20th Maine Volunteers

They were farmers, shop clerks, woodsman, and seaman. They came from coastal Maine, from central and western Maine. Many would have been parts of the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Maine had not those regiments already had their full compliment of men. It was as if fate had brought them together. The Twentieth Maine was assembled as if by destiny. If not for their heroism might we not be heirs to a different history, a very different America?

This page is dedicated to them and to the many groups of citizen reenactors who provide a living history of these brave men that we may never forget their contributions....... Tony Cassista

To mark the return to Maine of the 20th Maine's restored Gettysburg battle flag the Maine State Museum opened an exhibit September 5th, 1998. Included along with the flag were historic prints, art work, documents, and the famous Colt revolver taken by Chamberlain from a Confederate officer after it providentially mis-fired, sparing him at Little Round Top. Click the "thumbnails" below for the full size pictures. A special thanks to the 20th Maine reenactors Co.'s B and F who were present. They were all very helpful and informative in their role as "honor guard" for the exhibit.

Maine Civil War Unit Reenactors Online

20th Maine Volunteer Infantry, Co. A
20th Maine Volunteer Infantry, Co. B
20th Maine Volunteer Infantry, Co. E
20th Maine Volunteer Infantry, Co. F
20th Maine Volunteer Infantry, Co. F
20th Maine Volunteer Infantry, Co. G
20th Maine Volunteer Infantry, Co. H
1st Maine Cavalry
3rd Maine Volunteer Infantry, Co. A
5th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment
20th Maine Volunteer Infantry, Co. K (Fr.)
20th Maine Volunteer Infantry, Co. I

Joshua Chamberlain Links

	20th Maine Monument Dedication Gettysburg 1889
	Chamberlain Articles and Documents
	Maine's Greatest Civil War Hero
	Joshua Chamberlain Links Page
	Joshua Chamberlain Books
	Chamberlain's Love Letters Home
	To The Limits of the Soul's Ideal

Maine Civil War Notables

	Ellis Spear	20th Maine
	Seldon Connor	7th & 19th Maine
	Neal Dow	13th Maine
	Oliver Otis Howard	3rd Maine

*Our common thread is our humanity*
The Stranger	The tiny town of Gray in southern Maine sent proportionately more of its sons into battle than any other town in Maine. Lt. Charles H. Colley was one of those. Mortally wounded at the battle of Cedar Mountain, Virginia Aug 9th 1862, he is one of 178 Union soldiers buried in the town cemetary. Buried nearby is a single son of the Confederacy know to the people of Gray as simply, "the stranger". This is the story of Lt. Colley and the stranger.
Sullivan Ballou was a major in the 2nd Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers. On July 14, 1861 at Camp Clark just outside of Washington D.C. he penned a short letter to his wife Sarah. Resolute in his duty to his country yet feeling uncertain of his fate he wrote possibly one of the most passionate letters ever written. One week later at the first battle of Manassas (Bull Run) Sullivan Ballou was one of 28 men of the 2nd Rhode Island to lay down his life for his country.		-the letter-
- 1862 - - 1863 - - 1864 - - 1865 -	Henry Butler of Castine Maine served in K Company, 16th Regiment Maine Volunteers. Between August of 1862 and February of 1865 he wrote over one hundred letters home to his wife Mary. The original letters still reside today in Castine's town library. They were transcribed by Lois More Cyr a decendant who presently lives on the farm where Henry and Mary lived those generations ago.

Civil War Resource Pages

	Maine Regiments Index
	Civil War Timeline
	U.S.Civil War Center
	Dakota State University Site
	The Civil War Reenactors
	Reenacting Groups and Regiments
	The American Civil War Homepage
	Ken Turner's Civil War Homepage