USA > Maine > The history of the Twenty-seventh Maine Volunteer Infantry > Part 2
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On the eleventh day of July A. D. 1864, Lieut. Gen. Early of the Confederate Army, who had invaded Maryland earlier in the month with a force of twelve thousand men, appeared before Fort Stevens, north of the Potomac and distant some five miles from Washington. He had crossed into the state higher up the Potomac, and had defeated on the Monocacy Gen. Lew Wal- lace, who had met him there with an inferior force consisting largely of raw troops. I think it is now generally believed by competent military men, that he would have captured the city if he had attacked the fort upon the night of the eleventh. Gen. Grant lias expressed the opinion that if Early had arrived one day sooner he might have entered the capital. On the next
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
day, however, he was confronted by the Sixth and a part of the Nineteenth Corps from the Army of the Potomac, and was beaten. President Lincoln stood upon the parapet of the fort while the troops were engaged, encouraging the men by his voice and presence, until a soldier was shot within three feet of where he was standing. If it was necessary to hold Fort Stevens, north of the Potomac, and so far in our rear, in order to defend the capital, how was it about the pike at Chantilly? No competent person acquainted with the facts, and certainly no military man, will ever disparage the services of the Twenty-seventh Maine Regiment. He who should do so would in like manner, rob fully half the soldiers of the Union armies of their laurels. We do not claim for the regiment that it was subjected to the sever- est tests of war, or that it is entitled to equal honors with many others from our state. No, my comrades, we make no such claims as these, and are by no means thus to be understood. We stand only upon our record.
But I do claim for the regiment that it faithfully performed the duties to which it was assigned; that it remained in the field and upon service beyond the term for which it was enlisted; that it held a position with the Twenty-fifth Maine, particularly at Chantilly, which it was vital to maintain, and which it is cer- tain that no smaller number of troops than those composing the First Brigade of Abercrombie's Division could have held, and one from which the rebels around us were constantly assuring us we should be driven, and which our own division commander, even, thought we were too weak to hold unless we were differ- ently supported; and, that after we had been ordered home, at an hour when great danger was threatening the capital and the nation, at the earnest solicitation of the President and Secre- tary of War, a large number of the officers and men volun- teered anew for the defense of the national capital until the impending battle had been fought; and, finally, that we re- turned to the state, with the personal thanks (through your historian) of Gen. DeRussy, commanding the fortifications for the Defense of Washington, and with his assurance that we should receive those of the War Department, with medals of honor. Those medals we have received. They are inscribed
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
from "The Congress to -," each one of those volunteers by name. Upon the twenty-sixth of January, A. D. 1865, they were sent from the office of the Adjutant-General of the army to Gov. Cony of our state, and were by him, through Col. Went- worth, distributed to the soldiers entitled to receive them.
Roster of Officers of Twenty-seventh maine Regiment at Date of muster Out July 17, -1863
€
FIELD AND STAFF.
Colonel, M. F. Wentworth.
Lieut. Colonel,
James M. Stone.
Major,
John D. Hill.
Surgeon,
John E. L. Kimball.
Asst. Surgeon,
Freeman Hall.
Charles M. Cross.
Adjutant,
Edward M. Rand.
Quartermaster,
Lewis O'Brion.
Chaplain,
Otis F. Russell.
NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.
Sergt. Major,
Calvin L. Hayes.
Drum Major
Charles E. York.
Quartermaster Sergt., Horace H. Burbank.
Commissary
Cyrus G. Marr.
COMPANY OFFICERS.
Co. CAPTAIN. IST LIEUT. 2D LIEUT.
A George H. Ward,
Samuel H. Libby,
Frank L. Harmon,
B Isaac P. Fall,
Moses S. Hurd,
Wm. Milliken jr.,
Joseph T. Chase, Samuel Dunnell jr., Frederick Hayes,
E John M. Getchell, Joseph E.Chadbourne, John Hall,
F Jeremiah Plumner, Edmund A. Dixon, G
H Almond O. Smart,
I Seth E. Bryant,
K Frank A. Hutchins,
Amos W. Page, Joseph D. Parker, Ralph R. Hussey, Henry B. Osgood, Henry J. Goodwin,
John W. Perkins,
Dennis M. Shapleigh, Edmund Bragdon jr.,
Henry Littlefield,
Horace L. Piper.
C Joseph F. Warren,
D David B. Fullerton,
Frederick S. Bryant,
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Appendix H
Roll of Officers and men in the Twenty-seventh maine Regiment Who Volunteered in June 1863 to remain after their Term of Service had Expired and Assist in the Defense of Washington
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Roll of officers and men in the Cwenty-seventh maine Regiment who volunteered, in June, 1863, to remain after their term of service had expired, and assist in the Defense of Washington
FIELD AND STAFF.
Colonel, Mark F. Wentworth, Kittery.
Lieut .- Col.
James M. Stone,
Kennebunk.
Major,
John D. Hill,
Buxton.
Adjutant, Edward M. Rand, Portland.
Qr. Master,
Lewis O'Brion,
Saco.
Chaplain, Otis F. Russell, Leighton's Cor., N.H.
·Surgeon, John E. L. Kimball, Saco.
Asst. Surgeon,
Freeman Hall,
No. Berwick.
Charles C. Cross,
Kittery.
NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.
Serg't. Major,
Calvin L. Hayes, Kittery.
Qr. Master Serg't.,
Horace H. Burbank, Limerick.
Com. Sergeant,
Cyrus G. Marr,
Cornish.
COMPANY A.
Captain, George H. Ward,
Saco.
Ist Lieut., Samuel H. Libbey, Limerick.
2d
Frank L. Harmon,
Saco.
Sergeant, Joseph Graffam, 66
George H. Jordan, 66
Corporal, William B. Barker, Limerick.
Charles F. Staples,
Saco.
Private,
Charles P. Atkins,
Eben H. C. Bradbury, 66
Henry M. Bradbury, Limerick.
Cyrus E. Brown,
Elisha E. Clark,
Richard Dearborn,
.
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22
THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
Private,
Daniel Floyd,
Saco.
William H. Googins,
Greenleaf W. Gallison,
66
George A. Gove,
Limerick.
Oren F. Ham,
Saco.
John C. Hayes,
Limerick.
John F. Keay,
Benjamin F. Libbey,
Limington.
Charles T. Packard,
Limerick.
Rufus Phillips,
Saco.
Roswell Prescott,
Warren G. Sanborn,
Newmarket, N. H.
William H. Tapley,
Saco.
David G. Tapley,
Elisha Wadleigh,
Daniel Watson,
Limerick.
COMPANY B.
Captain, Isaac P. Fall,
South Berwick.
Ist Lieut., Moses S. Hurd,
North
2d " Joseph T. Chase,
South
Sergeant, Jedediah Littlefield,
66
John Gray,
Corporal, Charles H. Tucker,
Philander H. Libbey,
North
John L. Dillingham,
66
Charles A. Harvey,
South
Charles A. Goodwin,
David H. Brackett,
North
William C. Pike,
George H. Abbott, Frank Came,
South
66
Reuben Dennett,
Ivory L. Goodwin,
Sylvester Gray,
North
Lorenzo S. Hanson,
William W. Keyes,
South
Private,
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23
THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
Private,
Gilman H. Lambkin,
North Berwick. South
Frank W. Martin,
Albert D. Mason, John F. Neal,
North
Luther Nason,
South . .
Elwell Nason,
..
Henry W. Shorey,
Charles E. Stevens,
Harrison Whitehouse,
Henry Wentworth,
Charles H. Wadleigh,
James L. Woodsom,
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COMPANY C.
Captain, Joseph F. Warren,
Ist Lieut., William Milliken jr.,
2d Samuel Dunnell,
Sergeant, Henry C. Thompson,
Nathan P. Nason, Daniel Hill,
Hollis. Buxton.
Henry Leavitt,
Corporal, Leonard C. Harmon,
Alvan A. Dennett,
Simon B. Dow, John Martin,
Hollis.
Private, Sylvester O. Boody,
William Ball,
John Berry,
Buxton.
Horace Cressey,
William Dyer,
William Duran,
Paul C. Dearborn,
Hollis.
Reuben Downs,
Lyman.
Daniel C. Flanders,
Buxton. Hollis.
Enos L. Foss,
Lendol N. Fairfield, James H. Gould,
Kennebunkport. Buxton.
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. .
Hollis. Buxton.
Buxton. Hollis.
24
THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
Private,
Charles H. Harmon,
Buxton.
John Johnson jr.,
Hollis.
Eben S. Kinrick,
John H. Knights,
George H. Libbey, Buxton.
James S. Marriner,
Frederick A. Merrill,
Franklin Nichols,
Eben H. Norton,
James W. Palmer,
Hollis.
Albert Ross,
Buxton.
Joseph G. Rounds, Elias Sanborn,
Milbury S. Smith,
Hollis.
George Tarbox,
Buxton.
Thomas Walls,
Biddeford.
COMPANY D.
Captain, David B. Fullerton,
Berwick.
Ist Lieut., Fred S. Bryant,
Kennebunkport.
2d Lieut., Frederick Hayes,
Sergeant, Nathaniel N. Hurd,
Hosea M. Quimby,
Lebanon.
Maverick M. Jennison,
Kennebunkport.
York.
Corporal, John W. Freeman, Ivory H. Nute,
Berwick.
Hosea B. Knox,
Milton, N. H.
Frank M. Davis,
Somersworth, N. H.
Samuel D. Hayes,
West Lebanon.
Private,
Marcus Bates, Benjamin H. Bulter,
New Brunswick.
Berwick.
William N. Butler, James H. Clements, Charles Cotton, George M. Corson,
Joseph B. Goodwin, George A. Lord,
Stowe. West Lebanon. Berwick. East Lebanon.
Berwick.
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
Private,
Aaron R. Libbey,
George F. Manning,
Mark Miller, Charles MeGuire,
William Perry, Pharaoh Perry, Woodbury Smith,
Milton Thurston,
Kennebunkport. Berwick.
Lubec. Kennebunkport.
COMPANY E.
Captain, John M. Getchell,
2d Lieut., John Hall,
Sergeant, Willis H. Butler,
Corporal, Alexander B. Wells, William M. Auld,
Musician, John H. Emery,
Private, Charles A. Davis,
George W. Edwards,
Walter Eaton,
Samuel M. Getchell,
George B. Pike,
Robert S. Philbrook,
Joseph Ridley,
Adrial Thompson,
Wells.
North Berwick. Sanford. Wells.
Biddeford.
Sanford. Wells.
Kittery. Sanford.
COMPANY F.
Captain, Jeremiah Plumer,
Biddeford.
Ist Lieut., Amos .W. Page,
Sergeant, William B. Pierce,
Corporal, Nicholas Scammon,
‹
Chase Andrews,
Private, Thomas Haley,
Charles N. Marston, Charles E. York,
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
COMPANY G.
Captain, Edmund A. Dixon,
Ist Lieut., Joseph D. Parker,
2d Lieut., Dennis M. Shapleigh,
Sergeant, Edgar Greenleaf,
Robert Briard, William W. Tobey,
Corporal, William W. Chapman,
George H. Hayes,
Alonzo Fernald,
Horace S. Kennison.
Private, William Berry,
Jacob S. Blanchard,
James W. Brown,
William T. Carr,
Sylvester Chick,
Charles Decoff,
Joseph H. Dixon,
Simon Fernald,
George W. Flanders,
Isaac M. Foye,
Herbert Goodsoe,
John F. Hanscom,
John R. Hill,
Eliot.
Otis C. Holt,
Franklin Littlefield,
Wells. Kittery.
William M. Otis,
Horace B. Parker,
Elbridge R. Paul,
Eliot.
John Roberts,
Joshua Roberts,
Charles H. Scriggins,
Morris G. Shapleigh,
Roscoe G. Shapleigh, James S. Spinney,
Kittery.
Stephen S. Spinney, William H. Staples,
Eliot. Kittery.
Eliot.
Kittery.
Eliot.
Kittery. Eliot.
Kittery.
Eliot.
Kittery.
Kittery. Eliot.
Eliot.
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
Private, Horatio W. Trefethen, William H. Tucker, Elijah Varney,
Kittery. Eliot.
COMPANY H.
Captain, Almond O. Smart,
Parsonsfield.
Ist Lieut., Ralph R. Hussey,
Acton.
2d Lieut. Edmund Bragdon, jr.,
Limington.
Sergeant, Harrison M. Keene,
Parsonsfield.
Ransom E. Smith,
Hiram.
George M. Walker,
Limington.
Samuel H. Garvin,
Acton.
Corporal, Charles Davis,
Charles A. Hilton,
Alfred Small, Marshall L. Wadsworth,
Limington. Hiram.
Wagoner, Charles F. McKenney,
Limington.
Private, George Black,
Thatcher W. Burnham,
Parsonsfield.
William A. Cousins,
Nathan Call,
Limington. Parsonsfield.
John M. Goodwin,
Albert G. Hill,
George E. Kidder,
Edward Lord,
66
Arthur Libbey,
Limington.
Enoch McKenney,
Clark H. Norton,
Ira A. Philbrick,
Parsonsfield.
William Ridlon,
George W. Rines, John C. Small,
Acton. Cornish. Parsonsfield.
Edwin A. Sadler,
David W. C. Scates,
Alexander Wadsworth,
Hiram.
Parsonsfield.
Frank Eastman,
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
COMPANY I.
Captain, Seth E. Bryant,
Ist Lieut. Henry B. Osgood,
2d “ Henry Littlefield,
Kennebunk.
Sergeant. William H. Moody,
William M. Staples,
Erastus Moulton,
George H. Roberts,
Lyman.
Isaac M. Emery,
Kennebunk.
Corporal, Luke H. Roberts,
John G. Cole,
Kennebunk.
Horace V. Robinson,
Dimon Roberts jr.,
Lyman. Kennebunk.
Charles D. Tripp,
Musician, Joseph H. White,
Wagoner, Nicholas Grant,
Private, George W. Adjutant,
Nathaniel Butland,
Charles L. Burnham
George Buzzell,
Lyman.
John C. Buzzell,
Biddeford.
James H. Brown,
Alfred.
George W. Cluff,
David Downs jr.,
Lyman.
John Emmons, John G. Emmons,
D. Taylor Emmons,
George W. Emerson,
Kennebunk.
Charles W. Gooch,
William H. Gooch,
George Gordon,
Lyman. Alfred.
Frederick M. Harmon, Charles S. Hubbard,
Kennebunk.
James C. Haley,
Barnabas P. Hill,
Samuel L. Hill,
Kennebunkport. Kennebunk. 66
Emerson Littlefield,
Kennebunk. Alfred.
Lyman. Alfred.
Alfred.
Alfred.
Kennebunk.
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
Private,
Charles H. Moulton,
Adam McCullock jr.,
Jonas F. Merrill, James E. Moody,
Charles H. Moody,
William H. Nason,
George W. Oakes,
Kennebunk.
Otis Perkins, Oren W. Robinson,
Joseph H. Ridley,
Alfred.
Alvah Roberts,
John R. Stanley,
George W. Taylor,
Kennebunk.
Horace Taylor,
Peletiah R. Tripp,
Octavius E. Wells,
Joseph A. Whitehouse,
John P. Wormwood,
Alfred. Kennebunk. Lyman. Alfred.
COMPANY K.
Captain, Frank A. Hutchins,
Kennebunkport.
Ist Lieut., Henry J. Goodwin,
2d Lieut., Horace L. Piper,
Corporal, Nathan Chadbourne,
Private,
Paul W. Garvin, Charles E. Abbott
Alcander M. Bradeen,
Waterboro.
John R. Carpenter, John W. Centre,
York. Waterboro.
Francis T. Chadbourne,
James M. Chadbourne,
Frank Chellis, Onsville C. Coffin,
Charles I. Davis,
Joseph R. Emmons,
John M. Hayes, John F. Maddox,
Alfred. Kennebunk.
Lyman. Alfred.
Biddeford. Waterboro. Shapleigh.
Newfield. Shapleigh. Kennebunkport. Biddeford. Newfield. Waterboro.
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
Private,
Charles H. Mitchell,
George Pitts,
Woodman Pillsbury,
Shapleigh.
Phindeus H. Ricker,
Waterboro.
Amasa Smith,
Rice Smith,
Libby H. Smith,
Shapleigh.
Simon Stone,
Newfield.
Daniel D. Taylor,
Kennebunkport.
VOLUNTEER RECRUITS.
George Hobbs, Justin Spinney,
Wells.
Kittery.
Summary
Field & Staff . 9
Non-Commissioned Staff
3
Company A.
29
B.
31
C. .
39
D. .
27
E.
14
F.
8
G. 39
H 31
I.
· 54
.K
. 26
Volunteer Recruits
2
Kennebunkport. Waterboro.
312
Appendix B
Copy of Orders and Letters
Copy of Orders and Letters
HEADQUARTERS ABERCROMBIE'S DIVISION, June 23, 1863.
Colonel : -
The General Commanding the Div. directs that you hold your Command in readiness to move at very short notice. The number of wagons to be allowed for the transportation of bag- gage & supplies will be indicated to you later in the day. You will not draw in your pickets until further orders. Ten days subsistence must be procured at once, seven days hard bread, Coffee & Sugar. Three days pork or bacon, six days salt in regimental wagons. Five days beef Cattle. Three days rations to be carried in haversacks.
Very respectfully, Your Obdt. Servant, (Signed) J. H. SLIPPER, A. A. G.
Official (Signed) J. C. KENDALL, Lieut. & A. D. C.
HEAD QUARTERS ABERCROMBIE'S DIVN. CENTREVILLE, June 24th, 1863.
Special Orders No. 24. (Extract)
2. The First Brigade of this Division, Col. Fessenden, Commanding will report to Gen. Slocum at Leesburg.
All Camp and Garrison Equipage which is in excess of the amount allowed by Gen'l Orders No. 15, will be left under charge of a guard commanded by a Commissioned officer who will see that the property is turned over to the Quarter Master's Department.
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
This movement will be executed with as little delay as possible.
By order of Brig. Genl Abercrombie,
(Signed) J. H. SLIPPER, A. A. Genl.
HD. QRS. ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, June 24, 1863.
Special Orders ? No. 171.
9. The term of service of the 25th and 27th Maine Regi- ments being about to expire they will to-morrow march to Arlington Heights and the Commanding officer will report to Gen'l Heintzelman by telegraph for further instructions.
By Command of Major Gen'l Hooker (Signed) SETH WILLIAMS
A. A. G.
HD. QRS IST BRIG. ABERCROMBIE'S DIV.
June 24, 1863.
Official
(Signed) J. C. KIMBALL,
Lt. & A. D. C.
WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, June 28, 1863.
HON. D. E. SOMES,
Dr. Sir.
I am directed by the President to say that he very much desires the Maine Regiments whose term of service is about expiring to remain in the service a short time until the present emergency passes over.
They will render aid of great importance to the Union which will properly be acknowledged by the Government.
You are authorized & requested to present the matter to the
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
regiments in hope that their patriotic feelings will induce them to remain a short time. Yours truly (Signed) EDWIN M. STANTON Secretary of War.
1:55028
WAR DEPARTMENT Washington City June 30, 1863.
COL. M. F. WENTWORTH 27th Maine Vols. Washington, D. C. Sir : -
The Secretary of War directs me to express his thanks for the offer made by a part of your regiment to remain for a few days beyond the expiration of their term of service, and to say that the offer is accepted.
You will please report with them to Maj. Gen'l. Heintzel- man, Commanding the Department of Washington.
Very respectfully, Sir. Your Obt. Servt., (Signed) ED. M. CANBY, Brig. Gen'l. & A. A. G.
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF WASHINGTON.
JULY Ist, 1863.
COL. WENTWORTH,
Comdg. 27th Me. Vols. Colonel.
The Major General Commanding directs that you report with those men that have volunteered their services to stay a longer time to Brig. Gen'l. DeRussy, Comdg Defenses South of the Potomac, Head Quarters, Arlington House.
I am Colonel Very respectfully, Your Obt. Servt., (Signed) CARROLL, H. POTTER, Capt. & A. A. G.
Appendix e
Obituary notices by Lieut .- Col. James m. Stone
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Obituary notices
COL. RUFUS P. TAPLEY was born in Danvers, Massachusetts, January 2, 1823, and died at his home in Saco, April 10, 1893. He was county attorney for the county of York when chosen Colonel of the Regiment. He was an admirable prosecuting officer, and I have long thought was just where he belonged, when he resigned that position to enter the army. While keenly alive to the need of the country for additional soldiers he was, also, undoubtedly ambitious of military distinction But he did not find his position a congenial one, and was allowed to resign it. Virgil has told us " non omnia possumus omnes," and so he resigned the colonelcy of the Regiment and returned again to the profession he loved, where he, and all of us, fully realized what was so easily possible to him. He ranked among the first lawyers of Maire, and was for seven years a justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of the state.
MAJ. JOHN D. HILL was born in Buxton, Maine, August 28, 1812, and died there November 20, 1868, and was a somewhat older man than the most of us when he entered the service, and had enjoyed the advantage of an early training in the militia of the state, if this can be termed an advantage. He was a robust, hardy, stalwart man, inured to out-of-door, active life, and frank and hearty in manner; a man to be depended on, and always found ready for duty ; a genuine patriot, a worthy officer, an honest man, and a Christian soldier. I have often thought there was much of the material in him of which Croni- well's Ironsides were made.
DR. JOHN E. L. KIMBALL, the surgeon of the Regiment, was born in Pembroke, New Hampshire, July 30, 1819, and died in Saco, June 2, 1892, and was one of the best known and most
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
skilful physicians of the state. Long before and after his term of service with us, he was the leading physician in Saco. He was a careful, conscientious, and, I think, rather conservative practitioner, who would take no chances in experimenting with his patients. While we were stationed at Camp Vermont, diphtheria came suddenly and fatally to prevail in the Regi- ment, and the colonel being temporarily absent on other duty, the doctor came to me and said, " I do not wish to frighten you, " but if you do not move this Regiment to some other spot, we " shall lose all our men ; I have done what I could and have " consulted all the army surgeons around us, and have been " into Washington and seen the surgeon-general of the army, " and none of them are able to aid me." He accompanied me in selecting a new camp-site, which was apparently little better than the other ; but we did not have another case of diphtheria on the new ground. This was a slight but characteristic inci- dent ; medical prescriptions did not and would not avail, but a change of location might, and did. I called on him a short time before his death, when about to leave the state for a short time, and found him very ill and confined to his room; but while there, a soldier called to consult him about his applica- tion for a pension then pending, and I was struck with the immediate change in his manner and his evident interest in the case. Sick as he was, he did for the man all he could do, - the very same man to the last. He asked me to bring over the regimental history and to read it to him, if I should find him there when I next came to Saco ; but he had passed onward before I returned home. He was a man whose memory I am sure we all honor and shall fondly cherish.
CAPT. GEORGE H. WARD was born in Portland, April IS, 1837, and died in Saco, July 26, 1868, and was the youngest company commander in the Regiment. He was a small, com- pactly built man, apparently of a somewhat nervous organiza- tion, and yet perfectly cool and undisturbed in danger. I was once appointed Brigade officer and requested to go on duty early in the evening and to remain there for the night, when the
41
THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
Brigadier informed me that from the information received, he had reason to expect an attack. It was very dark and raining in torrents. Capt. Ward was stationed with his Company on the turnpike, upon the picket line, and before I could reach him there was rapid and continuous firing all along the line. I found him standing upon the pike with pickets posted and with the rest of his command under arms in reserve. He said the boys thought they had discovered the enemy approaching them upon the pike. I remember how calm and self-possessed he was, and have ever since held the estimate of him which I formed then and there. He requested that another company should be sent from the Regiment to support him, which was done ; he promised me that they would not be stampeded, and as I left him to pass along the line, I felt perfectly assured he would hold the pike, if attacked, until the Brigade could be got under arms, which was all he could do. He was one of the very best officers in the Regiment.
CAPT. JEREMIAH PLUMER was born in Boscawen, New Hampshire, October 8, 1803, and died at Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania, upon the thirteenth day of July, 1869. At the time of his death he was the superintendent of a cotton mill located there, and was killed by the explosion of its boiler. He was employed in or about cotton mills in various capacities, in the state of Massachusetts from 1836 until 1845, when he removed to Biddeford, Maine, and commenced work for the Laconia Manufacturing Company, where he remained until he enlisted as a volunteer in our Regiment. He had much to do in his own city and Saco with recruiting soldiers for Company F, of which he was elected Captain. He was the western type of an officer rather than of the regular army pattern, and certainly was far from a martinet ; but he succeeded well with his command and no man in the Regiment, I think, ever doubted his pluck. He was the kind of a man to give a good account of himself in action. He was very firm in his opinions; an Abolitionist in his political sentiments ; and in early life united with the Con-
$
.
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
gregational church in his native town. Upon leaving the army he finally resumed again his former business in a cotton mill.
CAPT. EDMUND A. DIXON of Company G, was born in Eliot, Maine, February 10, 1821, and died there January 13, 1888. Prior to the war of the rebellion, he was the first lieutenant of an Artillery Company, stationed at Fort Mc'Clary, Maine, at the mouth of the Piscataqua River ; but this Company was never mustered into the service of the United States. His business, both before and after his term of service in our Regi- ment, was that of a butcher, and for some years before his death, he was employed at this business at Brighton, Massa- chusetts. He was a man of an athletic make, and powerful physique, who possessed an easy and ready ascendency over his men, and who appeared to be unusually strong in their confi- dence, and was thus, of course, a successful company com- mander. I think in no Company in the Regiment was esprit de corps more marked than in this. I did not know the Captain well enough, personally, to characterize him more specifically.
SETH E. BRYANT, Captain Company I (afterwards command- ing Company A., Thirty-second Maine Regiment), was born in Rochester, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, March 14, 1826, and died at his home in Kennebunk, January 26, 1888. He was for many years a trusted and faithful official in various offices in the town, and prominent politically, both in the county and state ; a man of superior clerical abilities and thorough integrity. As a military officer, he was cool, cautious, and circumspect in time of danger, and though small in stature and not physically of a commanding presence, yet his men implicitly trusted and obeyed him; he formed his opinions with great deliberation, but when he once had reached a conclusion, was as immovable as the rock-ribbed hills where he was born,- a man to cling to.
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
SAMUEL H. LIBBY, First Lieutenant Company A. (after- wards captain Company L., Second Maine Cavalry), was born in Limerick, March 16, 1840, and died July 28, 1871. He was a tall, graceful and genial officer, to whom his men were strongly attached. He was at one time appointed acting adjutant of the regiment, during the temporary absence of Mr. Rand, the adjutant, assigned for a few days to other duty. He was a man of commanding presence and one of the best posted in tactics, I think, whom we had. He was a good soldier and a superior officer.
LIEUT. JOHN H. CAME was born April 29, 1835, and died at Fairfax, Viginia, January 16, 1863, of fever contracted in the service, and before I had come to know him. But I well knew two of his older brothers and the stock of which he came, and had formed high expectations of him, which I have no doubt would have been fully realized, if he had lived. He gave his young life to the country as really as though he had fallen in battle.
THOMAS SHERMAN, JR., of Lebanon, First Lieutenant of Company D., is, as I learn, dead, but I have not learned either the date of his birth or death. He resigned and was discharged February 2, 1863.
LIEUT. AMOS W. PAGE was born in Hollis, Maine, August 8, 1823, and died at Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, August 31, 1891. I remember him as an affable officer, of pleasing address, with a strong hold upon his men, and as a good and faithful soldier,- the exact type of a man, of whom the Union armies had so many, to enlist only from a sense of duty. He was regarded as a superior business man, and before the war had been for some years employed as an overseer in one of the rooms of the Laconia Cotton Mills in Biddeford. During the
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THE TWENTY-SEVENTH MAINE.
last few months of his term of service in the Regiment, he was assigned to the command of the Ambulance Corps of the Brigade. He is understood to have been a successful manu- facturer after he left the state.
LIEUT. JOSEPH D. PARKER, of Company G., was born at Kittery, Maine, January 20, 1828, and died there, December II, 1894. He was a ship and house carpenter by trade. He was long and deservedly prominent and popular in the town, having served it in many capacities, including two terms as its representative in the Legislature of the state. He was for many years a member of the Second Christian church there. While a marked contrast with the Captain of the Company, physically,- he being a man of a rather slender make,- yet he was equally strong in the confidence and respect of his men. Indeed, the strength and closeness of the tie between officers and men was one of the chief characteristics of this Company. But I was no more intimately acquainted with Lieut. Parker than with Capt. Dixon.
LYSANDER B. YOUNG, of South Berwick, Second Lieutenant of Company B., was born June 19, 1836. He resigned his commission January 22, was discharged February 9, 1863, and died October 3, 1878.
RALPH R. HUSSEY of Acton, Second Lieutenant of Company H. is reported dead, but, although I have earnestly tried, I have been unable to learn the facts in his case.
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