The 1st Maine Heavy Artillery Regiment was a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. It suffered more casualties in an ill-fated charge during the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...

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 Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

, in 1862 as the 18th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment and consisted mostly of men and officers from the

Penobscot River The Penobscot River (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's We ...

Valley (the area around Bangor and points east). It was commanded by Col.

Daniel Chaplin Daniel Chaplin (January 22, 1820 – August 20, 1864) was a Union army officer in the American Civil War. Under Chaplin's command, the ill-fated charge of the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery Regiment against Confederate breastworks during Siege of Peters ...

, a Bangor merchant. Charles Hamlin, son of Vice President

Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 15th vice president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republican ...

, was originally an officer in this regiment, but was promoted to a position on the staff of

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

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. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

before being reassigned to the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

during the

Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union ...

in the spring of 1864. At the

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania (or the 19th-century spelling Spottsylvania), was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's 186 ...

, 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 Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

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 later killed by a sharpshooter. The regiment was commanded by Russell Benjamin Shepherd for the remainder of the war. All in all, the 1st Maine sustained one of the highest casualty rates in the war, with 423 killed, and another 260 died of disease.Dyer (1959), Volume 3. p. 1,216. A monument to the 1st Maine stands on the former battlefield at Petersburg.U.S. National Park Service, Petersburg National Battlefield, 1st Maine Heavy Artillery Monument
Retrieved March 6, 2015.

References

External links

* {{Internet Archive, 01262555.3237.emory.edu, The First Maine Heavy Artillery, 1861-1865: a history of its part and place in the war for the union, with an outline of causes of war and its results to our country (1903)
The First Maine Heavy Artillery
Retrieved June 9, 2008. Units and formations of the Union Army from Maine History of Maine Bangor, Maine Artillery units and formations of the American Civil War 1862 establishments in Maine Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865

See also

References

External links