Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-02-16
Another Brave Maine Soldier Gone.


Another Brave Maine Soldier Gone.
Another brave Maine soldier has been
mustered out in the death of John
Thomas H. Talbot this week at his
home in Brookline, Mass, in his saith
year. 1t is an interesting coincidence
that his death and that of Gen. Starbird
occurred so closely together. Both
were natives of Maine, both won rank
as brigadier generals in the Civil War,
both were graduates of Bowdoin Col
lege, and both have passed the later
years of their life in Massachusetts,
Gen. Talbot was born in East Machias
in 1923 and came of one of the most
prominent families of southern Maine.
Gen. Talbot's most conspicuous service
in the Civil War was with that famous
fighting organization, the First Maine
Heavy Artillery, which suffered the
largest loss Of any Union regiment dur
ing the war. He was constantly with
the regiment from its muster in
1862, commanded a battalion at Spott
sylvania Court House and at Cold Har-
Dor. and was in command Of the regi-
ment during the battles of that awful
summer of 1864 At Spottsylvania the
First Maine Heavy Artillery lost 155
men killed, and 374 wounded, total of
529, or about 80 per cent. Of its strength.
against the Confederate works at
Petersburg with loss Of 632 men
killed or wounded out of a total
strength Of $50 and all Of this horrible
slaughter occurred with Is minutes.
few weeks after this battle Col. Tai
bot took command of the brigade when
the brigadier general fell MORALLY
wounded in battle
Gen Talbot graduated from Bowdoin
in the class Of 1916. Prominent among
his "a classmates were Gen. Frederick
D. Sewall. Judge Charles NJ. Chamber
who was speaker of the Maine House
in 1851. Rev Edwin 3. Webb D. D..
for many years an Augusta pastor. and
Dr. John s. II. Fogg of Boston who
gave his native town of Eliot it's public
library building and the Maine Histori-
cal Society a collection of autographs
| valued at $4,000. Last June there
were four survivors of this class re-
| naming, and three of them met at
Brunswick during Commencement
week to celebrate the 60th anniversary
of their graduation. They were Gen.
Talbot, Gen. Sewall and Joseph G.
Packard of Chicago for many years a
college professor in Illinois and Wis
| ccnsin. The fourth survivor of the
| class. Josiah Pierce, for many years
in the United States consular service
is spending his declining years in Lon
| don totally blind, but he sent to his
three old friends long letter as his
| share in their reunion.
| After graduating from Bowdoin Col
lege Gen Talbot entered upon the
| practice of the law in Portland where
| he remained until he went to the front
| in 1862 in the First Maine Heavy Artil-
lery After the war closed he re-
sumed the practice Of his profession
and for four years was assistant attor-
ney-general of the United States al
Washington. After this he practicec
his profession in Boston with much
success, residing in the town of Brook
line where for dozen years he was
unanimously elected to the board OF
assessors He was a son of whom
Maine had many reasons to be proud
and nobody will more deeply mourn
his loss than the surviving veterans OF
the First Maine Heavy Artillery who
faced under his leadership such aWth
scenes of carnage over 40 years ago