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LISBON FALLS, LISBON, ME.
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Falls " of the Saco, Ossipee River, Lovewell's Lake where Pau- gus fought, - the wily Pequaket warrior, - and other romantic localities, are in this neighborhood. Fryeburg is a popular re- treat, and environed with hills, clothed not only with Nature's Tyrian drapery, but with traditions of early days, enshrined in ballad and in story. Here Daniel Webster taught school, and here the well-known James R. Osgood, Esq., of Boston, was born.
The opening of the Crawford Notch to railway travel is a result at which tourists by the Portland and Ogdensburg Road may congratulate themselves ; for, says Civil-Engineer B. H. Latrobe, " I do not hesitate to say that no railway, on this side of the Rocky Mountains at least, can compare with it in the magnificence of its mountain scenery."
The Valley of the Androscoggin next claims notice. From Brunswick to the mountains, the river is highly picturesque ; and the towns that line its curving banks on the route of the Maine Central Railroad are pleasant haunts for summer days. The Falls at Lisbon are of striking attractiveness. The scenery around Auburn and Lewiston is romantic in the extreme. The busy industries of these cities, their tasteful private and public edifices, and the beauty of their environs, may well beguile the traveller hastening northward.
Mechanic Falls and Paris are also towns of growing impor- tance, and Paris Hill has few superiors in scenic beauty. Thence along the line of the Grand Trunk Railway, Bryant's Pond, Bethel, and Gilead attract hundreds by their peculiar charms, which Harry Brown, J. B. Hudson, and other Maine artists, have transferred to canvas, and authors like Starr King to prose. Rumford Falls are pronounced by a recent author " the grandest of any in New England." Both the upper and lower falls present features of striking grandeur. From Bethel to Umbagog Lake is a charming ride. One should visit Megal- loway River beyond Umbagog, as well as the Rangeley Lakes, still farther in the wilderness around old Saddleback.
The township of Rangeley is named from a former owner, and is situated on the north shore of the Oquossoc Lake. It was incorporated in 1855. The primitive wildness of the region, the trout-streams and hunting-grounds, attracted the
UPPER FALLS, RUMFORD, ME.
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attention of Jay Cooke and other gentlemen from Philadelphia and New York. In 1869 they rented land, and built a large establishment at Indian Rock, three miles from the nearest settler. They have been known as the " Oquossoc Angling Association."
Rangeley Lake is ten miles long, and Greenvale Plantation is at its head. F. A. Morrill of New Sharon has published views
LOWER FALLS, RUMFORD. ME.
of this interesting district as the eleventh series of his "His torical Views of Maine."
The towns that lie in the luxuriant valley of the Sandy River are places of Arcadian beauty. Who needs to be told of Farmington and " Old Blue," or of " Little Blue," where the Rollo Books were penned, or of the institutions of learning that have given a literary celebrity to a town so favored in natural
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LIVERMORE FALLS, LIVERMORE, ME.
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attractions ? Weld, - the early home of the publishers, nestling among the mountains and beautified by Webb's Pond, five miles long, - Phillips, and Mount Abraham are much visited in summer months. Wilton, Jay, Livermore, Monmouth, and Winthrop can boast of natural advantages as summer resorts in the midst of a lake district of no common loveliness. The
CASCADE AT WEST WATERVILLE, ME.
establishment of seminaries, as the Female College at Kent's Hill, and the State schools at Hallowell, have helped to make known the conspicuous charms of natural scenery enjoyed by the central population of Maine.
The Kennebec Valley, from Merrymeeting Bay to Moosehead Lake, is a favorite route, and with the excellent facilities for
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travel is every year becoming more popular. Richmond is a camp-meeting resort. Gardiner, Hallowell, and Augusta, built on the high slopes along the river, present a striking appear- ance. The public buildings at the capital, and drives to Togus, the quarries and other suburbs, well repay the visitor for the time required. Vassalboro', Winslow, and Norridgewock add historical interest to their natural attractions. Waterville is the seat of a flourishing university. The cascade on the Ken- nebec at West Waterville, where the craggy ledges of granite intercept the rush of the stream, is very striking. Ascending the river, the stranger is reminded, as on the Penobscot, of the immense importance to Maine of her lumber interests. The frequent ice-houses also suggest the rise of that branch of industry. At Skowhegan the river makes a bend westward ; and the views from this pleasant town are noteworthy. Few places in Maine have shown more enterprise than Dexter, in developing its water-powers, which, as elsewhere in the State, constitute the chief source of wealth.
Of Moosehead Lake, with its broad, sparkling waters and emerald isles, Mt. Kineo, Chesuncook, and the numberless lakes that surround the grand, solitary Katahdin, it is only needful to say that Lowell's Moosehead Journal in his " Fireside Travel," Flagg's "Woods and By-ways," and particularly " Life in the Open Air " by Winthrop, will fully delineate the charms of these solitudes, and prove most convincingly the claim for superiority in this regard, which the Pine-tree State has a right to make.
Then there is the vast Aroostook, stretching from the Matta- wamkeag to the St. Francis, one hundred fifty miles, with its marvellous but undeveloped resources, its primitive forest grandeur and isolation ; as noble a domain as the Adirondack region, and deserving as hearty laudation, alike on the score of its picturesque scenery, its balsamic air, and its abounding attractions for artist, or angler, or sportsman ; in short, for all who, wearied by care, study, or the clamorous demands of fashionable follies, seek a restful and joyful life in the open air.
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CHAPTER XXVI.
MAINE IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.1
Military Condition of Maine - Proclamation of the President - Prompt Action - The Greeting in New York - Welcome in Washington - Stove-Pipe Artil- lery - Testimony of Gen. Sickles - Gen. Hiram G. Berry - The Liquor Shops-The Seventh Maine complimented - Sufferings of Camp-Life - Colored Regiments - Testimony of Gen. Naglee-Gen. Dow - Toils of a Campaign - The Sharp-shooters -Licut. Hill-Batteries of Light Artil- lery - Courage of New Recruits.
"THERE is perhaps no one of the loyal States which can claim pre-eminence over the others in its conduct during the civil war. All did the best they could, and all did nobly. Maine certainly was not in the rear of any of her sisters in this respect. The patriotic spirit of her whole population was roused to the utmost when the first gun of foul rebellion was fired upon our national flag at Fort Sumter. Israel Washburn, jun., was then in the gubernatorial chair; and it could not have been more worthily filled. In many towns, in less than twenty-four hours after the tidings of the revolt were received, full companies of volunteers were formed, ready to march. The first company which filled its ranks, and was accepted by the governor, was the Lewiston Light Infantry. In Cherryfield, four hours after the enlistment roll was opened, fifty volunteers had entered
1 I write this narrative of Maine in the Rebellion with more solicitude than any other chapter in the book. Material, sufficient to fill the whole of such a volume as this, must be crowded into a few pages. I can give but the briefest abstract of the heroic deeds of the Maine regiments. There were many chivalric exploits which I cannot record. There are many names, worthy of most honorable men- tion, for which I have no space. My object, in these few pages, is but to give a general idea of the wonderful efforts and sacrifices which Maine made to crush the Rebellion. For more minute information upon this interesting theme, the reader must be referred to the excellent history of "Maine in the War," by Messrs. William E. S. Whitman, and Charles H. True.
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their names. A wealthy gentleman of Thomaston, Mr. Henry B. Humphrey, offered to arm and equip a company of artillery at an expense of fifteen thousand dollars.
A long service of peace had rendered military organizations unnecessary. The industrious citizens of Maine had not been called upon to waste their precious days in drilling with the musket, but had consecrated all their energies to the useful labors and arts of life. With peace there was abounding pros- perity. There was an enrolled militia of about sixty thousand men. These were, however, unarmed and unorganized. There were but about twelve hundred men in any condition to respond to a call of military duty.
When the President of the United States issued his first call for seventy-five thousand volunteers, on the 15th of April, 1861, Maine with great promptness sent her First and Second Regi- ments of infantry, so thoroughly armed and equipped as to elicit from Mr. Cameron, Secretary of War, the warmest commenda- tion. Nathaniel J. Jackson was colonel of the First Regiment, and Charles G. Jameson of Bangor of the Second. When these regiments reached New York, on their way to the front, the Rev. Roswell D. Hitchcock, a son of Maine, with his char- acteristic eloquence thus addressed them :-
" Welcome, sons of Maine ! welcome, brothers! I am one of you, was baptized at the same altar ; am bone of the same bone, flesh of the same flesh. We were all born beneath the same sky. I love the State from the Aroostook to the Atlantic, and I love her granite hills. But, my brethren, our first allegiance should not be to her: we love our whole country.
"The American flag waves triumphantly from the Lakes to the Pacific. See to it that it remains there. That flag we follow. It is no ribbon; but that banner God has woven with thirteen stripes and four and thirty stars. It behooves you, as soldiers marching under that flag, to watch and cherish it, and allow no rebellious horde to efface one of its bright orbs, or permit sne to be ruthlessly torn from its field."
The Second Regiment left Bangor with a beautiful set of colors, presented by the ladies. They marched through Balti- more with loaded muskets and fixed bayonets. Not a minion of rebellion ventured to open his voice, or peep. At Washing- ton it was presented with a magnificent banner, sent by the
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Maine ladies in California, to be given to the first regiment from their native State which should enter the capital for its defence.
It would require a volume to record the achievements of this regiment. In the course of two years, it was in eleven hard- fought battles, besides numerous skirmishes. In all it behaved with gallantry which could not have been surpassed.
The Third Regiment, under Oliver Otis Howard of Leeds, was rendezvoused on the State House grounds at Augusta. It was composed mainly of Kennebec lumbermen, and was exceed- ingly fortunate in having for its colonel a West Point graduate ; who rapidly rose to the rank of major-general, and who, for his signal services, has won a position in the hearts of the American people second perhaps to that of none other. It was with this regiment that the operations of what were called the Stove-Pipe Artillery commenced. The regiment was encamped in Virginia, within sight of the lines of the enemy. Some of the men went into a meeting-house, took a piece of stove-pipe, which they mounted upon wheels, and ran it up to the top of a hill. They were abundantly repaid in seeing the enemy open upon the harmless gun a furious cannonade. This regiment performed prodigies of valor, which we have no space here to record. Upon one occasion, when the regiment was reduced to one hundred and ninety-six rifles and fourteen officers, Gen. Sickles said, " The little Third Maine saved the army to-day."
Upon the promotion of Col. Howard to the rank of brigadier- general, Major Henry G. Staples became colonel. He was suc- ceeded by Adjutant Edwin Burt, in the ever memorable seven- days' battle which attended the movement from the Chicka- hominy to the James. In this change of front, Major F. W. Haskell of Waterville so greatly distinguished himself as to win very high commendation. The vicissitudes of war placed Moses B. Lakeman in command of the regiment. A better colonel the regiment could not have had.
The Fourth Regiment was under the command of Hiram G. Berry of Rockland. His name will ever remain embalmed in the hearts of his fellow-citizens. At Bull Run he displayed such skill and valor as induced Gen. Kearney to write to Gov, Washburn, -
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" Col. Berry manifested such a genius for war, and such a pertinacity in the fight, as proved him fit for high command." This regiment was in all the important battles of the army of the Potomac, during its term of service. At Williamsburg it was said that the regiment of Col. Berry saved the day ; at Fair Oaks, White Oak Swamp, Gaines' Mills, Glendale, and Malvern Hill, this regiment rendered magnificert service. At the terrible battle of Chancellorsville, Hiram G. Berry, having attained the rank of major-general of volunteers, laid down his life. The nation mourned his loss.
The Fifth Regiment was commanded by Mark H. Dunnell of Portland. It is painful to be unable to do justice to the achievements of these troops. The Fifth was engaged in eleven pitched battles, and eight skirmishes, ere it entered upon the terrible campaign of the Wilderness, which was an incessant battle. It captured six rebel flags, and more prisoners than it ever had men in its ranks.
The Sixth Regiment, commanded by Abner Knowles of Ban- gor, was composed chiefly of the hardy lumbermen of the Pe- nobscot Valley. Col. Knowles was the right man in the right place. Passing through Philadelphia, the regiment made a halt near some liquor-shops. The colonel requested the proprietors not to sell to the men of his regiment. The rumsellers disre- garded his request. He sent a file of soldiers, shut up the shops, and placed the proprietors under guard. Several of the dignified Quakers of Philadelphia were looking on : they said, " Friend Knowles, thy conduct meets our approval. We will back thee up if necessary."
Col. Knowles was succeeded by Col. Hiram Burnham. This regiment was in ten pitched battles and in very many skirmishes. It lost in battle, and by sickness, the result of military exposure and fatigue, about three hundred men. Col. Burnham, pro- moted to a brigadier-generalship, fell at the head of his brigade, at the battle of Chapin's Bluff. The reader is referred to " Maine in the War " for the minor changes which took place in the command of these regiments. I can only give a brief sketch of the general movements, and must omit all the minor details.
The Seventh Regiment was rendezvoused at Augusta, and
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entered into active service with Edwin D. Mason as its colonel. At the close of the sanguinary battle which placed Williams- burg and Yorktown in our hands, Gen. McClellan with his staff paid the Seventh Maine a visit, and, with his hat in his hand, addressed to them the following complimentary words : -
" Soldiers of the Seventh Maine, I have come to thank you for your bravery and good conduct in the action of yesterday. On this battle-plain you and your comrades arrested the progress of the advancing enemy, saved the army from a disgraceful defeat, and turned the tide of victory in our favor. You have deserved well of your country and of your State; and in their gratitude they will not forget to bestow upon you the thanks and praise so justly your due. Continue to show the conduct of yesterday, and the triumph of our cause will be speedy and sure. In recognition of your merit, you shall hereafter bear the inscription ' Williamsburg' on your colors. Soldiers, my words are feeble, but from the bottom of my heart I thank you."
A long series of brilliant achievements followed, which we have not space to record.
The Eighth Regiment was rendezvoused at Augusta. Lee Strickland of Livermore was colonel. The physique of these men was said to be remarkably fine. Mr. Strickland, like many others, had made great sacrifice of prosperous business and a happy home to rescue his country from foulest rebellion. The first signal exploit of this regiment was aiding in capturing the fort at Hilton Head, in South Carolina. This was one of the most brilliant exploits of the war. Ill health compelled Col. Strickland to resign, and he was succeeded by John D. Rust. The least of the sufferings of war are those which are encoun- tered on the field of battle. It was deemed important to plant batteries on two muddy islands in the river, which were twice each day covered by the rising tide.
With great toil and suffering the heroic men of the Eighth engaged in these labors. One cold night in February three men of the Eighth, Samuel Holt, Lindsey O. Goff, and Morris Woodbury, were posted on picket on one of these islands. It would seem that there must have been some great indiscretion in the order. But, in military affairs, commands must be obeyed, discreet or indiscreet. In the chill night the tide slowly
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rolled to their breasts, and as slowly ebbed away. In the morn- ing they returned to camp utterly exhausted. Holt and Goff both soon died from the effects of the cruel exposure.1 Wood- bury survived, but with a ruined constitution. The regiment suffered severely from toil, and exposure to an unhealthy clime. At one time three hundred men were in hospital.
Until this time, the government had not seen fit to employ colored men as soldiers. So great was the opposition to this measure, that many officers of white regiments refused to hold any intercourse with officers who took command in colored regi- ments. Both the officers and the men of the Eighth Regiment, rising superior to this ridiculous prejudice, warmly advocated the organization of colored troops. Gen. Saxton selected from that regiment nearly half the line officers for the First Regiment of colored soldiers. Grateful to the regiment for its support in the trying hours when most of his brother officers refused even to recognize him in the streets, though he was a regular army officer, a courteous gentleman, and a devout Christian, he selected still a large number from the Eighth Maine, for the Second Colored Regiment. But the tide had now so turned that more than a thousand officers and men ap- plied for such positions. The career of this regiment was full of remarkable incident and heroic enterprise ; for a more detailed account of which we must refer our readers to the excellent history of " Maine in the War," to which we have before re- ferred. During a period of but six months, this regiment was in thirteen general engagements, besides many skirmishes.
The Ninth Regiment was rendezvoused at Augusta. Rish- worth Rich of Portland was colonel. Their passage in a rickety steamer, and encountering a terrific storm, from Fortress Monroe to Port Royal, was more dreadful, in peril and in suf- fering, than can be described. In this fearful gale, at midnight, the captain of the ship informed Col. Rich that he did not think it possible that the vessel could be kept afloat much longer, and that they all must go to the bottom before morning. Almost miraculously they were saved. The regiment was vigorously
1 Maine in the War. By William E. S. Whitman, and Charles R. True, P. 199.
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employed in campaigning and successful fighting, until Col. Rich, broken down by toil and exposure, was compelled to re- sign his commission. He was succeeded by Sabine Emory. At Morris Island, the colonel and his regiment acquired much renown, performing feats of valor which none but the bravest men could perform. It is admitted that the capture of the island was greatly owing to the intrepidity and wise tactics of the Maine Ninth. A number of flags were taken. Gen. Q. A. Gilmore sent them to Gov. Abner Coburn, with the following statement : -
" I have the honor to forward the rebel flags captured by the soldiers of the Ninth Regiment of Maine Volunteers. The names of the captors are Moses Goodwin and David C. Hoyt. The former has since died of his wounds. It will be, I am sure, a source of gratification and pride to your- self and the citizens of your State, to receive these trophies of the gallantry of her sons, who are struggling in this distant field for the vindication of our cause."
The Tenth Regiment was organized with George L. Beal of Norway colonel. This regiment was exposed to hard duty, which it cheerfully performed, and to heavy losses, which it endured without a murmur. At times they slept in the cold and sleet and rain of a November night, with no covering but that of the dripping clouds. One of the companies marched fifty-seven miles in twenty-four consecutive hours. The regi- ment performed signal service in the valley of the Shenandoah. At times the men were under the command of Lieut .- Col. James S. Fillebrown, who very ably discharged his weighty responsibilities. Col. Beal won the gratitude of every man in his regiment by his devotion to their comfort, in scenes of hun- ger and cold and fatigue, and when the bullets and shells of the rebels were thinning their ranks. Both Col. Beal and Lieut .- Col. Fillebrown were presented by the men of the regiment with very handsome testimonials of their regard. Their ex- cellent chaplain also, George Knox of Brunswick, received a superb gold watch and chain.
When the regiment was mustered out of service it contained four hundred and fifty men. In the casualties of war, two
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hundred and fifty-eight had disappeared. The State recognized its services, and regarded its heroism as one of the richest lega- cies of Maine.
The ten regiments to which we have alluded were raised exclusively by the State. The Eleventh was at the expense of the general government. John C. Caldwell of East Machias was colonel. It was a splendid regiment, and received in Washington much commendation for the excellence of its drill. Very speedily it was led into action, and that of the hottest kind. The troops displayed the intrepidity and firmness of veterans. There is scarcely any thing in the history of war more sublime than many of the scenes through which this regi- ment passed. In the terrible series of battles which accom- panied what was called a " Change of Base," the Eleventh was almost incessantly engaged. The Eleventh was a portion of the brigade of Gen. Naglee. In taking leave of this brigade, the general left the following testimony to its heroism : -
" Yours is the honor of having been the first to pass, and the last to leave, the Chickahominy. And, while you led the advance from this memorable place near Richmond, you were the last in the retreating column, when, after seven days' constant fighting, it reached a place of security and rest at Harrison's Landing." .
The Twelfth Regiment was raised by the general government, with George F. Shepley as colonel. These men were sent from Boston by water, far away to Ship Island, near the mouth of the Mississippi. Col. Shepley was one of the ablest and most eloquent lawyers in Maine. Upon the capture of New Orleans, the troops ascended the river to that city. Col. Shepley, pro- moted to a brigadier-generalship, was placed in military com- mand. There could not have been a more judicious selection for this important post.
Col. William K. Kimball of Paris, Me., took command of the regiment. Aided by a gunboat, he soon captured two batteries of six thirty-two pounders, with a stand of colors, a large amount of ordnance stores, and eight thousand dollars of Con- federate currency. The War Department highly commended the brilliant achievement, and ordered the captured colors to re
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main with the Twelfth, as a trophy of their victory. After many wild and wondrous expeditions in the extreme South, the . regiment returned to the battle-fields of Virginia. There the troops were engaged in an almost incessant conflict ; and nearly every conflict was a victory. The regiment bears a remarkable record for the good conduct of the men. They were ever obe- dient to their officers, eager for action, and displayed an invin- cible courage which won for them high commendation from every general under whom they served. Gen. Shepley remained military commandant at New Orleans until 1862, when he was invested with the arduous and responsible office of military governor of Louisiana. This post he filled to the great satis- faction of the national government until 1864, when he was transferred to fill a similar post in Virginia.1
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