The Union Army

Civil War History

Veteran Federal troops had already tried — and failed — to break the Confederate line near Hare's Farm at Petersburg, Virginia on June 18, 1864. Then word came from the Army of the Potomac's II Corps headquarters: try again. General Gershom Mott, the divisional commander, thought the order amounted to "sheer murder." He knew that veteran soldiers would recognize the assault as "suicide en masse." Instead, he assigned the deadly duty to a relatively new regiment — the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery. The regiment had suffered serious casualties a month earlier at the Battle of Spotsylvania, but they had little combat experience otherwise. The 1st Maine was more than 800 strong and the general hoped their size alone would break the enemy line.

Many Would Die

Colonel Daniel Chaplin, the regiment's commander, formed the 1st Maine into three battalions and got the troops ready. "When the men saw what was expected of them," remembered a survivor, "...[they] turned to their comrades bidding each other good-by, and with tears trickling down their cheeks dictated messages to wives, fathers, mothers, sisters, and sweethearts...." Their orders were to make the assault by bayonet only — without firing a shot.
"Forward!" came the command, and the troops charged. "Men were shot dead within the first five feet," reported an eyewitness, and "the well-known yell of the Army of Northern Virginia mingled with the roar.... The 1st battalion melted away before this fire and lay in a heap, officers and men.... Before the 2nd or 3rd battalion reached its place the regimental formation had been almost obliterated, and two-thirds of the 1st Maine lay stricken on the field."
It was over in ten minutes. A handful of men came to within 50 yards of the enemy position before they were turned back; a majority lay dead or wounded on the field. Of an estimated 832 troops, 632 were killed or wounded. By some accounts, the 1st Maine suffered the heaviest casualties in a single assault of any Federal regiment in the war.

Originally organized as the 18th Maine Infantry, the regiment was mustered into Federal service in Bangor, Maine on August 21,1862. Three days later, regiment was shipped to Washington, D.C. For the first years of the war, the regiment was posted to the defenses surrounding the Northern capital. On January 6,1863, the regiment's designation was changed to the 1st Maine Heavy artillery, and it continued to do garrison duty in forts and batteries around Washington.
In May of 1864, the 1st Maine was transferred to Belle Plains, Virginia, and was engaged at the Battle of Spotsylvania. Near the end of the battle the regiment suffered serious casualties at the Harris Farm, reporting 82 dead, 394 wounded and five missing. The regiment served on the line at North Anna and was present at the Battle of Cold Harbor as t of Army of the Potomac's II Corps. The regiment was shattered in the assault at Petersburg June 18,1864. "They submitted like heroes to the tempest of canister balls and bullets, and under close fire covered the 'und with their dead and wounded," noted an observer.

The regiment carried three battle flags into the bloody charge, with nine men acting as color guards. Of the nine, ) escaped unharmed. One color-bearer was wounded nine times and found unconscious, still grasping the flagstaff. The Maine's commanding officer, Colonel Daniel Chaplin, survived the horrendous assault — only to die a few weeks later. From his deathbed, he sent the survivors of his regiment a message: "Boys, always obey orders and never flinch."
Afterwards, the much-depleted regiment was engaged in the Siege of Petersburg. On June 22-23,1864, the regiment was engaged at Weldon Railroad. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Talbot reported on June 26,1864, that two of the regiment's three battle flags were lost in action. "Two of the colors of this regiment were lost on Wednesday, [the] 22nd," he reported. "As near as I can ascertain...one was brought in by the bearer to our own line. Another bearer was killed by the enemy in their attack upon these works. The third color bearer returned to his regiment without his colors...the staff being entangled he could not free it and came off without it."
The 1st Maine was present at Deep Bottom, Fort Sedgwick, Boydton Plank Road and Hatcher's Run. The regiment also participated in the fall of Petersburg, on April 2,1865, when General Ulysses S. Grant's army finally broke through General Robert E. Lee's defensive line, forcing Lee to retreat and resulting in the evacuation of the Confederate capital. The 1st Maine was engaged at Sayler's Creek and was present to witness the surrender of Lee's army at Appomattox.
After Lee's surrender, the 1st Maine was sent back to Washington, where it served for six months doing garrison duty in the capital's defenses. On May 23,1865, the 1st Maine marched down Washington's Pennsylvania Avenue in the Grand Review of the Armies. On September 20,1865, the regiment was mustered out of service.