The Portland daily press., 1886-09-13
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

History of the Sixteenth Maine Regiment.
By Major Abner R. Small. $1.5O. For sale
by Luther Bradford, Woodford's MaineO
The Sixteenth was recruited in the summer
of 1862 in answer to the call for one regi-
ment. Its makeup was peculiar the men
coming from every county, and from almost
every large town in the State. Later in the
war the ranks were filled with very large
number of conscripts and substitutes. Some
of the best and some of the worst elements
of our State went into the Sixteenth, but the
worthless were sifted out in time, and the
regiment won good name by hard work
and became an honor to our State.
Ill luck attended every move at first; re-
cruits came in slowly they reached Wash
ington just in time to mingle with the de-
moralized odds and ends of McClellan's and
Pope's armies and after "shoveling Dirt"
when they had better been drilling they
were brigaded with old troops and sentEinto
Maryland. They took no part, however, in
the battle of Antietam, to which place they
were ordered after the battle was over-for
such was the strategy in those day.
Trouble and misery increased; the big
Sibley tents of the men could not be trans
ported shelters to take their place could
not be drawn, and the men were compelled
to lie down at night in only their summer
clothes under such poor shelter as they
could get from rails, cornstalks, &c. Seven
weeks of this wretched existence in the arl-
tumn of 1862 sent a third of their number to
the hospital or grave. The old troops also
insulted and abused them for being green
and sickly, and thus made their life disa-
greeable and dreary enough. In time cloth
ing and tents were drawn and the army
moved on to Fredericksburg, and were led to
that memorable slaughter, where the six
tenth fought only too well and suffered the
heavy loss of "a per cent. in killed and
wounded. Fearful and useless as was this
battle the Sixteenth reaped the important
gain of respect from the old troops who wit
messed but could not excel their bravery.
The regiment was not called into close ac-
ton at Charlottesville in the spring follow
ing; but in the retreat from Virginia and in
the Gettysburg campaign they took lively
part. Having been transferred to Reynolds
Corps they were in the first days fight July
/, 1868, and were once more overpowered
and slaughtered. Nearly all present were
killed, wounded or captured; the flag was
torn up and the staff broken, and their sur
render thus evaded. The few who were left
unframed took part in the great victory two
days later.
Maj. Small's narrative of this battle is in
teresting and pathetic, but in his desire to be
brief he has unfortunately omitted to give in
detail the experiences of the prisons, and
particularly of Col Tilden's remarkable es-
cape from Libby Prison.
Under Grant in the Wilderness campaign,
the seige of Petersburg and the surrender OF
Lee the Sixteenth did its full share of fight
ing, marching, digging and swearing. In the
attack on the Weldon Railroad, August, "a,
the regiment was again nearly wiped out by
wounds and capture. Col Tilden once more
made his escape after only few days stay
in rebeldom.
After Lees surrender the regiment
tramped to Washington, marched in the
grand review and was mustered out, having
had three years of as disagreeable and un-