Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-10-04

teTfu1D4& ~ 4kl1B tn40s0 IN tne Meuu4 8t
which Hesth's assensior 10 cailed y . rebei
regiment on his teft. aari only . sesRe II
yssds from Il. depsoyins froo dssble cslaos-
a part Of Capt Ssarbirl's lsfr compsny h
thrown back and opens an eahisiinR Ere ~
Ths Sineseentb falls hack . shoft diaasce
apea rhe false report thai is right il being
turned; Learning IL mistake il goes forward
beyond iss former position, capsafes many
psisoaefs, reeovess several gusss and ocep-
piss m sdvaneed position fheough he night
Change nov the scene 10 de right The
fifth Maine Battery 10 posted 1t the bead of
the rsyiae separating Cenet<ry Hill from
Culp's Hill Epeifs stack On these posi-
tons VS. infsnsisd 10 BE- Simultaneous vi b
tina. on cur left and centre. bai that On Gene
t-fy Hill falls later, When buf little day light
10 left Col Atsxasder, LoaSstTeef's Chief
of ARTILLERY. writing Of the charge Of mis-
batteries after the crushing Of our line II
the Peach Orchard says, IAN aftiIiefists
heaven -, SITTER . tough remittance, 70 follow
the routed enemy and throw shells and can
ister into their disorgsnixed and dseing mass-
e." fancy Stevens could fejoin that
there 10 stsrner Joy In fsking With canister.
at short range, hostile ba,tAliions exposing
their Asnks A. they make their sies way Up
q steep sccIiyity. climbing 10 the attack; for
then the astillerist feels that the insulting
enemy IL delivered into his hands. and that
- the ranks 60 down under bis fire. be il
not merely destroying the foe bat defending
his msnaced contradict Such "a oppoftu-
nifty had the Fifth Battery when the brigade
Of fioks and Avery assaulted Cemetery
Hill, and we'll sss ii improved.
As the evening gloom crept over the ueid
and the fragments Of the bzfied fesinisats OF
assault. having done all that brave men could
do, had fallen back from their attempts
against our right, left, and centre, the rebel
commanders scanned the ridge they had
vainIy sought To gain, TO find encouragement
for renewed attack The sight sas not in
,itins to them. From Round Top to calp'.
Hill lark lines aud masses Of men and rows
Of grim bate ries betokened composure and
readiness they did no. deem IL advisable TO
di.tarb or challenge. The full Significance
Of that array they did not know. Sedswiek
was there, and the Greek cross was aligned
with the disk, the trefoil, the diamond. the
crcss Of Malta, the crescent and the star.
The Sixth Corps. summoned at midnight,
had marched through the night and steadily
on through The long. hot summer day and
formed upon the neld, thirty miles from their
bivouac, just In time 10 aid in repelllns the
attack had there been need. Its presence
gave cheer and renewed courage TO the whole
army The Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Maine
re giments were proud to own the badge OF
that corps.
With the dawn of the third and .ast day OF
the battle the struggle is renewed by Siocum
and his Twelfth Corps. The enemy had
taken advantage Of the opportunity TO estab-
lish themselves in tina, portion OF the position
which the Twelfth had left to go to the sup
port OF the centre. After four hours OF
musketry As incesssnt ~ the rolling OF
drum the Twelfth reoceupied its works. In
the meantime Siocum requested Neili, whose
| brigade of the Sixth Corps was on Powers
Hill. to send troops 10 protect his right And
the Baltimore I. ke east Of Rock Creek, from
the enemy moving in that direction. Neil
entrusted that service to the Forty third New
York and the Seventh Maine under COM
handing officer of the Seventh. Those reyi-
ments me, with some loss from the brisk
fre of skrmishers As they advanced at run
over the crest and down the slope of An open
field to a stone wall which affords an advan-
.ageous position and here. forming the ex-
IRENE right Of the infantry line of the army,
they remain throughout the day. under orders
to hold the position but not to bring on fight
ing their skirmishers exchanging an OCCASION
al shot with those of the enemy.
The Nineteenth was the only Maine regi-
ment which had an opportunity to participate
in the magnificent repulse given Picketts
magnificent charge. As his imposing array
came on in such numbers and with such
audacity and air of power rs to cause the
boldes to hold his breath, it struck the
Seconi Corps at an angle which enabled the
Nneteenth to pour in An almos. hsrking fire
upon it, The weight of the charge falls upon
Wcbb's brigade with crushing force. With
one accord the regiments on Webbs left the
Nineteenth among them. rush, regardless OF
order to his assistance mob, but fighting
mob, against viii, h. Pickett's onset expends
its fury in vain. Col Hall who commanded
an adjoining brigade, in his report names
the 18Th among those regiments that assisted
in the repulse.
The First Maine Cavalry was in the splendid
cavalry action on the right in which Custer
bore so brilliant part. Though not actively
engaged it aided by Its presence in thwartlng
the doubly futile purpose OF the rebel cavalry
to reach the Baltimore Pike, and there work
their will on the mob of broken troops that
were to crowd that avenue of retreat, fleeing
before Pickett's irresistible charge. In the
campaign preliminary to the battle the
First Cavalry rendered distinguished service
notably in the great cavalry battle at Brandy
Station which won for our horsemen a lasting
prestige. and in the fight at Aldie-a name
suggestive of glory and sorrow--of the
chivslrous charge that rescued comrades
from imminent peril, and of the fall of the
valiant Douty. The Fifth and Sixth, as
trusty and war tried regiments AS any that
fought that field, rendered a like service at
Getty sburg- standing in readiness to leap to
any call, however desperate the duty.
Edwards led the Fifth, and the Sixth was
under Burnbam, that grim old warrior. be
loved by his men, and honored by all who
knew his soidierly worth; his dea'h in the
last campaign of the war, following close
upon his well earned promotion, added a
shining name to Names list of patriot
martyrs and his memory remains dear and
undimmed in the hearts of his men and
brother soldiers. rhe Tenth Maine was rep
resen ted BY q detachment at the heaiquar-
tiers Of the Twelfth Corps.
Sucn, in meagre outline, was the part OF
Maine in the greatest battle of the war In
proportion to the number of her troops In
the action no one Of The eighteen states
whose regiments flew her stars and stripes
on this hard fought field, contributed more
than Maine to the victory. II is somewhat
r variable that seven of her nine infantry
regiments in the army, and all three batter
les. we're in the front line and that the ser
vice of 80 many Of them was of unique
character having an important barring upon
the grand result. At VIII ,tever point the
battle ragged, sons of the Pin Tree State
were in the melee. The sad measure OF
their services is the loss they suffered. In
military parlance the word coaventionally
used to express severity of loss is de
cimated" When one-tenth Of battalion
is struck down il implies bloody work. Col.
Fox in his valuable work on Regimeotal
Losses, gives the percentage of loss in killed
aud MORALLY wounded at Gettysburg of the
Sixteenth and Twentieth Maine, as ten per
cent each of the fourth, thirteen per cent.
of the Third. fourteen per cent and of the
Nineteenth, fifteen per cent. The cores
ponding percentage OF loss of the Seven
teenth. derived from other sources, was
twelve per cent. The entire loss TO Maine
was one thousand and twenty three.
OF this number three hundred and two were
reported captured or missing and of these
ali but nineteen were reported By the Third,
Fourth aud Sixteenth; and their loss under
this heal tes.ifes to the good conduct of
those regiments and proves how tenaciously
they chung to their difficult and exposed
poss; the Sixteenth. as we have seen, was
sacrificed almost to a man while holding the
right of the line on the first day the Third
vas at the Peach Orchard angle where. says