20th Maine Regiment, 1861-04-01 - 1867-08-09
Scope and Contents
This material primarily consists of incoming correspondence from officers of the various Maine units, addressed to either the Adjutant General of Maine or the three Governors who held office during the Civil War. While much of it deals with the mechanical routines of running a regiment, the material can give researchers a unique insight into how the volunteer regiments worked – or, in some cases, failed to work. Often beset by regimental politics as well as civilian political interest, most of these units nevertheless matured into formidable fighting forces in the end.
Throughout the war, the Adjutant General and the Governors employed special agents to investigate and report on specific problems or conditions. For instance, after Antietam, General McClellan granted wholesale furloughs to weary participants who took themselves home immediately. The Army had a dreadful time getting them back. Eventually, in Maine, agents were sent through each county to find these men, determine whether they were able to go back, and send them on their way. At other times agents were sent as far afield as Florida to check on conditions among Maine troops.
Also within this category is correspondence from the numerous branches of the U.S. War Department and from the Executive Department, and various commands of the U.S. Army. The material is arranged chronologically within each series or subheading. A very large series of letters comes from the numerous suppliers of every conceivable type of material from tin cups to silk flags. This material provides extremely useful economic information, containing evidence of who was manufacturing what and where. It is filed chronologically by State and then individually by city within the State.
Includes cartes de visite (CdV) photographs of Maine’s regimental officers as requested by Adjutant General John Hodsdon.
Dates
- 1861-04-01 - 1867-08-09
Creator
- Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence (1828-1914) (Associated name, Person)
- United States. Army. Maine Infantry Regiment, 20th (1862-1865) (Organization)
Biographical / Historical
The 20th Maine Regiment was mustered in at Augusta, Maine, for three years' service on August 29, 1862, and were mustered out on July 16, 1865. Of the 1,621 men enrolled in the regiment, 147 were killed or died of wounds, 146 died of disease, and 15 were in Confederate prisons.
They served in the following engagements:
Antietam, MD - September 17, 1862
Shepherdstown Ford, VA - September 19 - 20, 1862
Fredericksburg, VA - December 13, 1862
Chancellorsville, VA - May 1 - 4, 1863
Middleburg, VA - June 17, 1863
Gettysburg, PA - July 1 - 3, 1863
Sharpsburg Pike, MD - July 1863
Rappahannock Station, VA - November 7, 1863
Mine Run, VA - November 26 - December 1, 1863
Wilderness, VA - May 5 - 7, 1864
Spotsylvania, VA - May 7 - 20, 1864
North Anna, VA - May 23 - 27, 1864
Totopotomy, VA - May 26, - 30, 1864
Bethesda Church, VA - May 30 - June 1, 1864
Cold Harbor, VA - May 31 - June 12, 1864
Petersburg, VA - June 1864
Jerusalem Plank Road, VA - June 22 - 23, 1864
Weldon Railroad, VA - August 18 - 21, 1864
Peebles Farm, VA - September 30 - October 2, 1864
Hatchers Run, VA - December 8 - 9, 1864
Quaker Road, VA - March 29, 1865
Gravelly Run, VA - March 29, 1865
Five Forks, VA - March 30 - April 1, 1865
Appomattox, VA - March 29 - April 9, 1865
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (1828-1914), is best known for his heroic participation in the Battle of Gettysburg. Lieutenant Colonel Chamberlain led his 20th Maine Infantry in a desperate bayonet charge down Little Round Top on July 2, 1863. Fearing Chamberlain to be near death from wounds at Petersburg in 1864, General Ulysses Grant gave him a field promotion to Brigadier General. Surviving against all odds, Chamberlain received the Confederate surrender at Appomatox Court House, Virginia, in April 1865. Chamberlain served four terms as Maine's governor and later as president of Bowdoin College.
Extent
From the Schedule/Series: 33.1 Linear Feet (72 Containers)
Language of Materials
From the Record Group: English
- Civil War -- 1861-1865 Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- United States. Army. Maine Infantry Regiment, 20th (1862-1865) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Repository Details
Part of the Maine State Archives Repository