The 6th Maine Infantry Regiment was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

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 ...

that served 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 ...

Service

The 6th Maine Infantry was organized in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on July 15, 1861. The regiment was attached to W. F. Smith's Brigade, Division of the Potomac, to October 1861. 2nd Brigade, Smith's Division,

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 ...

, to March 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, IV Corps, Army of the Potomac, to May 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division,

VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to: France * VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army du ...

, to February 1863. Light Division, VI Corps, to May 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, VI Corps, to August 1864. The 6th Maine Infantry mustered out of service August 15, 1864. Veterans and recruits were transferred to the 7th Maine Infantry and soon consolidated to become the 1st Maine Veteran Infantry.

Detailed History

This regiment was composed principally of the hardy lumbermen of the Penobscot Valley and the eastern portion of the state, who were quick to respond to the first call to arms. Before its organization it was made up of two battalions of five companies each, rendezvousing respectively at the state arsenal, Bangor, and Fort Sullivan, Eastport. Under a general order from Adjt.-Gen. Hodsdon, June 28, 1861, both battalions were removed to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

and organized into a regiment for active service. On July 12-15, 1861, it was mustered into the service of the United States and on the 17th left for

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. En route through

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the regiment was presented with a handsome standard by the sons of Maine in that city. It arrived in Washington on the 19th and was stationed at

Chain Bridge A chain bridge is a historic form of suspension bridge for which chains or eyebars were used instead of wire ropes to carry the bridge deck. A famous example is the Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest. Construction types are, as for other suspens ...

on the Potomac, where it remained until Sept. 3. Through the fall and winter of 1861-62 it occupied Fort Griffin, and in March, 1862, was put into Hancock's brigade, Smith's division, and joined in the advance on Manassas. A little later it was attached to the 4th Corps under Gen. E. D. Keyes, and advanced with the rest of the army on Yorktown on April 4, 1862. For the remainder of its three years the regiment saw the most arduous and active service. It participated in ten general engagements and in a great many skirmishes. On April 5-7, 1862, it was engaged in skirmishing and reconnaissances at the siege of Yorktown, and subsequently took part in the engagements at Lee's Mills, Williamsburg, Garnett's Farm, White Oak bridge, Antietam and Fredericksburg. From Feb. 2 to May 11, 1863, it was with the "Light Division", and during this period took an honorable part in the Battle of Chancellorsville, where it lost 128 officers and men killed and wounded. Other important battles in which the 6th was engaged were Rappahannock Station, where it lost 16 officers and 123 men; Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, where it lost a few men, and two days later in an attack on the enemy's works on the right, it lost 125 in killed, wounded and missing. On June 12, 1864, the regiment only numbered 70 men, and was under fire for eight hours, supporting Gen. Hancock's corps, losing 16 officers and men. The original members of the regiment were mustered out on Aug. 15, 1864, and the veterans and recruits to the number of 238 men, were transferred to the 7th Me. afterwards organized as the 1st Regiment Veteran Volunteers.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 255 men during service; 12 officers and 141 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 2 officers and 100 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanding officers

* Colonel Abner Knowles * Colonel

Hiram Burnham Hiram Burnham (1814 – September 29, 1864) was an officer in the Union Army who commanded a regiment and then a brigade in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. He was killed in battle while assaulting Confederate positions near Ric ...

*Colonel Benjamin F. Harris

Notable members

* First Lieutenant Charles A. Clark, adjutant -

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient for action at Brooks Ford, Virginia, May 4, 1863 * Sergeant Otis O. Roberts, Company H - Medal of Honor recipient for action at the Second Battle of Rappahannock Station

References

Sources

* Ambler, Isaac W. ''Truth is Stranger Than Fiction: The Life of Sergeant I. W. Ambler'' (Boston, MA: Lee and Shepard), 1873. * Clark, Charles Amory. ''Campaigning With the Sixth Maine: A Paper Read Before the Iowa Commandery Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States'' (Des Moines, IA: Kenyon Press), 1897. * * Forsyth, William. ''A Sprig of Myrtle for the "Old Sixth Maine"'' (S.l.: s.n.), 1901. * Morong, Frederic W.. ''Mr. Frederic W. Morong, 6th Me. Reg't. Co. A, 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 6th Corps: His Book'' (Madbury, NH: Dana M. Morong), 1993. * Mundy, James H. ''No Rich Men's Sons: The Sixth Maine Volunteer Infantry'' (Cape Elizabeth, ME: Harp Publications), 1994. {{ISBN, 0-9626389-3-5 * Sixth Maine Regiment Association. ''Fiftieth Anniversary, Sixth Maine Regiment Association'' (Ellsworth, ME: Hancock Hall), 1911.

External links

6th Maine Infantry monument at Gettysburg
Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1864 6th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment 1861 establishments in Maine