the largest battle in the Eastern Theater up to that time (and second only to Shiloh in terms of casualties thus far, about 11,000 total) and marked the end of the Union offensive, leading to the Seven Days Battles and Union retreat in late June. Union casualties were 5,031 (790 killed, 3,594 wounded, 647 captured or missing), Confederate 6,134 (980 killed, 4,749 wounded, 405 captured or missing)
Assembled in Rockland, Maine May 20th, 1861 with Colonel Hiram G. Berry as it’s commanding officer. He received four Knox County companies, one from Searsport, Winterport, Wiscasset, and Damariscotta, and two from Belfast. In all, 1,085 men, including a regimental band, were mustered. The regiment was mustered out of service July 19th, 1864, with the expiration of their term. The veteran volunteers and recruits were transferred to 19th Maine Infantry. Of the 1440 men that served in the regiment during the war 170 men were killed in action or died of wounds received in battle. An additional 443 were wounded, 137 men perished of disease, and 40 men expired in Confederate prison.
Seth RICHARDSON’s grandson Alfred W Richardson (b. 1842 in Freedom, Waldo, Maine; d. Jul 1861)
Alfred enlisted in Company B, Maine 4th Infantry Regiment on 15 Jun 1861. Mustered out 01 Jul 1861 at Hospital. The regiment left Maine on June 20th and went into action, a month later, at the First Battle of Bull Run July 21 1861. It seems more likely that Alfred died of wounds from Bull Run than of disease just two weeks after he was mustered in.
The regiment, organized in May 1861, was mustered in at Portland, Maine on 24 June 1861 for three years’ service. 193 original members were mustered out on 27 July 1864, while the reenlisted veterans and later recruits were transferred first into a battalion with the remaining members of the 6th Maine Infantry, and afterward was combined with those of the 7th Maine Infantry to form the 1st Maine Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
107 men were killed in action or died of wounds, while another 77 died of disease. Another reference only has 137 men dying or being killed in battle (though same volume, in appendix, also claims 143 for casualty count)
Edward STURGIS‘ grandson Edward G. Sturgis b: 1833 in Vassalboro; d: 3 May 1863 in KIA, Battle of Chancellorsville. In the 1850 census, Edward was living in Vassalboro with his eldest sister Eliza and brother-in-law Josiah Wentworth.
William B. Lapham, History of Bethel, Maine, (1981), 279, Edward G. Sturgis was mustered into Company I, Fifth Maine Regiment, November 13, 1961, and was killed in battle, May 3, 1863.
The Battle of Chancellorsville was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on May 3 in the vicinity of Fredericksburg. The campaign pitted Union Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s Army of the Potomac against an army less than half its size, Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Chancellorsville is known as Lee’s “perfect battle” because his risky decision to divide his army in the presence of a much larger enemy force resulted in a significant Confederate victory. The victory, a product of Lee’s audacity and Hooker’s timid decision making, was tempered by heavy casualties and the mortal wounding ofLt. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson to friendly fire, a loss that Lee likened to “losing my right arm.”.
The 6th Maine Infantry was organized in Portland, Maine and mustered in for a three year enlistment on July 15, 1861. The regiment was attached to W. F. Smith’s Brigade, Division of the Potomac, to October 1861. 2nd Brigade, Smith’s Division, Army of the Potomac, to March 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, IV Corps, Army of the Potomac, to May 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, VI Corps, to February 1863.
The regiment left Maine for Washington, D.C., Jul 17 1861. Duty in the defenses of Washington, D.C., until Mar 1862. Advance on Manassas, Va., Mar 10-15, 1862. Ordered to the Peninsula Mar 16. Advance toward Yorktown Apr 4-5. Siege of Yorktown Apr 5-May 4. Reconnaissance toward Yorktown Apr 6. Reconnaissance toward Lee’s Mills Apr 28. Battle of Williamsburg May 5. Duty at White House until May 18. Duty near Richmond until June 6 and picket on the Chickahominy until Jun 25. Seven days before Richmond Jun 25-Jul 1. Gaines’ Mill Jun 26. Gold-Inn’s Farm Jun 27. Savage Station Jun 29. White Oak Swamp Bridge Jun 30. Malvern Hill Jul 1. [Orson F Richardson is listed at The Battle of Cedar Mountain, which took place on Aug 9, 1862] Duty at Harrison’s Landing until Aug 15. Retreat from the Peninsula and movement to Centreville Aug 15-27. In works at Centreville Aug 27-31. Assist in checking Pope’s rout at Bull Run Aug 30, and cover retreat to Fairfax C. H. Sep 1. Maryland Campaign Sep-Oct. Sugar Loaf Mountain, Md., September 11-12. Crampton’s Pass, South Mountain, Sep 14. Battle of Antietam Sep 16-17. Duty in Maryland until Oct 29. The regiment lost a total of 255 men during service; 12 officers and 141 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 2 officers and 100 enlisted men died of disease.
Battle of Antietam by by Kurz & Allison, depicting the scene of action at Burnside’s Bridge
Seth RICHARDSON’s grandson Orson Franklin Richardson (b. 15 Mar 1845 in Vassalboro, Kennebec, Maine; d. 16 Oct 1862 in Smoketown, Maryland). Buried Antietam National Battlefield Site, Sharpsburg, MD 21782 Buried At: Site 3184
Orson F Richardson Gravestone
Orson was a Private in E Company of the 6th Maine Volunteer Infantry.
The Battle of Antietam also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the South, fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000 casualties on both sides. Orson died a month later, perhaps of disease or maybe due to injuries.
Col., George L. Beal; Lieut.-Col., James F. Fillebrown; Majs., Charles Walker, Charles S. Emerson. When the 1st Maine was mustered out of service in the Union army the various companies composing it, and which had enlisted in the State militia for two years and in the U. S. service for only three months, were ordered to rendezvous at Portland for the purpose of reorganizing the regiment to serve out the rest of their time. This was found to be partially impracticable, however, except by the employment of coercive measures. All the companies were reorganized except A, C and D, but 697 out of the 881 men were paid bounty as newly enlisted troops. Co. C was formed by a fusion of the three companies not able to organize separately; These companies were organized to
form the new 10th at Cape Elizabeth, Me., in Oct., 1861, and were mustered into the U. S. service as follows: Companies B, C, E, F, G, H, I, and K to serve two years from May 3, 1861, and A and D to serve three years from Oct. 4, 1861.
The regiment left Portland Oct. 6, 1861, and arrived in Baltimore on the 9th, where it remained encamped at “Patterson Park” until Nov. 4, when it moved to Relay House, Md., and relieved the 4th Wis. as guard of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad until Feb. 27, 1862. It afterward guarded the main line of the same road leading to Harper’s Ferry, and the railroads leading to Martinsburg and Charlestown, W. Va. The regiment was concentrated at the First Battle of Winchester on May 24, and the following day was given the dangerous duty of rear-guard to the forces of Gen. Banks on his retreat to Williamsport, Md., during which it suffered a loss of 90 men. At Williamsport it was assigned to the 1st brigade, 1st division, Banks’corps. May 28, it made a reconnoissance towards Martinsburg, advanced to Winchester on the 31st, occupied Front Royal June 22, and took part in the reconnoissance to Luray Court House on June 29. On July 6, it proceeded towards Culpeper Court House and arrived there on the 24th. Gen. Crawford, the brigade commander, often stated that the 10th Me. contained more scouts than all other regiments in the brigade combined. It subsequently participated in the battle of Cedar Mountain, where its losses were 173 men, and was in all the movements of Gen. Pope’s army on his retreat toward Washington. At the Battle of Antietam the regiment lost
20 killed and 48 wounded.
From Sept. 19, 1862, to Sept. 28, 1863, it was at Maryland heights, opposite Harper’s Ferry, Berlin, Md., Fairfax Station and Stafford Court House, Va., leaving the latter place on April 28, 1863, for Maine, as the two years’ term of service had expired. The original members were mustered out at Portland on May 7-8, 1863.
The regiment lost 8 officers and 74 enlisted men killed in action or dying of wounds received in battle. An additional officer and 53 enlisted men died of disease. Total fatalities for the regiment were 136
Joseph COLEMAN’s grandson Thomas Augustus Eastman (1842-1919) enlisted in Company C, Maine 10th Infantry Regiment on 05 Oct 1861. Mustered out on 07 May 1863.
Organized at Augusta, Maine and mustered in on Dec 31, 1861. The regiment left the state for Boston, Massachusetts on Feb 5, 1862, and there embarked on Feb 6 on the steamer “North America.” They arrived at Ship Island, Mississippi on March 8. The regiment was attached to Butler’s New Orleans Expeditionary Corps, Jan 1862.
The Regiment remained at Ship Island until May 19, 1862, then moved to New Orleans, Louisiana from May 19 to 25. They remained on duty there until July 7. They moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana on July 7. A . The Regiment participated in the Battle of Baton Rouge on August 5. The 14th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment is the focus of the poem “On the Men of Maine killed in the Victory of Baton Rouge, Louisiana” written by Herman Melville.
They moved to Carrollton on August 20, and remained on duty there until December 13, 1862. It lost 86 killed or died of wounds and 332 died from disease.
Seth RICHARDSON’s grandson Isaac Cummings (b. 17 Jun 1842 in Freedom, Waldo, Maine; d. 21 Aug 1862 in New Orleans, Louisiana)
Isaac enlisted in Company B, Maine 14th Infantry Regiment on 04 Dec 1861. Promoted to Full Corporal. Fought at the Battle of Baton Rouge, a ground and naval battle fought in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, on August 5, 1862. The Union victory halted Confederate attempts to recapture the capital city of Louisiana. Mustered out on 21 Aug 1862 at New Orleans, LA.
Seth RICHARDSON’s grandson Hugh Anderson Cummings (b. 18 May 1845 in Freedom, Waldo, Maine; d. 1933 Indiana); Hugh enlisted in Company G, Maine 14th Infantry Regiment on 15 Mar 1865. Mustered out on 28 Aug 1865.
It is also said he served with the 8th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Co. B.
Seth RICHARDSON’s grandson Hale P Sylvester (b. 10 Sep 1844 in Unity, Waldo, Maine; d. 9 Jan 1937 in Freedom, Waldo, Maine) enlisted in Company G, Maine 14th volunteer Infantry Regiment on 15 Mar 1865. They marched to Augusta, Georgia from May 6 to 14, 1865 and then on to Savannah between May 31 and June 7. They then moved to Darien June 9–10. Mustered out on 28 Aug 1865. The regiment was mustered in for three year’s service on Dec 31, 1861 and were mustered out on Jan 13, 1865.
Organized in Augusta, Maine December 6-31, 1861 and mustered in January 23, 1862 for a three year enlistment
Cols., John McCluskey, Isaac Dyer; Lieut.-Cols., Isaac Dyer, Benjamin B. Murray, Jr., Pembroke; Majs., Benjamin Hawes, Franklin M. Drew, James H. Whitmore, John R. Coates. This regiment was raised principally in Aroostock county, and was organized at Augusta, Me., from Dec. 6 to 31, 1861, to serve for three years. It was mustered into the U. S. service on Jan. 23, 1862,[one week before Augustus’ enlistment] and embarked from Portland March 6 for Ship island, Miss., at which date it numbered 962 men, rank and file. The regiment remained encamped at Carrollton, La., from May 19 to Sept. 18, during which time it suffered much from malarial diseases. In September it went to Pensacola, Fla., where it remained until June 21, 1863. Here the health of the men so improved that the number in hospital was reduced to less than one-quarter. During the first year of its service the 15th lost by desertion, discharge and death 329 men, although it had never been in battle. On its return to New Orleans in June, 1863, it joined Gen. Banks’ expedition to Texas and rendered conspicuous service in the capture of Fort Esperanza, in Matagorda bay.
While at Matagorda peninsula, from Jan. 17 to Feb. 28, 1864, three-fourths of the original members of the regiment reenlisted for another term of three years. Returning to New Orleans in March, the regiment formed a part of Gen. Banks’ Red River expedition, during which it marched more than 700 miles in two months, and participated in the battles of Sabine cross-roads, Pleasant Hill, Monett’s Ferry and Mansura plains. In June, 1864, it was ordered to New Orleans, and on July 5 embarked on transports for Fortress Monroe, Va., where it arrived on the 17th. Six companies were then ordered to Bermuda Hundred, and the remaining companies participated in the campaign up the valley in pursuit of Early’s army. The command was reunited at Monocacy Junction, Md., Aug. 4, when the veterans of the regiment who had reenlisted received a 35 days’ furlough, returning to the field Sept. 27. In October it went to Martinsburg, where it remained until Jan. 7, 1865.
The original members of the regiment who had not reenlisted were mustered out on Jan. 18, 1865, but the reenlisted men, recruits, volunteers, drafted men and substitutes forwarded from Camp Berry, Portland, were sufficient to reorganize the regiment, which was ordered to Washington in April, and went to Savannah, Ga., on June 4. On the 13th, it embarked on transports for Georgetown, S. C., where it was assigned to the 3d separate brigade, Department of South Carolina, and remained here until the date of muster out, July 5, 1866, whence the men went to New York, where they were finally paid and discharged.
Dudley COLEMAN’s son-in-law Augustus Plummer was born about 1833 in Maine and died in the Civil War.
On 31 Jan 1862 Augustus enlisted in Company D, 15th Infantry Regiment Maine. He was promoted to Full Musician in 1862. Company D, 15th Infantry Regiment Maine mustered out on 5 Jul 1866, but Augustus had died before then because on 5 Sep 1863, his wife Mrs. Roxannah Plummer married Charles R. Church. Roxannah and Charles didn’t last because she married a third time on 22 Aug 1869 to Marcellus C. Lovejoy.
Roxanna Parmenter Coleman was widowed when Augustus Plummer didn’t return from the Civil War
Jonathan PARKS‘ son George (b. 4 Jun 1819, Upper Kent, New Brunswick – d. 6 Aug 1864, Washington, DC) also served in the 15th Maine. George enlisted as a Private on 26 Jan 1864 at the age of 42 in Company G, 15th Infantry Regiment Maine. George was still enlisted in Company G, 15th Infantry Regiment Maine when he died of disease on 7 Aug 1864 in Washington, DC.
Battle of Pleasant Hill Reenactment
George participated in the Red River Campaign, a series of battles fought along the Red River in Louisiana from March 10 to May 22, 1864. The campaign was a Union initiative, fought between approximately 30,000 Union troops under the command ofMaj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, and Confederate troops under the command of Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor, whose strength varied from 6,000 to 15,000.
The campaign was primarily the plan of Union General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck, and a diversion from Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s plan to surround the main Confederate armies by using Banks’s Army of the Gulf to capture Mobile, Alabama. It was a dismal Union failure, characterized by poor planning and mismanagement, in which not a single objective was fully accomplished.
While at Matagorda peninsula in Texas, from Jan. 17 to Feb. 28, 1864, three-fourths of the original members of the Maine 15th regiment reenlisted for another term of three years. Returning to New Orleans in March, the regiment formed a part of Gen. Banks’ Red river expedition, during which it marched more than 700 miles in two months, and participated in the battles of Sabine cross-roads [Battle of Mansfield], Battle of Pleasant Hill, Cane river crossing [Battle of Monett’s Ferry] and Mansura plains [Battle of Mansura]. In June, 1864, it was ordered to New Orleans, and on July 5 embarked on transports for Fortress Monroe, Va., where it arrived on the 17th. Six companies were then ordered to Bermuda Hundred, and the remaining companies participated in the campaign up the valley in pursuit of Early’s army. The command was reunited at Monocacy Junction, MD, Aug. 4, when the veterans of the regiment who had reenlisted received a 35 days’ furlough, returning to the field Sept. 27.
Battle of Mansfield Reenactment
Organized at Augusta, Maine, and mustered into Federal service for a three year enlistment on August 14, 1862. The regiment was discharged from service on June 5, 1865.
1,907 men served in the 16th Maine Infantry Regiment at one point or another during its service. It lost 181 enlisted men killed in action or died of wounds. 578 members of the regiment were wounded in action, 259 died of disease, and 76 died in Confederate prisons for a total of 511 fatalities from all causes, a rate of 57%.
Pvt. Gustavus Vacy Webber Co E 16th Maine Volunteers. Photo taken about the time of his enlistment Jul. 1862
Oliver WEBBER’s son Gustavus Vacy Webber (b. 16 Aug 1832 Vassalboro, Maine – d20 Jan 1917 China, Kennebec, Maine) enlisted as a Private on 14 August 1862 at the age of 28. in Co E -16th Maine -Wounded at Gettysburg, see below. Gus Webber was discharged 16 Dec 1863 with disability from leg wound received 1 July 1863 Gettysburg, PA (where he was captured and paroled 3 July 1863)
Gustavus V Webber, wife Mary, daughter Alice, Photo taken about 1865 or 1866 as Alice was born in 1865. Mary died in 1870.
Oliver WEBBER’s son Virgil H Webber (b. 1836 in Maine – d. 1 Jul 1862 Gettysburg PA). Virgil served in the same company as his brother Gustavus. Virgil was killed 1 Jul 1863, the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Pvt Virgil H. Webber (1836 – 1862)
Virgil and his brother Gustavus (also wounded in this action) were in Company E, 16th Maine Regiment. which arrived around 11: 30 on the morning of July 1, 1863, as part of two divisions of the 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac that arrived to join a fight that had been raging all morning, as the Confederates advanced on Gettysburg from the west and from the north. Among them was the 16th Maine. The regiment, along with the rest of the army, had been marching since June 12 up from Virginia. 16th Maine fought bitterly for approximately three hours in the fields north of the Chambersburg Pike; but by mid-afternoon, it was evident that, even with the addition of the rest of the 1st Corps and the entire 11th Corps, the position of the Union forces could not be held. They began to fall back toward the town of Gettysburg.
The 16th Maine was then ordered to withdraw to a new position to the east of where they had been fighting. “Take that position and hold it at any cost!” was the command. This meant that those of the 275 officers and men of the regiment who had not already become casualties had to sacrifice themselves to allow some 16,000 other men to retreat. This they valiantly did, but they were soon overwhelmed and forced to surrender to the Confederates.
As the Southern troops bore down upon them, the men of the 16th Maine spontaneously began to tear up into little pieces their “colors.” Like other Union regiments, the 16th Maine carried an American flag and a regimental flag, known collectively as “the colors.” “For a few last moments our little regiment defended angrily its hopeless challenge, but it was useless to fight longer,” Abner Small of the 16th Maine wrote after the battle.
“We looked at our colors, and our faces burned. We must not surrender those symbols of our pride and our faith.” The regiment’s color bearers “appealed to the colonel,” Small wrote, “and with his consent they tore the flags from the staves and ripped the silk into shreds; and our officers and men that were near took each a shred.”
Each man hid his fragment of the flags inside his shirt or in a pocket. The Confederates were thus deprived of the chance to capture the flags as battle trophies. Most of the 16th Maine survivors treasured these remnants for the rest of their lives and bequeathed them to their descendents, some of whom still possess them as family heirlooms to this day.
By sunset on July 1, 11 officers and men of the 16th Maine had been killed, 62 had been wounded, and 159 had been taken prisoner. Company E suffered heavy losses 3 killed, 8 wounded including Capt,William A. Stevens and Lt. Aubrey Leavitt and 14 taken prisoner including Capt. Leavitt. Only 38 men of the Regiment managed to evade being captured and report for duty at 1st Corps headquarters. But the 16th Maine had bought precious time for the Union Army. Those whose retreat they had covered were able to establish a very strong position just east and south of the center of the town of Gettysburg along Cemetery Ridge. During the night and into July 2 the 1st and 11th Corps were reinforced by the rest of the Army of the Potomac. For the next two days they would withstand successive assaults by the Confederates until the final repulse of Pickett’s Charge, on 3 Jul.
Cols., Thomas A. Roberts, George W. West, Charles P. Mattocks; Lieut.-Cols., Charles B. Merrill, William Hobson; Majs., George W. West, Charles P. Mattocks. This regiment was recruited chiefly from the counties of York, Cumberland, Androscoggin and Oxford, and was mustered into the U. S. service at Camp King, Cape Elizabeth, Aug. 18, 1862, to serve for three years.
17th Maine Volunteer Infantry (1862-64)
The 17th left the state for Washington Aug 21, 1862, and occupied the line of forts on the east side of the Anacosta and north side of the Potomac rivers, until Oct 7, engaged in both heavy artillery and infantry drill and garrison duty. It then joined the 3d brigade (Berry’s), 1st division (Birney’s), 3d corps, at Upton’s hill, Va. On Dec. 13, 1862, it participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg, losing 2 men killed and 19 wounded, and was complimented by Gen. Berry for the steadiness of the men, who were under fire for the first time.
The regiment remained encamped at Falmouth, Va., until May 1, 1863, when it took part in the Chancellorsville campaign, being hotly engaged at Chancellorsville on May 2-3, losing 113 men in killed, wounded and missing out of about 625 men in the action.
The regiment was next engaged at Gettysburg, during the last two days of the battle, where it lost 132 in killed, wounded and missing.
On Nov. 27, it took a prominent part in the Battle of Mine Run, losing 52 men. It wintered at Brandy Station until March 25, 1864, during which time its ranks were filled by returned convalescents and recruits, and numbered about 500 men for the spring campaign. It was now assigned to the 2nd brigade, 3d division, 2nd army corps, and participated in the battle of the Wilderness, losing 24 men killed, 147 wounded and 12 missing.
On May 12th, the corps made its famous charge, part of the Battle of Spotslyvania Court House, upon the enemy’s lines at the Po river, where the regiment lost 53 men. Surviving participants attempted to describe in letters, diaries, and memoirs the hellish intensity of that day, many noting that it was beyond words. Or, as one put it: “Nothing can describe the confusion, the savage, blood-curdling yells, the murderous faces, the awful curses, and the grisly horror of the melee.” May 12 was the most intensive day of fighting during the battle, with Union casualties of about 9,000, Confederate 8,000; the Confederate loss includes about 3,000 prisoners captured in the Mule Shoe.
On May 23, in the charge which drove the enemy across the North Anna river, it lost 23 men. It was under fire at Cold Harbor, and in two assaults on the enemy’s works at Petersburg it lost 84 men.
Subsequently it encamped near Fort Sedgwick, where it remained until Feb. 5, 1865, having meanwhile taken part in the attack on the Weldon railroad under Gen. Warren. They subsequently participated in all the movements of the 2nd corps in the vicinity of Hatcher’s run, until March 29, 1865. On May 1, it left Burkesville, Va., for Washington, where it was mustered out on June 4. Its aggregate losses during the years 1862, 1863 and 1864 were 745. The 17th Maine suffered the highest battle casualties of any Maine regiment.
Joseph COLEMAN’s grandson Nathaniel Bryant Coleman (1833 – 1927) Enrolled in Colby College in 1859 and in 1860 transferred to Princeton. The death of a brother called him back to Maine and the outbreak of war put an end to his college course. He enlisted as a Hospital Steward on 15 Aug 1862 in Company S, 17th Infantry Regiment Maine on 15 Aug 1862. Promoted to Full Assistant Surgeon on 22 Nov 1863. Mustered Out Company S, 17th Infantry Regiment Maine on 4 Jun 1865 at Washington, DC.
In 1865 he graduated in medicine from Dartmouth and practiced medicine and surgery in New Hampshire, California and Washington.
At the beginning of the Civil War the personnel of the Medical Department of the regular army was composed of one surgeon-general with the rank of colonel, thirty surgeons with the rank of major, and eighty-four assistant surgeons with the rank of first lieutenant for the first five vears of service, and thereafter with the rank of captain, until promoted to the grade of major. There was no hospital corps, but the necessary nursing and other hospital assistance were performed by soldiers temporarily detailed to hospital duty from organizations of the line of the army, (the qualifications and character of the soldiers so detailed were usually far from satisfactory).
At the beginning of the war, each regimental surgeon was furnished with a suitable equipment for his regiment for field service, in quantities regulated by the supply table. This table, which was revised about a year later, seemed to contemplate the medical and surgical outfitting of regiments on the basis of independent service, and when they became brigaded much of the equipment so supplied was found to be not only unduly heavy and cumbrous but also unnecessary.
The medical and surgical material available on the firing line was practically that carried by the surgeon in his case, known as the ” surgeon’s field companion,”and by his orderlv in the “hospital knapsack,” a bulky, cumbersome affair weighing, when filled, about twenty pounds.
Wounds were expected-nay, encouraged-to suppurate, and that they could heal without inflammation was undreamed of by the keenest surgical imagination. Their repair was always expected to be a slow, painful, and exhausting process. Nothing in the nature of antiseptics was provided. The cleanliness of wounds, except in respect to the gross forms of foreign matter, was regarded as of little or no importance. Even the dressings carried into action were few and scanty; where the soldier of the present carries on his person an admirable sterile dressing for wounds as part of his military equipment, in the Civil War the injured man covered his wounds as best be might with a dirty handkerchief or piece of cloth torn from a sweaty shirt. Elastic bandages for controlling hemorrhage were unknown, the surgeon relying, except in the case of larger vessels, on packing the wound with astringent, coagulant, and generally harmful chemicals. Medicines were carried in pill form, often largely insoluble and uncertain in result, or else in liquid form, difficult to carry and liable to loss. Soluble tablets were unknown. Crude drugs, like opium, were carried in lieu of their concentrated active principles, like morphine, now almost exclusively employed. Not a single heart stimulant of those regarded as most effective by modern medical science bad place in the surgeon’s armament carried in the field. A little chloroform was carried, but the production of surgical anesthesia was still a relatively new procedure, and several hundred major operations were reported during the war in which no anesthetic was employed.
In the first part of the war, each regiment had a hospital of its own, but the medicine-chest, mess-chest, and bulky hospital supplies were transported in wagons of the field-train, and hence were usually far in the rear and inaccessible. Panniers containing the more necessary dressings medicines, and appliances were devised to be carried along into action by pack-mules, but they were inconvenient and heavy, and were generally brought up in the ambulances after the fighting. Special wagons for medical supplies were then devised.
Surgical instruments were furnished by the Government to, each medical officer, who receipted for and was responsible for them. They were contained in four cases, one for major operations, one for minor operations, one a pocket-case, and one a field-case to be carried by the surgeon on his person into action. The instruments were well assorted, but they were used indiscriminately and without more than superficial cleansing upon both flesh and festering wounds, with the result that they habitually conveyed infection.
Under the surgical practice of the time, germs of blood poison, gangrene, and lockjaw were conveyed into the body. Moreover, it was the custom for the surgeons to undertake the most severe operations at the front, often under fire, under conditions in which even a pretense of surgical cleanliness could not have been maintained, even if the knowledge of the time bad been sufficient to cause it to be attempted. What we would now term ” meddlesome surgery ” was not peculiar to the army but was characteristic of general surgical practice of the time. In fact, toward the end of the war the best surgeons in the country were probably those with the military forces, and the admirable results which they frequently achieved bear evidence, not only of their accurate anatomical knowledge and surgical dexterity but of the amount of injury and infection which the human organism can resist.
The 20th Maine had an initial enrollment of 1,621 men, losing 150 dead from combat, 146 dead from disease, 381 wounded, and 15 in Confederate prisons.
The Maine 20th Volunteer Infantry Regiment is famous for its defense of Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863. When the regiment came under heavy attack from the Confederate 15th Alabama regiment, the 20th Maine ran low on ammunition after one and a half hours of continued fighting; it responded to the sight of rebel infantry forming again for yet another push at them by charging downhill with fixed bayonets, surprising and scattering the Confederates, thus ending the attack on the hill.
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Had the 20th Maine retreated from the hill, the entire Union line would have been flanked, and would have most likely lost the battle of Gettysburg. If the Union had lost the battle of Gettysburg the Confederate army could possibly been able to march on to Washington D.C. and end the war. The 20th Maine’s action in holding the hill has been credited with helping to turn the tide of the war.
In 1989 members of the 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantrydecided that they would portray Company A of the 20th Maine at their battle reenactments.
The soldiers of Company A came from nearly a dozen little towns that are scattered in the lower central portion of the state. Unincorporated townships such as Clinton, Sidney, Freedom, Winslow, Alton, Solon, Rome, Alfred, Pittsfield, Concord, Anson, and Belgrade are shown on the regimental roster for 1862. However, of the 98 soldiers that made up the original company, the largest number (23) came from the town of Waterville on the Kennebec River some forty miles from Portland, (Maine) and twenty miles each way from Brunswick and Augusta. The initial Captain of Company A (Isaac S. Bangs Jr.) [a relative of Amasa’s sister-in-law Abigail Bangs] and 1st Lieutenant Addison W. Lewis, both came from Waterville. Two Sergeants, George C. Getchell and Reward A Sturtevant plus three Corporals, William H. Low, Charles R. Shorey and David J. Lewis also came from this city of approximately 500 souls in 1862.
Of the total soldiers in Company A (98) Captain Bangs reported in November of 1862 that only 59 were fit for duty. John Pullen in his book “The Twentieth Maine” writes that the reason for these reduced numbers was disease contracted after the Battle of Antietam and unusually cold weather in Maryland during October of 1862. Like the rest of the inexperienced regiment, Company A was spared participation in the great battle of Antietam only to be devastated from exposure (they were without even shelter halves) and microbes made worse by camp life, poor diet and unsanitary conditions.
Captain Isaac Bangs Jr. enlisted as a private on August 9, 1862 but was appointed commander of Company A by Colonel Adelbert Ames on August 29, 1862 when the regiment was mustered into Federal service. He was a 31 year old married cashier at the time. Captain Bangs served until January of 1863 when he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and later served as Colonel of the 7th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery on garrison duty in defense of New Orleans, Louisiana until his honorable discharge in July of 1864. In March of 1865 he was given the title of Brevet Brig. General of U.S. Volunteers.
The 20th Maine is famous for holding the left flank of the Union line at Little Round Top, saving the Battle of Gettysberg and possibly the entire Civil War
The best known engagement for the 20th Maine was the Battle of Gettysburg. Company A took up position just to the right of where the battle line bent to the left. Casualties were approximately 30% for both the company and the regiment. The report of the state Adjutant General for December, 1863 shows the effects of the hard fighting. There were no commissioned officers for the company at that time. The report was filed by 1st Lieutenant William W. Morrell who was then commander of Company H. Of a total 83 soldiers only 31 were fit for duty. Howard L. Prince, a 22 year old school teacher from Cumberland, Maine, was initially the Regimental Quartermaster but was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in February of 1864 then Captain of Company A in December of that year.
That final year of the war was very hard on the 20th Maine and Company A. Very few of the “Boys of 62″ survived until the end in 1865. In his Spring campaign of 1864 General Grant called for the conversion of garrisoned forces of heavy artillery into infantry because of the terrible casualties at such places as Spotsylvania Courthouse, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. States such as Maine were called upon to convert units of coastal artillery to help depleted infantry regiments. In October of 1864 the records indicate that Company A received approximately 40 transfers from the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery which had been in state service until this time. The final numbers indicate only one commissioned officer (Captain Prince), two Sergeants, two Corporals and approximately 50-60 total enlisted soldiers who stood along that road at Appomattox Court House with General Joshua L. Chamberlain to accept the surrender of General Robert E. Lee’s ragged Army of Northern Virginia in April of 1865.
20th Maine Volunteer Reunion — Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1889
Seth RICHARDSON’s grandson Amasa Cummings (b. May 1840 in Freedom, Waldo, Maine; d. 23 Apr 1910 in Palermo, Waldo, Maine.) Amasa enlisted in Company A, Maine 20th Infantry Regiment on 29 Aug 1862
Seth RICHARDSON’s grandson Ira R. Sylvester (b. 13 Oct 1842 in Albion Gore, Kennebec, Maine; d. 20 May 1910 in Washington, Knox, Maine) enlisted in Company A, Maine 20th Infantry Regiment on 29 Aug 1862. Mustered out on 30 Jun 1865. The 20th Maine marched from Appomattox, Virginia, on May 2, reaching Washington, D.C., on May 12, where it was mustered out of service on July 16, 1865.
Col., Elijah D. Johnson; Lieut.Col., Nathan Stanley; Maj., Benjamin G. Merry. This regiment, like the seven succeeding ones, was raised under the call of Aug. 4, 1862, for 300,000 militia for nine months’ service. It was mustered into the U. S. service at Bangor, Oct. 14, 1862, and started for Washington, D. C., on the 21st. While en route it was ordered to report to Maj.-Gen. N. P. Banks, commanding the Department of the Gulf, at New York city, then organizing his expedition for the opening of the Mississippi. It remained quartered at East New York for two months and then proceeded to New Orleans, where it arrived early in Feb., 1863.
It went at once to Baton Rouge and was assigned to the 1st brigade, 1st division, 19th corps. The men suffered from disease contracted in the low southern country, despite the precautions taken. Baton Rouge was now an important Union “base,” and theregiment was occupied in doing picket duty and protecting the city from guerrilla attacks. On March 14th, it advanced with the corps against Port Hudson, while Adm. Farragut’s fleet was engaged in passing the enemy’s works there on that memorable night.
Our relative Henry Hawes was killed April 9
The army, however, made no attack in force at that time, but on May 21 it engaged the enemy at Plains Store. The regiment took part in the siege of Port Hudson and participated in the assaults on May 27 and June 14, losing in the two engagements 88 men killed and wounded. Though its term of service had expired during the siege, the regiment volunteered to remain until the capture of Port Hudson, which occurred on July 9, 1863. Preparations were then at once made to transport home those regiments that had already remained beyond their term of service. The 20th was assigned to the 2nd brigade of the post forces, and July 25 embarked for Maine. With other regiments, it was the first to pass up the Mississippi river and received a continuous ovation. It arrived in Augusta, Aug. 7, where the men were mustered out on Aug. 25th, by Lieut. F. E. Crossman of the 17th U. S. infantry.
The regiment lost a total of 172 men during service; 1 officer and 26 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 144 enlisted men died of disease.
Seth RICHARSON II’s grandson Ira Richardson Hodges (1816 – 1896) age 44 enlisted in Company D, Maine 21st Infantry Regiment on 13 Oct 1862.Mustered out on 25 Aug 1863 at Augusta, Maine.
Isaac HAWES’ grandson Henry Hawes (1847-1902) enlisted in Company E, Maine 21st Infantry Regiment on 13 Oct 1862. Killed in action 09 Apr 1863.
His twin Hadley served in Maine 3rd Infantry Regiment and 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment.
Charles B. WEBBER ‘s great grandson Charles E Webber (1831-1863), son of Horatio Nelson Webber enlisted in Company D, Maine 21st Infantry Regiment on 13 Oct 1862 as a Private. He died on duty in the Civil War 04 Apr 1863 and is buried in the Baton Rouge National Cemetery.
I don’t know whether Charles died in battle or of disease, given the regiment totals above, disease is much more likely. His regiment was in involved in operations, but his regiment was assisting in operations around Port Hudson a few days before his death.
The Siege of Port Hudson occurred from May 22 to July 9, 1863, when Union Army troops assaulted and then surrounded the Mississippi River town of Port Hudson, Louisiana, during the American Civil War.
Confederate batteries fire down onto Union gunboats on the Mississippi.
In cooperation with Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s offensive against Vicksburg, Mississippi, Union Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks’s army moved against the Confederate stronghold at Port Hudson on the Mississippi River. On May 27, 1863, after their frontal assaults were repulsed, the Federals settled into a siege that lasted for 48 days. Banks renewed his assaults on June 14 but the defenders successfully repelled them. On July 9, 1863, after hearing of the fall of Vicksburg, the Confederate garrison of Port Hudson surrendered, opening the Mississippi River to Union navigation from its source to the Gulf of Mexico.
Barbette position at Port Hudson mounting a 10-inch (254 mm) Columbiad. This type of cannon would use a 102 pound shell, projected from a smooth bore.
-Col., George M. Atwood; Lieut. Cols., Charles T. Bean, Eben Hutchinson; Majs., Eben Hutchinson, William Holbrook. This regiment was mustered into the U. S. service at Augusta, Oct. 16, 1862, to serve for nine nonths. On the 29th it left for New York and reported to Maj.Gen. Banks. The regiment was detained at East New York by sickness until Jan. 12, 1863, when it embarked for New Orleans, arriving there Feb. 14. On the 26th it was ordered to Bonnet Carre, 40 miles above New Orleans, and was there assigned to the 3d brigade, 2nd division, under command of Gen. Nickerson. While at this place details from the regiment were variously engaged in active duties at different times and places. On May 21, it was ordered to Port Hudson and participated in the entire siege of that stronghold, including the desperate assaults of May 27 and June 14, but suffered few casualties.
The southern climate, however, worked havoc in their ranks, as they lost 184 men from disease and nearly 100 more were discharged for disability. Of the 900 men who went out with the regiment, 570 returned. It left Port Hudson for Maine, via Cairo, Ill., July 24, arrived at Augusta on Aug. 6, and was mustered out on the 25th of the same month, after a term of service of nearly one year. None was killed in battle or died of wounds.
Samuel FOSTER’s grandson Philander Soule Foster (1828-1899) enlisted in Company A, Maine 24th Infantry Regiment on 11 Oct 1862. Mustered out on 25 Aug 1863 at Augusta, ME.
Col., Nathaniel H. Hubbard; Lieut.-Col., Philo Hersey; Maj., James N. Fowler. This regiment was raised in the counties of Knox, Hancock and Waldo, and was rendezvoused at Camp John Pope, Bangor, where it was mustered into the U. S. service Oct. 11, 1862, to serve for three years. It left the state Oct. 23, and arrived in Washington on the 27th. On Nov. 9 it embarked for Fortress Monroe, and on Dec. 1 reembarked at Newport News on the steamers Pocahontas and Matanzas for Ship island, where it arrived on the 12th, and at New Orleans on the 16th.
It proceeded at once to Baton Rouge, where it was assigned to the 3d brigade, Grover’s division, remaining here until March 12, 1863, when it joined in the reconnaissance to Port Hudson, returning on the 16th, and on the 28th embarked on the river steamer St. Maurice for Donaldsonville, 60 miles below. Thence, with the other forces from Baton Rouge, it proceeded to Thibodeaux, thence by rail to Brashear City, and on April 11, together with Grover’s division, it proceeded to Irish bend, near Franklin, La., where on the 14th it engaged the enemy and met with a loss of 68 men out of 300 engaged. Guarded and conducted supply train from Alexandria to Brashear City, a march of 300 miles, May 21-26. On May 30 it arrived at Port Hudson and engaged in supporting a battery until June 14, when it participated in the assault of that day, afterward returning to its former position.
On the surrender of Port Hudson, it remained on duty inside the fortifications until July 26, when it embarked for Maine, and was mustered out of the U. S. service at Bangor on Aug. 17, 1863. The regiment lost a total of 165 men during service; 34 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 130 enlisted men due to disease.
Seth RICHARDSON II’s grandson Silas Richardson b. 3 Feb 1813 in Attleborough, Bristol, Mass; d. 30 Apr 1863 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; PVT US Army Interment Date: 30 Apr 1863 Baton Rouge National Cemetery Section 37 Site 2436 m. Abigail D. Barber (b. 1818 Maine)
In the 1850 census, a Silas and Abigail and their oldest child , Olive B Richardson (b. 1840 Maine) were farming in Searsmont, Waldo, Maine.
Silas enlisted in Company: B 26th Maine Volunteers.
Isaac HAWES’ grandson Charles Isaac Ness (1824 – 1905) enlisted in Company F, Maine 26th Infantry Regiment on 11 Oct 1862. Mustered out on 17 Aug 1863 at Bangor, ME.
Seth RICHARDSON II’s grandson Caleb Parmenter (1816-1892) enlisted in Company A, Maine 26th Infantry Regiment on 11 Oct 1862. Mustered out on 19 Dec 1862. The 26th Maine Infantry was organized in Bangor, Maine and mustered in October 11, 1862 for nine months’ service. The regiment left Maine for Washington, D.C., October 26. Duty in the defenses of that city until November 16. Moved to Fortress Monroe, Virginia, November 16, then sailed for New Orleans, Louisiana, December 2. Caleb mustered out 17 days later, maybe because he was 46 years old?
The 29th Maine Infantry was organized in Augusta, Maine and mustered in December 17, 1863 for three years’ service under the command of ColonelGeorge Lafayette Beal. Company A and Company D were transferred in from the 10th Maine Infantry Battalion on May 30, 1864.
The regiment lost a total of 237 men during service; 2 officers and 40 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 4 officers and 191 enlisted men due to disease.
The regiment was attached to 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf, to July 1864. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf and Army of the Shenandoah, Middle Military Division, to March 1865. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Army of the Shenandoah, to April 1865. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Department of Washington, to June 1865. District of South Carolina, Department of the South, to June 1866. Company A mustered out October 18, 1864 at the expiration of its original enlistment. The remainder of the 29th Maine Infantry mustered out of service June 21, 1866.
Fought on 8 Apr 1864 at Sabine Cross Roads, LA. The battle was a decisive Confederate victory which stopped the advance of the Union army’s Red River Campaign.
Seth RICHARDSON II’s grandson Charles S Cain (b. 19 Feb 1833 in Clinton, Kennebec, Maine – d. 14 Oct 1916 in Vassalboro, Kennebec, Maine) enlisted in Company F, Maine 29th Infantry Regiment on 13 Nov 1863 at the age of 30. Mustered out on 22 Aug 1865.
Seth RICHARDSON III’s grandson Sylvester Wesley Cummings (b. 16 Oct 1834 in Freedom, Waldo, Maine; d. 17 Jun 1864 in Morganza, Point Coupee, Louisiana )
Sylvester enlisted as a Sargent in Company B, Indiana 8th Cavalry Regiment on 29 Aug 1861. Mustered out on 16 Aug 1862, discharged disability. Maybe this was a different Sylvester Wesley Cummings?
Sylvester was commissioned a Full 2nd Lieutenant in Company G, Maine 29th Infantry Regiment on 16 Dec 1863. Died of typhoid fever and mustered out on 17 Jun 1864 at Morganza, LA.
The 30th Maine Infantry was organized in Augusta, Maine and mustered in January 8, 1864 for three years’ service. While recruiting the regiment received veterans and new recruits from the 13th Maine Infantry, which had been reduced to battalion strength.
The regiment was attached to 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf, to July 1864, and Army of the Shenandoah, Middle Military Division, to December 1864. Garrison of Winchester, Virginia, Army of the Shenandoah, to April 1865. Department of Washington to June 1865. District of Savannah, Georgia, Department of the South, to August 1865.
The 30th Maine Infantry mustered out of service August 20, 1865.
Duty at Deep Bottom until July 31. Moved to Washington, D.C., then to Harpers Ferry, W. Va. Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign August 7-November 28. On detached duty, guarding supply trains, stores, etc., until October 26. Bunker Hill October 25. Duty near Middletown until November, and at Newtown until January 1865. At Winchester and Stevenson’s Depot until April 1865. Moved to Washington, D.C., April 20, and duty there until June 30. Provost guard during the Grand Review of the Armies May 23–24. Moved to Savannah, Ga., June 30-July 7, and duty there until August.
Grand Review of the Armies
Jonathan PARKS’ son-in-law Samuel Sands Samuel enlisted in Company D, Maine 30th Infantry Regiment on Dec 1 1864. Received a disability discharge on 23 May 1865.
Fought at the Battle of Stones River from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee. Of the major battles of the Civil War, Stones River had the highest percentage of casualties on both sides. Although the battle itself was inconclusive, the Union Army’s repulse of two Confederate attacks and the subsequent Confederate withdrawal were a much-needed boost to Union morale after the defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg, and it dashed Confederate aspirations for control of Middle Tennessee..
Seth RICHARDSON’s grandson Sylvester Wesley Cummings (b. 16 Oct 1834 in Freedom, Waldo, Maine; d. 17 Jun 1864 in Morganza, Point Coupee, Louisiana)
Sylvester Wesley Cummings enlisted as a Sargent in Company B, Indiana 8th Cavalry Regiment on 29 Aug 1861. Mustered out on 16 Aug 1862, discharged disability. Maybe this was a different Sylvester Wesley Cummings?
Sylvester was commissioned a Full 2nd Lieutenant in Company G, Maine 29th Infantry Regiment on 16 Dec 1863. Fought on 8 Apr 1864 at Sabine Cross Roads, LA. The battle was a decisive Confederate victory which stopped the advance of the Union army’s Red River Campaign. Died of typhoid fever and mustered out on 17 Jun 1864 at Morganza, LA. The regiment lost a total of 237 men during service; 2 officers and 40 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 4 officers and 191 enlisted men due to disease.
Seth RICHARDSON’s grandson Hugh Anderson Cummings (b. 18 May 1845 in Freedom, Waldo, Maine; d. 1933 Indiana); Hugh enlisted in Company G, Maine 14th Infantry Regiment on 15 Mar 1865. Mustered out on 28 Aug 1865.
It is also said he served with the 8th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Co. B.
Organized at Camp Lincoln near Leavenworth, Kansas, May 20 – June 30, 1861 and mustered in for three years. The greatest number of men were recruited between May 20 and June 3. It mustered in under the command of Colonel George Washington Deitzler. The 1st Kansas Infantry mustered out of service on August 30, 1865. The regiment lost a total of 252 men during service; 7 officers and 120 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 3 officers and 122 enlisted men died of disease.
Action at Dug Springs August 2. At Springfield, Mo., until August 7. Battle of Wilson’s Creek August 10. March to Rolla, Mo., Aug 11–22, thence to St. Louis, Mo., and duty on the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad until October. Duty at Tipton, Mo., Oct 1861, to Jan 1862. Expedition to Milford, Mo., Dec 15–19, 1861. Shawnee Mound, Milford, December 18. At Lexington until Feb 1862. Moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. New Mexico Expedition April and May. Ordered to Columbus, Ky., and duty guarding Mobile & Ohio Railroad. Headquarters at Trenton, Tenn., until Sep. Moved to Jackson, Tenn., and duty there until November. Brownsburg Sep 4. Trenton Sep 17. March to relief of Corinth, Miss., October 3–5. Pursuit to Ripley October 5–12. Actions at Chewalla and Big Hill October 5. Moved to Grand Junction November 2. Grant’s Central Mississippi Campaign. Operations on the Mississippi Central Railroad to the Yocknapatalfa River November 1862, to January 1863. Moved to Moscow, thence to Memphis, Tenn., and to Young’s Point, La., January 17, 1863. Regiment mounted Feb 1, 1863. Moved to Lake Providence February 8, and provost duty there until July. Actions at Old River, Hood’s Lane, Black Bayou and near Lake Providence February 10. Pin Hook and Caledonia, Bayou Macon, May 10. Expedition to Mechanicsburg May 26-June 4. Repulse of attack on Providence June 9. Baxter’s Bayou and Lake Providence June 10. Bayou Macon June 10. Richmond June 16. Lake Providence June 29. Moved to Natchez July 12–13, and duty there until October. Expedition to Harrisonburg, La., Sep 1–8. Cross Bayou Sep 14. Moved to Vicksburg, Miss., October, and duty at Big Black River and near Haynes’ Bluff until June, 1864. Big Black River October 8, 1863. Scout from Bovina Station to Baldwyn’s Ferry November 1. Scout to Baldwyn’s Ferry January 14, 1864. Expedition up Yazoo River April 19–23. McArthur’s Expedition to Yazoo City May 4–21. Benton May 7–9. Luce’s Plantation May 13. Non-veterans ordered to Fort Leavenworth, Kans., June 1, 1864. Attacked near Columbus, Ky., June 2. Mustered out June 19, 1864.
Oliver WEBBER’s son Leigh Richmond Webber (b. 5 Dec 1830, Vassalboro, Maine – d. 5 Jan 1866, consumption, at Insane Hospital, Augusta ME)
1852, Sept. Entered Colby Sophomore class. In scholarship, one of the best of a superior class.
1855-56. Taught in New Portland, Me.
1856-57. Taught in Troy, Orleans Co., Vermont.
1858, April. Removed to Lawrence, Kansas, and engaged for three years in teaching and farming.
Lawrence, Kansas was founded in 1854 for the New England Emigrant Aid Company by Charles Robinson. The New England Emigrant Aid Company was a transportation company created to transport immigrants to the Kansas Territory to shift the balance of power so that Kansas would enter the United States as a free state rather than a slave state. Created by Eli Thayer in the wake of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed the population of Kansas Territory to choose whether slavery would be legal, the Company is noted less for its direct impact than for the psychological impact it had on proslavery and antislavery elements. The exact number of people who left for Kansas is unknown. James Rawley puts the numbers somewhere around 2000, of whom about a third returned home, while The Kansas Historical Society puts the number around 900 who left for Kansas in 1855 alone.
3 June 1861 – Enlisted as a Private in Company D, 1st Infantry Regiment Kansas.
10 Aug 1861 – Wounded in action Wilson’s Creek, Mo.
16 Jun 1864 – Mustered Out Company D, 1st Infantry Regiment Kansas
Jul 1864 – Returned to Maine, broken down In health by hardships of military life.
11 Oct 1865 – Committed to Hospital for the Insane, at Augusta. 5 Jan 1866 – Died of consumption, at Insane Hospital, Augusta. He did not marry.
Leigh Webber was wounded at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek – Painting by Kurz and Allison
The Battle of Wilson’s Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, between Union forces and the Missouri State Guard, early in the American Civil War. It was the first major battle of the war west of the Mississippi River and is sometimes called the “Bull Run of the West.” Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon’s Army of the West was camped at Springfield, Missouri, with Confederate troops under the commands of Brig. Gen. Benjamin McCulloch approaching. On August 9, both sides formulated plans to attack the other. At about 5:00 a.m. on August 10, Lyon, in two columns commanded by himself and Col. Franz Sigel, attacked the Confederates on Wilson’s Creekabout 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Springfield. Rebel cavalry received the first blow and fell back away from Bloody Hill. Confederate forces soon rushed up and stabilized their positions.
The Confederates attacked the Union forces three times that day but failed to break through the Union line. When General Lyon was killed during the battle and General Sweeny wounded, Major Samuel D. Sturgis assumed command. Meanwhile, the Confederates had routed Sigel’s column, south of Skegg’s Branch. Following the third Confederate attack, which ended at 11:00 a.m., the Confederates withdrew. Sturgis realized, however, that his men were exhausted and his ammunition was low, so he ordered a retreat to Springfield. The Confederates were too disorganized and ill-equipped to pursue. This Confederate victory buoyed southern sympathizers in Missouri and served as a springboard for a bold thrust north that carried Price and his Missouri State Guard as far as Lexington. In late October, a rump convention, convened by Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson, met in Neosho and passed out an ordinance of secession. Wilson’s Creek, the most significant 1861 battle in Missouri, gave the Confederates control of southwestern Missouri.
Nicknamed Old Steady, was a volunteer regiment from Dutchess County and Columbia County in upstate New York. Formed in Hudson on Sep 5, 1862, by Col. David S. Cowles, the regiment was made up of volunteers from the surrounding towns and villages.
Organized at Camp Kelly on the fairgrounds in Hudson, N.Y (a marker can be found today in the town indicating the location of the camp). The regiment was mustered into service on September 4, 1862 and left for Washington D.C. Sep 5, 1862 aboard the steamship Oregon which took them to NYC. From here the regiment rode aboard railroad cars to Baltimore. Camp Millington, where the regiment practiced drill and march was set up just outside of Baltimore. The 128th’s first attempt to engage the enemy took them on a rapid jaunt to Gettysburg in an effort to confront Gen. Jeb Stuart’s Confederates. This proved uneventful however as Stuart retreated upon learning of the Union Army’s approach; History would not be made in Pennsylvania until the following year.
The regiment was attached to defenses of Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland until December 1862 when the regiment boarded a ship, destination unknown, and headed south. The regiment soon learned they would be attached to General Nathaniel Banks Department of the Gulf whose ultimate goal would be to open the Mississippi River to the Union. While aboard the ship Arago, sickness and disease infested the ranks. After a stop at Fortress Monroe where the regiment witnessed some of the famous Union ships including the ironclad Monitor, the regiment made its way to New Orleans..
Isaac HAWES’ grandson Granville Parker Hawes (1838 East Corinth, Maine – 1893 NYC) Commissioned a 1st Lt in Company A, New York 128th Infantry Regiment on 14 Aug 1862. Appointed as Captain of Commissary Nov 3, 1862 Promoted to Full Captain on 18 Mar 1863 by order of Major General Banks. Transfered out out on 18 Mar 1863 at New Orleans, LA. Promoted to Full Captain on 26 Nov 1862. Commissioned an officer in the U.S. Volunteers Commissary Dept Infantry Regiment on 26 Nov 1862. Mustered out on 23 Nov 1864..
Granville Parker Hawes Bio 1 From: Association of the Bar of the City of New York Yearf Book.
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XIX Corps spent most of its service in Louisiana and the Gulf, though several units fought inVirginia’s Shenandoah Valley. It was created on December 14, 1862, and assigned to Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, the commander of the Department of the Gulf. The corps comprised all Union troops then occupying Louisiana and east Texas. It originally consisted of four divisions, numbering 36,000 men. The 3rd Division of the corps left behind at New Orleans remained in the Department of the Gulf, and, in the spring of 1865, participated with the Thirteenth and Sixteenth corps in General Canby’s operations against Fort Blakely, Spanish Fort, and Mobile.
General William H. Emory was most importantly a topographical engineer and explorer. He conducted boundary surveys of both the Mexican-American border (1848–1853) as well as the Canadian-American border (1844–1846). His mapmaking skills were so superb and detailed with such great accuracy that he often made other maps obsolete; thus making him the authority of the trans-Mississippi west. Accompanying General Stephen W. Kearny he wrote Notes of a Military Reconnaissance from Fort Leavenworth to San Diegowhich became an important guide book for the road to Southern California..
General William H. Emory (1811 – 1887)
Emory served as a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac in 1862, and was transferred to the Western Theater. He later commanded a division in the Port Hudson campaign. He subsequently returned to the East as the commander of the Nineteenth Corps, serving in all the major battles in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864, especially at the Battle of Cedar Creek, where Emory’s actions helped save the Union army from a devastating defeat until Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan’s arrival.
When, Emory went East, Granville was assigned to Major General Francis Herron. Herron was appointed captain of the 1st Iowa Volunteer Regiment in April 1861. He served with Nathaniel Lyon‘s forces in Missouri, participating in the battles of Boonville and Wilson’s Creek. In August, Herron was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 9th Iowa Volunteer Regiment and fought in the battle of Pea Ridge, where he was wounded and taken prisoner, but exchanged shortly afterwards. He received a promotion to brigadier general of volunteers for his actions in this battle, and later received the Medal of Honor.
Major General Francis J. Herron (1837 – 1902)
He commanded both the 2nd and 3rd Divisions of the Army of the Frontier and made a forced march of 114 miles (183 km) in three days to join James G. Blunt‘s division in western Arkansas. Herron’s and Blunt’s combined command engaged Thomas C. Hindman in the battle of Prairie Grove and forced the Confederates to abandon western Arkansas. For his actions at Prairie Grove, Herron was appointed major general of volunteers, becoming the youngest major general on either side at the time of his promotion.
His two divisions were consolidated to form “Herron’s Division” which was attached to the XVII Corps. During the Siege of Vicksburg, Herron’s division was placed on the extreme left flank of the Union lines. Upon the surrender of the city Ulysses S. Grant chose Herron, along with generals James B. McPherson and John A. Logan, to lead the procession into the city and accept the formal surrender of arms on July 4, 1863. He next led the Yazoo City expedition, capturing the city, a Confederate fleet and supplies there. Herron was appointed to command of the XIII Corps and occupied the Texas coast with headquarters at Brownsville. During this time, he provided aid to Mexican President Benito Juárez and prevented French troops of Emperor Maximilian from establishing themselves along the Rio Grande. As the Civil War came to an end, Herron commanded the District of Northern Louisiana.
During the 1860s Union soldiers occupied Brazos Santaigo Island and it’s strategic harbor, during the Civil War and launched the Brazos Santiago expedition from the island which led to the war’s last battle known as the Battle of Palmito Ranch.
US Navy
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Isaac HAWES’ grandson Walter Hawes (1845 – ) served in the US Navy during the Civil War.
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Sources:
The First Maine heavy artillery, 1861-1865: a history of its part and place ...By Horace H. Shaw, Charles J. House Portland Maine 1903
http://www.civilwarhome.com/armysurgeon.htm
Miner Descent 