The Portland daily press., 1889-10-23
THE SEVENTH REGIMENT.
IT'S March From Virginia and Its
Movements at Gettysburg.
Written for the Press. |

| movements at GettySpurS.
Written for the Press.l
The monument to the Seventh Maine Regi-
ment is placed near the Baltimore pike, be-
yond Rock Creek, and two or three miles
from Gettysburg village
The Seventh Maine was commanded at
Gettysburg by Lt.-Colonel Selden Conner,
who was the only field officer present with the
regiment that day. In rank and file at Get
tysburg, the Seventh numbered about 200
men. They had been mustered in Aug. %,
1861, and were certainly as representative a
regiment as left the State. In their ranks
| were men from Aroostook to York. They
| had enlisted after the disaster at Bull Run,
| when the feeling had been experienced in
| the North that the coming war was to be
great struggle demanding great sacrifice.
| They had skirmished up in the advance of
| the left flank of the Army of the Potomac
| when it advanced up the Peninsula in 1862,
and the first man killed in that campaign
At Williamsburg the Seventh participated in
the brilliant bayonet fight that laid the
foundation of uancock's reputation. They
went through the Seven Days fight; and then
at Antietam, under, command of Major r.
W. Hyde, single hanGeQ and alone, they
made an assault on the rebel centre losing
heavily and coming very near being CAPTURED
Mcclellan so admired this charge, that he
sent the regiment home to recruit, with an
autograph letter to the Governor testifyinp
was consolidated into five companies and
sent to the front under command of Lieut.
Col. Selden Conner. by command of the war
department. At the Second Fredericksburg
they charged Mayre's heights and lost heavi
ly in that and the hext days fighting
No regiment in the whole army had seen
more perilous service, or was composed of
Drawer veterans than the Seventh.
The last days of June the Seventh was
marching up from Virginia with the rest of
the Sixth Corps. They crossed the Potomac
at Edwards's Ferry. They were among the
last soldiers to leave the Rappahannock and
| therefore had to move by forced mrrches.
| The itinerary Of the regiment on the march
| is as follows, according to the diary of Gen.
| eral Connor, which differs slightly with the
record given by the Count of Paris:
| June 18th cat ten o'clock at night left Fred
| erleksburg and marched TO Potomac Creek.
June IA, left Potomac Creek in the evening %
| o'clockl
June 10, arrived at Dumfries at B p m.
A" 49, 10 Fairfax Station.
" 10, 10 Fairfax Court House.
20, to Bristoe Station.
{" 26, TO Drainsyille.
/" 81, to near Po0lesville, Md.
f" ~, to Hyattstown.
+" 20, to Sans Greek, New Windsor.
- 30. TO Manchester
July l, arrived on the field at or o'clock p.
m. on End July.
On the first of July the Seventh was at
| Manchester, Maryland. About midnight of
| that night they we're ordered TO march.
| They were from thirty to thirty-fve miles
from Gettysburg, but had heard nothing of
| Buford and Reynolds's fight of the first day.
They marched all through the remainder of
| the night, and all the next day till about 4
| O'Clock in the afternoon. The roads were
| fairly good, but the mems shoes were badly
worn, and through the long night and fore
noon, as they fastened from Maryland to
| Pennsylvania, they suffered all the bardshps
CT the longest and most memorable of forced
| marches.
FROM an early hour on the morning the
men knew that there was fighting going on
ahead, but not till they arrived within few
miles Of Gettysburg did they hear the guns
| of the battle.
Longstreet was just driving Sickles from
the Peach Orchard and Emmettsburg road.
the Seventh belonged was put in line ON
Powers's Hill. a short distance behind the
centre OF the Union line They were hardly
in line before stragglers from SicBlos 5 troops
began to come back Everything Is gone 70
an aijutant general of one of Sickles's
brigade. But the Seventh had had expert
ene.-crs5usTi to know that few stragglers
| did not constitute the route of an army.
Moreover they could see Slocum's men NOV
ing from the right on the double quick to the
| relief of Sickles. The scenes at this moment
| is described by General Conner as terrible.
A great cloud of smoke hung over the brow
OF slight eminence in the front of the
Seventies line. On the black Innings of this
cloud continually played the Hastings of a
battery that was laundering at the enemy
| from the summit of the knoll. But the Con-
federates did not get to the line waiting to
receive them. They were stopped and driven
back by the second line in which the Nine
teenth Maine and the Sixth Maine battery
were fighting. That night the Seventh had
very little rest being moved about from one
thrpafQpo6 noipt RI onofhar In ba raor
when Slocum's men went back to the right to
repossess themselves of the works which
they had left the night before to help Sickles,
Lieut.. Col. Conner was sent with the
| to extend the line on Slocum's right and
| Fast of Rock Creek, to keep the enemy from
the Baltimore Pike. This brought the
| Seventh and the New York regiment on the
extreme right Of the Union Line, connecting
country beyond. After they had crossed
Rock creek. and moved up to the Baltimore
Pike, General Neill, commander of the bri
gade, with his staff and orderlies and 1t. Col.
Common, rode up to the brow of slight eleva-
tion in the front. From this point a small
house was visible on an eminence beyond
General Neill suggested that it would be well
to occupy 1t But almost Immediately they
got sharp yolley from Confederate Skin
mishers in and around the house. At this
General Neill said: Exercise your discre-
ton, Col. Conner, will bring up the rest of
the brigade" Col. Connor saw stone wall
lying about hundred yards down slight
declivity in front. Telling his men that they
would do well to make the distance as quickly
as possible, he gave the command to advance
to the wall. 1t was In this advance, and in
| sharp skirmish to the left that the Seventh
| suffered its loss at Gettysburg. Three men
| were killed and several wounded.
The orders to the regiment were to hold
| the line thus taken, but not to force the
| fighting, as the intention of General Meade
was merely to hold that line. The Seventh
remained there all day sustaining skirmish
fire. 1t is in this position that the Seventies
monument stands.
On the morning of July 9TH the Seventh
| followed the direct line of Lees retreat
| through Monterey Springs Gap to Waynes-
boro. Lieut.. Col. Conner was soon promoted
| to the command of the Nineteenth The
Seventh later participated in the Shenandoah
| Valley campaign, and in the BATTLE outside
| the defences of Washington, where Major
Jones, then commanding the regiment, was
killed.
The Seventh during its service was twice
mentioned by the commanding officer of the
army. After Williamsburg Mcclellan per-
sonaly thanked the regiment; and after
Antietam sent it home with the autograph
letter, which has already been mentioned
nrnc1AaK Aas~