The 20th Maine Infantry Regiment was a volunteer

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 ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

(

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 ...

(1861–1865), most famous for its defense of

Little Round Top Little Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—the companion to the adjacent, taller hill named Big Round Top. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left f ...

at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to th ...

, July 1–3, 1863. The 133rd Engineer Battalion of the

Maine Army National Guard The Maine Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces and approximately one-thir ...

and the

today carries on the lineage and traditions of the 20th Maine.

Organization

The 20th Maine was organized in the state of Maine and mustered into federal service on August 29, 1862, with

Col. Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Adelbert Ames Adelbert Ames (October 31, 1835 – April 13, 1933) was an American sailor, soldier, and politician who served with distinction as a Union Army general during the American Civil War. A Radical Republican, he was military governor, U.S. Senat ...

as its commander. It was assigned 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 ...

in the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division,

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...

, where it would remain until mustered out on July 16, 1865. At that time, the brigade also consisted of the 16th Michigan, the 12th, 17th, and 44th New York, 83rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry regiments, and a Michigan company of sharpshooters.

Combat history

Prior to their notable actions at Gettysburg in July 1863, the regiment was held in reserve at

Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

in September 1862, and was among those forced to remain overnight within sight of the Confederate lines at Fredericksburg in December 1862, forcing the regiment's Lt. Col.

Joshua Chamberlain Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (born Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain, September 8, 1828February 24, 1914) was an American college professor from Maine who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army. He became a highly respected and ...

to shield himself with a dead man. The unit was unable to participate in the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because h ...

in April-May 1863, due to a quarantine prompted by a tainted smallpox vaccine that had been issued to the unit's soldiers. On May 20, 1863, Colonel Ames was promoted and was succeeded as colonel and commander of the regiment by Lt. Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain, who had been offered and declined leadership of the unit at the time it was formed.

Gettysburg and Little Round Top

The most notable battle was the regiment's decisive role on July 2, 1863, in the

, where it was stationed on

hill at the extreme left of the Union line. When the regiment came under heavy attack from the

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 ...

15th and 47th Alabama regiments (part of the

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

led by Maj. Gen.

John Bell Hood John Bell Hood (June 1 or June 29, 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Although brave, Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank. Bruce Catton wrote that "the dec ...

), the 20th Maine ran low on ammunition after one and a half hours of continuous fighting; it responded to the sight of rebel infantry forming again for yet another push up the slope at them by instead suddenly charging downhill with fixed

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

s, surprising and scattering the Confederates, thus ending the attack on the hill and the attempt to flank the hill position and move around the south end of the Federal "fishhook". The 20th Maine and the adjacent 83rd Pennsylvania together captured many men from both Alabama regiments (including Lt. Col. Michael Bulger, commander of the 47th), as well as several other men of the 4th Alabama and 4th and 5th Texas regiments of the same division. Had the 20th Maine retreated from the hill, the entire Union line would have been flanked, endangering and hurting other Union regiments in the vicinity.

Later war

Later actions in which the regiment participated included Second Rappahannock Station, Mine Run, The Wilderness,

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

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 ...

, Peebles's Farm, Lewis's Farm/Quaker Road, White Oak Road, Five Forks, and Appomattox Court House.

Disbandment

The 20th Maine marched from Appomattox, Virginia, on May 2, reaching the national capital at

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, ...

, on May 12, where the remaining original members were mustered out of service on June 4, 1865, with the remainder of the regiment leaving the federal service on July 16. The heritage of the 20th Maine is carried on today by the 133rd Engineer Battalion,

Casualties

* 1,621 enrollment (soldiers assigned to the regiment) * 147 killed or died of wounds * 381 wounded * 146 died of disease * 15 in Confederate prisons

Cultural references

The participation of the 20th Maine in the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

is depicted in the 2003 feature film ''" Gods And Generals"'' (prequel movie to 1993's '' Gettysburg'' based on

Michael Shaara Michael Shaara (June 23, 1928 – May 5, 1988) was an American author of science fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction. He was born to an Italian immigrant father (the family name was originally spelled Sciarra, which in Italian is pron ...

's son

Jeff Shaara Jeffrey M. "Jeff" Shaara (born February 21, 1952) is an American novelist and the son of Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Shaara. Biography Jeffrey Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and grew up in Tallahassee, Florida. He graduated f ...

's historical novel of the same name). The regiment's downhill charge during the

is depicted in the 1974 historical novels ''

The Killer Angels ''The Killer Angels'' is a 1974 historical novel by Michael Shaara that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. The book depicts the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, and the days leading up to it ...

'' by

(winner of the 1975

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

in fiction) and '' Courage on Little Round Top'', and was subsequently an important scene in the feature movie made 18 years later, '' Gettysburg'' in 1993. The 2012 music video for the pop song " Some Nights" performed by

Fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "Light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...

includes American Civil War Union soldiers serving in the regiment. The regiment is victorious in a fictional battle that portrays a young Union soldier who has left his love in Maine to serve in the regiment. During the battle, he brutally kills a Confederate soldier in hand-to-hand combat. The 20th Maine and its color-bearer Andrew Tozier are the subjects of "Ballad of the 20th Maine", a song by the Maine band

The Ghost of Paul Revere The Ghost of Paul Revere are an American folk trio from Portland, Maine composed of Max Davis, Sean McCarthy and Griffin Sherry. The band made their national debut when they appeared as the musical guest on the TBS talk show, Conan, in January of ...

; it is the official state ballad of Maine. The song "

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

" by Steve Earle and the

Del McCoury Band The Del McCoury Band is a Grammy award-winning American bluegrass band. History Originally the band was called Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals with Del on guitar and his brother Jerry on bass. The band went through a number of changes in personn ...

is also about the 20th Maine.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Maine State Archives)

20th Maine Volunteers website

Gettysburg Photographs.com
* http://learn.bowdoin.edu/joshua-lawrence-chamberlain/ * {{Gettysburg Campaign Units and formations of the Union Army from Maine 1862 establishments in Maine Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865