Andrew Jackson Tozier (February 11, 1838 – March 28, 1910) was a first sergeant in the

2nd Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 2nd Maine Infantry Regiment (also known as the Second Maine Regiment, Second Maine Infantry, or The Bangor Regiment) was a Union Army unit during the American Civil War. It was mustered in Bangor, Maine, for two years' service on May 28, 1861, ...

and later the color-bearer for the

20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 20th Maine Infantry Regiment was a volunteer regiment of the United States Army (Union Army) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), most famous for its defense of Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, ...

who was awarded the

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 ...

for his service 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 th ...

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 state ...

Biography

Born in the Purgatory area near the Monmouth/Litchfield line, Andrew was the fifth of seven children. When he was ten years old, he moved with his family to Plymouth, Maine, to be near relatives. His father, John H. Tozier, was an abusive alcoholic and Andrew ran away from home in his early teens. In July 1861, Tozier returned home and enlisted from Plymouth in the 2nd Maine Infantry Regiment. In early 1862, he was promoted to corporal and at the

Battle of Gaines' Mill The Battle of Gaines' Mill, sometimes known as the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles ( Peninsula Campaign) of the American Civil War. Following the incon ...

, he was shot in the middle finger and the ankle. Tozier was captured when his regiment fell back and a Confederate surgeon removed the finger and the bullet in his ankle the next day. Tozier was sent to Belle Isle prison in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

and then was paroled a few weeks later. In time, he returned to his regiment and in late May 1863, he was transferred to Company I of the 20th Maine. A month later, Tozier became the

color bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

of his new regiment on the march to Gettysburg when his predecessor, Sgt. Charles Proctor turned up drunk on the march and was arrested. Tozier was the most senior sergeant in the regiment owing to his previous service in the 2nd Maine, which dated back to 1861. As the senior enlisted man, the honor of bearing the regimental colors fell to him. During the battle on

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 fla ...

, Tozier stood at the center of the regiment with the regimental flag tucked in his right elbow while he used the rifle of a wounded member of the color guard to return fire on the attacking Confederates. At the conclusion of the fight, regimental commander

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 ...

offered Tozier a commission as a lieutenant, but Tozier declined. Tozier was again wounded at the

Battle of North Anna The Battle of North Anna was fought May 23–26, 1864, as part of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. It consisted of a series of small actions near the Nort ...

on May 26, 1864. This time, the bullet struck his head just behind his eye. Most of the bullet exited the skull, but a portion remained lodged inside. Despite this latest wound, he continued to serve until his original enlistment term expired on July 15, 1864.

Criminal history

Tozier, along with Lewis Cushman, who was both his half-brother and his uncle, participated in a multi-year crime spree: stealing cattle, clothing, and other items across several Maine counties. On August 29, 1865, Tozier, Cushman, and an accomplice robbed the clothing store of Michael Larkin in East Livermore, Maine. On April 9, 1868, in

Cherryfield, Maine Cherryfield is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States on the Narraguagus River. It was named for the wild cherries that once peppered the banks of the river. The town population was 1,107 at the 2020 census. The town bills itself as th ...

, the two men stole six oxen and drove them to near the state capitol of Augusta before butchering them and selling the meat. Tozier proved to be an elusive criminal. He was charged with crimes in three different counties but was acquitted in one and had the charges dismissed in another. In 1869, however, prosecutors had enough evidence of his guilt in the clothing store robbery—including the cooperation of Cushman who implicated Tozier—that he pled guilty and was sentenced to five years at hard labor in the state prison. Shortly after he was transferred to the prison, however, Tozier was

pardoned A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

of all crimes by the Governor of Maine, his former commander in the 20th Maine,

. In an effort to prevent Tozier from slipping back into a life of crime, Chamberlain made his release contingent on moving himself and his family to the Chamberlain estate. This would allow the governor to keep an eye on his former sargeant and provide the family with a steady income, with both Tozier and his wife working as personal assiants to the Governor and First Lady of Maine. Tozier and his wife would give birth to a daughter during their time at the estate, naming her after Chamberlain's 13 year old daughter, Grace.

Postwar years

After living with the Chamberlains for a few years, Tozier moved to

Chebeague Island Chebeague Island is located in Casco Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Maine. It was originally used as a fishing ground by Abenaki Native Americans. Also known as Great Chebeague (pronounced "sha-big") Island, today it is a town in Cumberland Count ...

where he worked on a fishing vessel. Eventually, Tozier returned to his childhood home in Monmouth & Litchfield and tried his hand at dairy farming. Plagued by the physical effects of his many war wounds, Tozier worked when he could at a local rake and broom factory or at other odd jobs. He was also active in his local

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy ( U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, I ...

(GAR) post.

Medal of Honor

Tozier was issued the

on August 13, 1898, with the citation reading: "At the crisis of the engagement this soldier, a color bearer, stood alone in an advanced position, the regiment having been borne back, and defended his colors with musket and ammunition picked up at his feet." The medal was likely destroyed when his son Andrew Jr.’s home in Farmingdale, Maine burned down.

In popular culture

Tozier and the story of the 20th Maine are celebrated in

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 ...

's song "Ballad of the 20th Maine", from their album ''Field Notes Vol.1.'' The song became the official State Ballad of Maine in 2019. Tozier appears in the 1993 film '' Gettysburg'', portrayed by actor Herb Mitchell.

Notes