3rd Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 3rd Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry - regiment of the United States Army during the American Civil War .
period of service
The regiment entered service for three years on June 4, 1861 in Augusta , Maine. It was first used in the first battle at Bull Run on July 21, 1861. Until it was disbanded on June 28, 1864, the unit took part in 25 major skirmishes. Among other things, it was used in the peninsula campaign , the second battle at Bull Run , in Fredericksburg , in the battles at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg . Furthermore, there was always contact with the enemy during minor skirmishes.
Four different officers were in charge of the regiment while on duty: Colonel Oliver O. Howard; Lieutenant Colonel Isaac N. Tucker; Major Henry G. Staples.
From March 1862 to early April 1864, the regiment was subordinate to the 1st Division of the 3rd Corps of the Potomac Army . Shortly after General Grant was given command of the Union Army in March 1864, the 3rd Corps was disbanded and the regiment was subordinated to the 2nd Corps. On July 2, 1863, the regiment received its most difficult task at the Battle of Gettysburg . Of the originally approximately 1,000 men who marched from Maine in 1861, only 196 soldiers and 14 officers ready for action remained. During the assignment to clear up the Confederate positions in front of the 3rd Corps with 100 Berdan snipers, there was a clash with enemy soldiers. In the skirmish that followed, several soldiers of the regiment were killed or wounded. On the same day, the entire corps under the leadership of General Sickles advanced against the instructions of the Commander-in-Chief General Meade on a small hill and took an unprotected position in front of the lines of the Union Army. In the following battle near Peach Orchard, the regiment, together with three other units from other brigades, desperately braced itself against the advancing attacks of the Confederate. The soldiers were almost surrounded by Longstreets Corps before the regiment withdrew. The entire K company was killed or taken prisoner. Through this mission, the regiment, together with the other regiments, had bought the Union lines time to strengthen their left flank. Whether this fact led to victory in the battle is debated by historians to this day. The evening after the battle, the regiment still had 97 deployable soldiers.
After most of the men had served their three years in the now severely decimated unit in June 1864, the regiment was disbanded on June 28th. At that time, the unit had only 17 officers and 176 soldiers. Sixty-four of the "old hands" re-enrolled for military service and joined the 17th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment immediately before the Battle of Cold Harbor, along with the recruits who had moved up for the fallen . By the time 17th Maine dissolved on June 10, 1865, many of the 3rd Maine veterans had already served four years. Only the veteran Captain Moses B. Lakeman returned from the war from the original officer staff.
Participated in combat during the American Civil War
- First Battle of Bull Run , Virginia - July 21, 1861
- Bailey's Cross Roads, Virginia - August 28, 1861.
- Yorktown, Virginia - April 5 - May 4, 1862 ( Peninsula Campaign )
- Williamsburg, Virginia - May 4, 1862 (Peninsula Campaign)
- Seven Pines, Virginia - May 31, 1862 (Peninsula Campaign)
- White Oak Swamp, Virginia - June 30, 1862 (Peninsula Campaign)
- Malvern Hill, Virginia - July 1, 1862 (Peninsula Campaign)
- Second Battle of Bull Run , Virginia - May 29-30 August 1862
- Chantilly, Virginia - September 1, 1862 (Second Bull Run Campaign)
- Fredericksburg , Virginia - December 13, 1862
- Chancellorsville , Virginia - Jan. 1-4 May 1863
- Gettysburg , Pennsylvania - 1st – 3rd July 1863
- Wapping Heights, Virginia - Jan. 21-23 July 1863 (Bristoe Campaign)
- Catlett's Station, Virginia - October 14, 1863 (Bristoe Campaign)
- Kelly's Ford, Virginia - November 7, 1863 (Bristoe Campaign)
- Orange Grove, Virginia - November 26, 1863 (Bristoe Campaign)
- Mine run, Virginia - November 30, 1863.
- Wilderness , Virginia - 5th - 7th May 1864
- Spottsylvania , Virginia - Jan. 7-20 May 1864
- North Anna, Virginia - Nov. 23-27 May 1864.
- Totopotomy, Virginia - Nov. 26-30 May 1864.
- Second Battle of Cold Harbor , Virginia - May 31-June 12, 1864
losses
Of the total of 1,586 soldiers who had served in 3rd Maine, 134 died on the battlefield or were injured. Another 140 died of illness and 33 never returned from captivity.