This data originates from: Maine at Gettysburg, Report of Maine Commissioners, prepared by The Executive Committee, 1898, for and in behalf of the State of Maine, by Charles Hamlin, Greenlief T. Stevens and George W. Verrill, of the Maine Gettysburg Commissioners' Executive Committee. TWENTIETH MAINE REGIMENT, THIRD BRIGADE, FIRST DIVISION, FIFTH ARMY CORPS, AT THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. WHILE the conflict was raging along Birney's line another was in progress on the slopes of Little Bound Top. We have already seen the Alabama and Texas regiments, under Law, rushing up across the valley of Devil's Den, and passing beyond and around the Fourth Maine and the other defenders of that position. By this movement the approaches of Little Round Top were uncovered ; and the Confederates, passing the ravine, began to swarm up the sides of that precipitous height, which was now recognized as a most important position in the battle of this day. In the defense of this position a Maine regiment was to play a gallant part. The Twentieth Maine regiment, with the 16th Mich., 44th N Y and 83d Penn. formed Vincent's brigade of Barnes' division. It was the only Maine regiment now in the Fifth corps, the remnants of the Second Maine having been consolidated with the Twentieth. On the morning of June 29th the brigade had left its bivouac at Frederick City, Md., and by hard forced marches, on the last day of which this regiment acted as the advance guard for the Fifth corps, had arrived at Hanover, Penn., at about 4 pm. July 1st. While preparing for much needed rest, the plans were suddenly changed by hurried messengers bringing word that our First and Eleventh corps had struck the enemy at Gettysburg, some sixteen miles away, and were being driven back. This was the signal for more hard marching. The worn and wearied men were enthusiastic to rush to the rescue of their fellow soldiers and the imperilled flag. They pulled out at 6 p. m. for a night's march to Gettysburg. It is fifty-five miles from Frederick City to Gettysburg by the route they took. The short time in which this distance was accomplished by soldiers weighed down with all the burdens of heavy marching order, and this at the end of a long, wearisome and worrysome march from the Rappahannock, under the fiery heats of a midsummer sun, will suggest the physical condition of men about to take strenuous part in a great battle. The cheers of welcome and blessing that met them on that Gettysburg night-march, from all the little homes along the road, struck a deep chord in every soldier's heart. Without a halt they arrived within striking distance of the anxious lines then holding front against the enemy, and were bidden to take a little rest. At daylight they pushed to the front, and were massed in rear of Cemetery Hill, under preliminary orders to prepare to attack the enemy on the right of our position. Meantime the plans of the opposing commanders were taking shape. Suddenly, at about 4 o'clock p. m. July 2d, an artillery fire opened on our extreme left, where our Third corps had taken position ; and the head of the Fifth corps, instead of attacking on the right, was hurried to the support of the Third corps on the extreme left. How our Twentieth regiment at the head of the brigade went in at first to Sickles' line of battle then under tremendous fire ; how the gallant General Warren, seeing, with military eye, the importance of the Round Top heights, begged General Sykes to send Vincent's brigade to gain this position in advance of Longstreet's troops, then rushing for the same commanding heights ; how Hazlett, aided by the infantry, lifted his guns by hand and handspike up the craggy sides ; how Vincent fought and fell ; how the Twentieth, at the critical moment, with a bayonet charge turned the confident Confederate onslaught into rout, on the left of our army,—all this makes one of the most famous passages of the battle of Gettysburg. The brigade, moving instantly and at the double-quick, crossed Plum Run, and scaled the northern crest of Little Round Top, under the storm of shells from Longstreet's batteries across the valley, crashing among the rocks and trees along the path of the column toiling up the mountain side (a) (a) Official Report of Colonel Chamberlain, July 6, 1863. Rebellion Records, Vol 27, part 1, page 622. Passing to the southern slope of Little Kound Top, making the extreme left of the Union line, where Vincent, entrusting the left of the line to the discretion and keeping of the Colonel of this regiment, saying to him, " You understand, hold this ground at all costs ! " rested his defense. The Twentieth, in order to meet the fire then enveloping our left, was formed " on the right into line," the successive companies keeping somewhat under shelter until they reached their place in the line (a) On their right came up the other regiments of the brigade, the 83d Penn., the 44th N. Y and the 16th Mich., making a somewhat convex line to cover the flank of our troops and artillery, then following, and in position to resist the formidable attack of the right of Hood's division, now intending to carry this southern crest and so command the whole Union left. The Twentieth Maine, as it formed that rugged line of battle among the crags and bowlders of that crest now charged with a nation's defense, numbered twenty-eight officers and three hundred and fifty-eight men present for duty equipped (b) Although less than a year in the army the regiment had seen arduous service, entitling it to the name of veteran. Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain was its commander. Such advantage as was possible was taken of the rough, rocky and wooded ground. Facing it on the south was Big Eound Top, a commanding summit among the clustered hills, but impracticable for battle ground, which was separated from Little Round Top by a smooth, thinly wooded valley- In establishing his defense Colonel Chamberlain, regardful of his exposed left flank, sent out company B, under Captain Morrill, to operate as he found necessary on that flank. Moving to the left, this company deployed as a skirmish line to check a demonstration on the left of the regiment ; but afterwards, in the crisis of the fight, it got in its volley on the enemy's right, which demoralized them. (a) The order of companies from right to left was E, I, K, D, F, A, H, C, G, company B being detached as skirmishers. (b) According to the official reports ; but Colonel Chamberlain has since said that when the fight began some of those reported as absent sick came up and took their places, and that he also dismissed the " pioneers " and the " provost guard," as well as the prisoners under arrest in their charge, and all of these went into the fight and did gallant service. These dispositions were scarcely made when a portion of Law's Alabamians, with two regiments of Robertson's Texans swarming up from beyond Devil's Den, threw themselves against Vincent's right-centre, where a fierce conflict began to rage. Very soon the left was assailed, and the Twentieth was at once plunged into furious conflict. The enemy threatening to outflank us and to envelop our left and rear, the Colonel had promptly, as occasion permitted, stretched his regiment to the left by taking intervals by the left, and at the same time bent back, or " refused " the left wing, so that it was nearly at right angles with the right. In this way the regiment was brought to occupy about twice the extent of its ordinary front, some of the companies being extended into single rank, where the ground gave sufficient shelter. The colors were planted where the original left had been, now in the angle of the line. Upon this salient fell a most deadly fire during the hour of desperate fighting which followed. The most formidable assailants of the Twentieth did not, however, advance by way of the valley They came over the summit of Big Round Top, having been drawn that way by an interesting incident of the battle. When the 2d U S. Sharpshooters retired before the Confederate advance, a portion of them ambushed themselves on the side of Big Round Top, whence they poured an annoying fire upon Law's men as they passed up the gorge. To silence this fire the 15th and 47th Ala., under direction of Col. William C. Oates of the 15th, advanced up the slope of Big Round Top, against the Sharpshooters, who mysteriously disappeared. Reaching the summit of the hill, Colonel Oates, charmed by the commanding position, wished to hold it ; but, upon the receipt of an urgent order from Law to " get on the enemy's left as soon as possible," he moved the two regiments down the hillside and across the hollow towards the slope of Little Round Top (a). They advanced in battle line with no skirmishers, the loth Ala. on the right and opposing the left of the Twentieth Maine, cutting off as they advanced Captain Morrill's company It was a most formidable advance. The 15th Ala. was one (a> Statement of Colonel Oates (1890). of the strongest and finest regiments in Hood's division, and largely outnumbered the Twentieth Maine. Suddenly, and to the Confederates unexpectedly, a most destructive volley burst from the line of the Twentieth (a) Surprised but not disconcerted, the Alabamians replied, and the fight grew fierce and tense. Coming in with vastly superior numbers on the flank of the Twentieth, the enemy made a left wheel in order to take it in what they supposed to be its flank and rear, or at least to rake it with an enfilading fire. But here was proved the great benefit of the tactical manoeuvre of the "refused" left flank. The enemy was met by a firm front, instead of falling upon an unguarded rear. Their fire, falling on the left wing of the Twentieth in front, enfiladed the right stretched out beyond. Against both fronts of the regiment, however, the whole force of the enemy advanced in repeated charges. " The edge of the fight swayed backward and forward like a wave," are the words of the Colonel's report. Squads broke through each line in one place and another. Now the Maine men were driven back and the colors of the enemy for a moment are inside their line. At one moment it looked as if the colors of the Twentieth Maine must be lost. Buried from sight in smoke, when the black cloud lifted for a moment the colors were seen almost alone. All the Color-Guard and the flanks of the companies on its right and left were cut away ; but the Color-Sergeant, Andrew J. Tozier, was standing his ground, the staff planted on the earth, and supported within his left arm, while he had picked up a musket and was defending his colors with bullet, bayonet and butt, alone ! Seeing this heroic example and the imminent peril of the colors in the whirl that wrapped the left and centre, the Colonel sent his brother, the acting Adjutant (b) to rally some men, wherever they could be found, for the support of the Sergeant and the rescue of the colors. In order to ensure the delivery of his order under the hot fire the Colonel dispatched immediately Sergeant Ruel Thomas (whom he had taken as a sort of staff-orderly) with the same instructions. (a) Colonel Oates says (1890) that he did not know of the presence of the Twentieth Maine among the rocks and trees in front until this volley was delivered. The fire was most destructive ; but he felt compelled to push on under the circumstances. (b) Colonel Chamberlain's official report, July 6, 1863. At the same time the Colonel asked the commanding officer of the 83d Penn., on his right, for a company to fill this perilous gap ; but the 83d could not risk its own safety to spare a man. The situation was desperate. The men had been using cartridges snatched from the boxes of their fallen comrades, and even from those of the enemy A third of the regiment was down, dead or disabled on their line. As the last rounds of ammunition were expended, the men were preparing to club their muskets as the last resort of the defensive. They had so far maintained their swaying line in spite of the terrible pressure on point after point of it. But in a moment the scene changed. The enemy suddenly drew back to the shrubbery and rocks in the bottom of the valley, as if to gather force for a supreme blow. At this crisis, with the quick and resolute instinct to strike before he was struck, Chamberlain staked all upon a desperate counter-charge. He repaired to the left centre to advise Capt. Ellis Spear (a) who, acting as field officer, was in charge there, of his new purpose. Great responsibility was to fall upon this officer, as his flank was to start the movement, and moreover to become the wheeling flank, as the movement must swing on the right as a pivot ; otherwise the regiment would be cut in two by the enemy, massing on the centre, as they naturally would do. As the Colonel was returning to the centre to give the necessary order, Lieutenant Melcher of the color company came up to him, asking permission to move out and gather up some of the wounded who lay between the two lines. " Yes, sir. Take your place with your company I am about to order a ' right wheel forward ' of the whole regiment" was the reply. The brave young officer sprang forward, and at that moment Chamberlain's voice thrilled along the line, "Bayonet!" The Colonel placed himself at the centre, on the apex of the salient angle of his line, abreast with the colors. The enemy had in the mean time made a furious onset. But when the left wingwhirled the enemy's right out of the shelter of rocks they had taken, our centre dashed upon their disordered mass, and the whole regiment swept forward with irresistible force. (a) Commissioned Major, but not mustered as such. In the first onset the Colonel came directly in contact with the commanding officer leading the enemy's centre, with uplifted sword in one hand and a heavy " Colt's" revolver in the other. He fired one barrel in the Colonel's face, and gave him his sword with the other hand (a) The left wing had now fought its way up abreast with the right, what was left of the two centre companies closing on the colors ; Capt. A. M. Clark, the senior captain, commanding on the right, holding that flank well to the 83d Penn., to prevent the enemy from trying to break through between, and the whole regiment, like a reaper, cutting down the disconcerted foe. Many in their first line threw down their loaded arms, threw up their hands and surrendered ; others were taken in hand-to-hand conflicts. Still sweeping in an extended right wheel, the Twentieth routed a second line, trying to rally for a stand (b) . The Confederates did not rally. They had suffered severely at the hands of the Twentieth, and moreover had been subjected to a mysterious and alarming fire from their right and rear. They were not aware that some of the 2d U S. Sharpshooters who had disappeared on Big Bound Top had joined Captain Morrill's skirmishers behind a stone-wall, on the right of the 15th Ala., where these combined forces rendered most material aid in the final charge of the regiment. No less than 400 prisoners, including two field and several line officers, were captured, most of them from the 15th and 47th Ala., with a few from the 4th and 5th Texas (c) The Confederates were driven completely and finally from the front of the Twentieth; nor had Law's most desperate assaults succeeded in gaining a foothold in any other portion of the line held by Vincent's brigade. At the hour when the Twentieth Maine dashed upon the 15th and 47th Ala. regiments, Little Round Top was saved, not to be attacked again. It was about 6 : 30 p. m. when the Confederates were driven (a) See Rebellion Records, serial number 43, page 624. (b) These were squads or groups of the 47th and 4th Ala. and some of the 4th and 5th Texas, which had been attacking the left centre of the brigade. (c) According to Captain Prince's address at Gettysburg 1889) fifty dead of the 15th Ala. were buried in front of the Twentieth, and about 100 of their badly wounded were left to become prisoners. from the south side of Little Round Top. But the withdrawal of the enemy did not leave the Twentieth Maine the much needed opportunity to take rest or even to perform the saddest duty of the soldier on the battlefield, the burial of his dead comrades. Of the wooded slopes of Big Round Top, towering 664 feet above the plain, the foot of it but a few rods from the position of the Twentieth, the enemy were still in possession. The commander of the brigade directed Colonel Chamberlain to advance and seize the crest of Big Round Top. Colonel Rice, Vincent's successor, says in his report : " I ordered Colonel Chamberlain, of the Twentieth Maine, to advance and take possession of the mountain. This order was promptly and gallantly executed by this brave and accomplished officer, who rapidly drove the enemy over the mountain, capturing many prisoners." The regiment, including company B recalled, now numbering about 200 men, scrambled up the ascent. It was 9 o'clock before the advance began, and darkness shrouded the summit of the hill and had settled deep on its rocky, wooded and precipitous sides. With fixed bayonets and in extended order, the little band pressed up the black hillside. In front of them they could hear the movements of squads of the enemy falling back and when near the summit they received a straggling and uncertain fire out of the darkness. Twenty-five prisoners were taken in this advance, among them a staff officer of General Law- Upon the crest of the hill Colonel Chamberlain placed the regiment in a strong position among the rocks, and sent back for reinforcements and ammunition,—for not the least gallant feature of this advance was the fact that the soldiers made it with empty cartridge boxes and without supports near at hand. Through some misadventure the necessary supporting and connecting troops were wanting, and the Twentieth remained for some time detached from the other Union forces and within musket range of the enemy To quote from Lieutenant Miller of the Twentieth Maine, in his address October 3, lJSN'J, at the dedication of the monument erected by the state to the Twentieth, on Big Round Top : ' 'Apprehending that the rebels might seize this opportunity to envelop our right, Colonel Chamberlain hastily detailed a picket line on the front and left, and retired the main body to lower ground near the foot of the ascent. He then dispatched a request to Colonel Rice for the 83d Penn. and afterward for the 44th N. Y. to support the Twentieth on the right by echelon. In this formation, being partially supplied with ammunition, the line again advanced considerably beyond its former position, where the men lay on their arms till morning, expecting an attack at any moment. ' I have mentioned the detail of a picket line in the early part of the night. These pickets advanced down the side of the hill in our front until they could see the enemy by the light of their camp-fires and hear conversation, when they retired part way up to the crest. The Confederates had evidently seen their movements, for they soon sent a squad to ascertain whether they were friends or foes. Being halted by our pickets, they answered - friends ' and were told to come right along. This strategy was continued until twenty-five of the 4th Tex. regiment had been captured by company E on the right of the line. At this time some officer, farther to the left, gave an order to fire, and no more prisoners were taken that night. These prisoners were sent to the rear under the escort of John Bradford and Eugene Kelleran of company I, who tramped around in the darkness a long time trying to find the provost guard. Coming out into an open space they decided to bivouac till morning, when the prisoners were turned over to the proper officer. "The only casualty in the Twentieth during this movement occurred in the morning, when Lieut. Arad Linscott took a musket and going out in advance of the picket line to get a shot at the enemy, who were firing in among our men, was mortally wounded in the thigh by a sharpshooter." The following is an excerpt from Colonel Chamberlain's field notes made upon the battlefield, which further elucidates the exciting circumstances and events of the evening of July 2d : ' At about dusk Fisher came up with brigade of Penn. Reserves, in rear of our line of battle. Rice asked him to advance and seize Great Round Top. He declined. Rice then asked me to go. We formed—about 200 men—in extended order; one rank, bayonets fixed, no firing, little ammunition. Quite dark. Rough scrambling; few of enemy before us; took two officers prisoners, one Captain Christian, and five or six men. Arriving at crest, drew together; solid front; in half hour two regiments came up on right as supports. Tried to form them on our right rear; sharp, close volley from right; supports confused and withdrew. Dangerous situation. Divided regiment; half holding present ground; half withdrawn to ground abandoned by supports, half way down right rear. Sent for 83d Penn. Relieved my reserved line with these, and resumed former position with whole regiment. Formed two reliefs of skirmishers, sent down in front; relieved every two hours. Right of skirmish line took about twenty more prisoners. Texas troops. Linscott mortally wounded on skirmish line early in morning. Sharp skirmishing at daylight. Strong skirmish line of enemy all around right front. Two regiments of Reserves had come up towards morning on left, near summit. Some supplies of ammunition came up with 83d Penn. at once distributed; served well. Withdrawn with brigade at about 9 in morning and placed in support of troops on left centre of general line; to left of 'Pickett's charge.' Not engaged; under heavy artillery fire all forenoon. Remained all day and night." The 83d Perm, and 44th N. Y were posted on the right to guard this isolated position almost within the enemy's lines. With a strong picket line advanced nearly to the Confederates at the foot of the hill, and changing every two hours, the defenders of Big Round Top lay down upon their arms ; and a broken sleep succeeded the deadly strife and wild tumult of the day By our thus gaining possession of Big Round Top the enemy were induced to give up further attack upon the Union left. At the opening of the fight there was no time for the men to take much heed to shelter themselves. But as the battle grew, the regimental line conformed itself to the nature of the ground, and availed itself of momentary lulls to throw up slight breastworks of loose rocks behind which the men, lying down, could find some protection. When the regiment was preparing to extend its front and refuse its left, extended as has been stated, the colors were placed where the extreme left had been ; they were stationed where a decayed tree had been broken off but adhering to its stump about three feet from the ground, in the line of direction to the right. But between this stump and the great rock where the monument now stands there was no protection, nor means to make any It will be noticed in the list of casualties that all the corporals and one sergeant of company F, the color company, were killed or wounded ; and that six corporals and two sergeants of company A, on its left, were killed or wounded. Only two of the color-guard escaped unhurt. The Colonel was struck twice, although not disabled,—a tearing cut in the right instep by a piece of shell or a splinter of rock, and a contusion on the left thigh by the steel scabbard being doubled against it, struck by a minnie ball ; the Adjutant received several scratches, and several others, both officers and men, were slightly hurt, but remained on duty From the fact that the men tired at least sixty rounds to a man, it is evident that thev fought for considerably more than an hour, closely engaged. If the enemy fired half that number, there were not less than 20,000 bullets directed upon the regiment. It is no wonder that the trees on that slope were completely "peppered" with bullets to the height of five or six feet. One tree, some three or four inches through, in front of the left of company F, was cut entirely off about two feet above the ground. The ragged edges of the cut showed that it was made by bullets, and not by a shell. But even sheltered and spared as the men were, the casualties shown in the list of names entitle this regiment to be called one of the "fighting regiments," according to the popular judgment based on the number of men lost in action. This is proof of being exposed to hostile fire, but not necessarily of the degree of service rendered in action. At 10 o'clock on the 3d the Twentieth took a position with the brigade to the right of Little Round Top to support the troops on our left centre. There it remained during the battle of the third day, not called upon to assist in repelling the charge of Pickett's division, which fell further to the right. On the morning after Pickett's charge, the regiment with the brigade made a reconnaissance to the front, through the Peach Orchard and by the " burning barn " used as a hospital by both parties. Pushing on as far as Willoughby Run, no enemy being discovered, the brigade was brought back, and Colonel Chamberlain went up to Little Round Top and looked after his dead. The regiments gathered their dead from the sheltered places where they had been borne, and buried them on the southern side of the crest behind their line of battle. Rude headboards, made of ammunition boxes, marked each grave, and bore, rudely but tenderly carved, the name and home of every man (a) . Detachments from the brigade buried many of the rebel dead at the foot of the slopes, on the edge of the valley near where they had fallen. The bodies of the Twentieth Maine have since been removed to the National cemetery, where several of them are marked "unknown." The headboards placed by comrades had evidently been unheeded or taken away. (a) General Chamberlain's lecture, October, 1866, " Twentieth Maine at Gettysburg HISTORICAL SKETCH. BY AN OFFICER OF THE REGIMENT. This regiment was recruited from different parts of the state, its ten companies coming from at least as many counties. It was the last of those organized under the call for three hundred thousand men in 1862. Almost as soon as enlisted the men were hurried into camp at Portland, and on the 29th day of August, 1862, were mustered into the service of the United States for three years or during the war. The original organization was as follows : FIELD, STAFF AND NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF. Colonel, Adelbert Ames, Rockland. Lieutenant-Colonel, Joshua L. Chamberlain, Brunswick. Major, Charles D. Gilmore, Bangor. Adjutant, John M. Brown, Portland. Quartermaster, Moses W. Brown, Brownville. Surgeon, Nahum P. Munroe, Belfast. Assistant Surgeon, Nahum A. Hersom, Sanford. Assistant Surgeon, Siroella A. Bennett, New Portland. Chaplain, Luther P. French, Corinth. Sergeant-Major, Weston H. Keene, Bremen. Quartermaster-Sergeant, Howard L. Prince, Cumberland. Commissary-Sergeant, Elisha Besse, Jr., Winthrop. Hospital Steward, Lewis W. Pendleton, Gorham. Drum-Major, Andrew J. Philbrick, Palmyra. COMPANY OFFICERS. Co. A. Captain, Isaac S. Bangs, Waterville. First Lieutenant, Addison W. Lewis, Waterville. Second Lieutenant, Charles W. Billings, Clinton. Co. B. Captain, Phineas M. Jeffards, Foxcroft. First Lieutenant, James Lyford, Sebec. Second Lieutenant, Walter G. Morrill, Williamsburg. Co. C. Captain, Isaac H. McDonald, Buckfield. First Lieutenant, Frank G. Russell, Rumford. Second Lieutenant, Augustus H. Strickland, Livermore. Co. D, Captain, Isaac W Haskell, Garland. First Lieutenant, Edward B. Fifield, Dexter. Second Lieutenant, Mattson C. Sanborn, South Berwick. Co. E. Captain, Atherton W. Clark, Waldoboro. First Lieutenant, Joseph B. Fitch, Bristol. Second Lieutenant, George F Sumner, Union. Co. F. Captain, Timothy F. Andrews, Harmony. First Lieutenant, Hosea Allen, Wellington. Second Lieutenant, Edwin Folsom, Harmony. Co. G. Captain, Ellis Spear, Wiscasset. First Lieutenant, Joseph F. Land, Edgecomb. Second Lieutenant, Joseph J. A. Hoffses, Jefferson. Co. H. Captain, Henry C. Merriam, Houlton. First Lieutenant, Daniel Stimson, Biddeford. Second Lieutenant, William C. Bailey, Garland. Co. I. Captain, Lysander Hill, Thomaston. First Lieutenant, Samuel T. Keene, Rockland. Second Lieutenant, Prentiss M. Fogler, Hope. Co. K. Captain, Charles L. Strickland, Bangor. First Lieutenant, James H. Nichols, Brunswick. Second Lieutenant, William W Morrell, Livermore. Excepting the Colonel and Major, and two or three subordinate officers, both officers and men were substantially without military knowledge or experience. The exigencies of the public service allowed barely time for organization and enrolment and the furnishing of uniforms. The drilling was sufficient only to enable the companies to form line and march by the flank. Two companies only were armed ; but one dress parade was attempted, and that was attended with much difficulty and many blunders. The regimentalline first formed was indeed awkward, but it was made of good material and it was never broken. Thus scarcely organized, partially armed, substantially undrilled and uninstructed, under the urgent demands of the government, it was rushed by rail to Boston and from Boston by steamship to Washington. The voyage was utilized to the utmost by Colonel Ames for the instruction of the officers, and a good beginning was made in learning; the duties of the soldier. These studies and exercises were continued whenever opportunity offered during the ensuing season, whether in camp or campaign. The arming of the regiment was completed at Washington, and it then moved directly across the Potomac and j'oined the Third brigade of the First division of the Fifth army corps, only a few days before the movement of the army in the Antietam campaign. It was a severe trial to new men, unacclimated, unaccustomed to arms and the equipments of a soldier, unused to the march and bivouac, to bear the full burden in a veteran brigade, of a very active and earnest campaign. Only a part of the regiment was actively engaged in the battle of Antietam, the corps being mainly in reserve, but it was engaged and under musketry fire as a regiment, for the first time, at Shepherdstown Ford, three days after the battle of Antietam. It suffered, however, but slight loss. After Shepherdstown Ford it was held in that vicinity to guard the fords of the Potomac. The situation of the camp was one of the most malarious and unhealthy on the upper Potomac, and the immediate proximity of the terrible battlefield affected the streams and the air so that men could hardly drink the water or breathe the air. The time, however, was utilized to the utmost in the instruction and drilling of the regiment. This was, in some respects, the most trying period in the history of the regiment. The houses in the vicinity were used as hospitals and were filled with desperately sick men lying upon the floor, poorly attended and not supplied with proper food. Many died, many men were permanently disabled, and many others were sent to the hospitals who afterwards returned to the regiment. More than 300 men were left behind at this place, or in other hospitals, when the regiment moved. Marching from the Potomac to the Rappahannock, the regiment went into camp at Stoneman's Switch. Quarters for the men were rudely constructed, better than any they previously occupied, but still imperfect and uncomfortable. The men had been supplied with shelter tents, but the line officers had no shelter excepting a "fly" With these and a few poles supplemented by excavation in some instances, they contrived to keep themselves sheltered from the rain. As far as possible drilling and instruction were continued. At the battle of Fredericksburg the regiment, being in the Centre Grand division, crossed the Rappahannock in the afternoon of the first day of the battle under artillery fire, and advanced with the brigade through the town to replace the lines which had vainly attempted to reach the stone-wall at Marye's Heights. The advance was made under heavy fire of artillery and musketry, but secured a position close up to the enemy's lines, where, however, nothing could be effected against the enemy, but greatly exposed the regiment to a deadly fire at close range. The regiment was held in this position that night and during the next day ; but on the second night the brigade was drawn back into the town. On the night of the withdrawal of the army, the regiment was sent again to the extreme front as an advanced line, where it remained almost alone while the army recrossed the river, and at 2 o'clock in the morning it was withdrawn, the rear of the rear-guard which crossed the last pontoon bridge left in place. On the next day it returned to its old camp, and remained here until April with no interruption except that it shared in the fruitless and miserable movement made in January, designated by the men as the "mud march." The men, not yet acclimated, were still suffering from diseases incident to camp life, and a considerable number died during the winter. In April by some mis-doing small-pox virus was administered instead of vaccine in the regiment, and it was detached from the brigade and removed to another camp where it remained until the battle of Chancellorsville. Though still in quarantine, the regiment, at the request of Colonel Chamberlain, then in command, was permitted to take part in the battle of Chancellorsville. The Colonel reinforced his request for such permission by the suggestion that if the regiment could do no more it might " give the enemy the small-pox." It was, however, assigned to the duty of guarding the telegraph line from the field of battle on the right to that on the left, at Fredericksburg. After the battle it was the last to recross the river, and in a drenching rain returned to its camp. In May, 1863, Ames was commissioned as Brigadier General, and Chamberlain was promoted to be Colonel. During the movements which culminated in the battle of Gettysburg it shared in the engagement at Middleburg, June 21st, the Third brigade having been sent to the support of the cavalry- It charged and drove the enemy from their positions behind stone-walls, forcing them back beyond Goose Creek. After some hard marching, which occupied the greater part of the night of the 1st of July, the regiment was upon the field of Gettysburg, and in the afternoon of the second day it moved with the brigade under artillery fire to the left and was advancing into the Wheatfield when it was turned sharply to the left and rear and moved back in rear of Little Round Top. The main part of the brigade occupied the crest of Little Round Top towards the left, and the Twentieth being on the extreme left was refused and faced towards Big Round Top. It occupied the southern and eastern slope of the hill directly fronting a valley or level space which lay between the two Tops. The slopes and the valley were covered with a forest of oak trees, for the greater part free from underbrush, and open. The ground of the slopes and in the valley was strewn with large bowlders. There was no protection for our men, and no time to throw up earthworks, even if that had been practicable in the rocky soil. Company B, under Captain Morrill, was promptly thrown forward as skirmishers. Almost immediately thereafter the enemy appeared coming down the slope of Big Round Top, and they seemed to be overlapping our left. By the direction of Colonel Chamberlain, Captain Spear, who was then acting as Major, bent back the left companies slightly, for the better protection of that flank. The advanced enemy at once opened fire, pressing more heavily on the centre and left. Many of them took position behind the bowlders which afforded them protection, and were firing at short range. The firing was very heavy and our men were rapidly falling, but a vigorous and well-directed fire was kept up in return. The line on the left gave back somewhat at times, closing up to fill the gaps. The fire from the enemy continued for some time, and then slightly slackened, and the contest was decided by a charge of the Twentieth, down the rocky slope. It was done so suddenly that many of the Confederates, sheltered behind the bowlders in advance of their line, were at once run over and captured, and the shock of the charge falling directly upon their line broke it instantly- Then occurred one of those accidents such as often determine the result of a battle. Morrill's company (B), which had been advanced as skirmishers, as before related, not having effected a junction on its right, was cut off, and had moved around and occupied a stone-wall in the rear of the position taken vip by the enemy, and when the Confederates were driven back by the charge towards this wall Morrill's company fired a volley into the rear : this threw them into confusion, and there being nothing on their right, about 300 of them surrendered and others escaped in disorder in the woods. The Twentieth sustained heavy loss, about forty per cent of the entire number of about 350. The regiment with which it had been ens;ao;ed was the 15th Ala., commanded by Colonel Oates, which, as he reported, went into battle with 640 muskets. After the repulse of the enemy at Little Round Top, Chamberlain was directed to advance and occupy Big Eound Top, and in accordance with these orders he moved with the Twentieth Maine alone, climbing the steep and rocky side of this high hill and took position on the crest. It was then about dark. Advancing his skirmishers he encountered a line of skirmishers of the enemy and captured some thirty-five of them. He occupied the crest without support for the greater part of the night, but towards morning the line was completed between his right and the left of the line on Little Round Top. After daylight of the 3d the Twentieth was relieved and returned to its brigade. During the battle on the third day the brigade lay exposed only to artillery fire on the left of the point assailed by Pickett. The regiment advanced on the 4th to the Emmitsburg road, and on the morning of the 5th moved with the brigade and corps in the pursuit of the enemy. On the 10th of July it was engaged with the enemy on the Sharpsburg Pike, losing ten men. After the enemy had fallen back behind the Potomac the regiment had some hard marching, across the South Mountain, and after a brief bivouac on the north bank of the Potomac, crossed and took part in the further movement through Manassas Gap. It was present but not actively engaged in the skirmish at Wapping Heights. In August the regiment was encamped at Beverly Ford Colonel Chamberlain, having been assigned to the command of the brigade, was succeeded in command of the regiment by Spear, who had in the meantime been commissioned as Major. No other field officers being present, Clark of company E was detailed as acting field officer. The regiment shared in the movement between Culpeper Court House and Centreville in the fall of 1863, but was not actively engaged with the enemy until the 7th day of November, when it took part in the battle of Rappahannock Station, losing, however, but few men. It was subsequently in the affair at Mine Run in the latter part of November ; and with other regiments covered the corps front on the picket line in front of the enemy's works, holding that ground during the entire time in which the corps was at Mine Run. The regiment suffered extremely from the severe cold, but had very slight loss in wounded and none killed. Returning from Mine Run the regiment was assigned to the duty during the winter of '63-'64 of guarding the railroad bridge at Rappahannock Station, and occupied that position until the 1st day of May, 1864. At this camp the men built comfortable and convenient quarters of slabs, split and hewed ; substantial company kitchens were established and regular camp rations were issued. The location was healthy, and not a man was lost from the regiment during the whole winter. The men were exercised by drilling as often as the weather permitted. The senior Captain, Clark, being absent on detached services, Captain Keene was detailed as acting Field officer. On the 1st day of May, 1864, under the command of Major Spear, the regiment left this camp, in which the officers and men had passed a pleasant winter, and bivouacked near Ingalls' Station, and on the 3d moved and went into bivouac near Culpeper. At midnight moved again, and on the morning of the 4th crossed the Rapidan at Germanna Ford, and marched out on the Plank road to the Orange Court House road, and went into line of battle on the left of that road. In the morning it was reported that the enemy were advancing, and some slight intrenchments were made, and the trees were cut down in front of the line. The enemy not attacking and an advance being ordered, the regiment moved with the brigade, in the second line, with its rio;ht on road. The advance was at first through a thick wood, but, emerging from that into an open field, the lines met a sharp fire from the enemy, posted in the edge of the wood on the opposite side of the field. The charge across this field was on the double-quick. The two lines were somewhat disordered by a ditch about midway of the field, but the enemy were driven through the wood into a second opening. Here it became apparent that the brigade had advanced more rapidly than the line on the right of the road, and tiring was heard on the right and rear. This checked the advance. The Twentieth moved to the front and one company was deployed on the right, across the road. Its captain reported that that flank was unprotected, and that skirmishers of the enemy were crossing the road in our rear. The 83d Penn., which had been in front of the Twentieth, was re-formed in the rear, and wheeled to face to the right, but in a few minutes the enemy concentrated upon the left of the brigade and broke it, leaving both flanks of the Twentieth unprotected. The regiment fell back in good order to the original works, bringing off thirty-five prisoners, with the loss of Captain Morrill of B, severely, and three other officers, wounded, ten men killed and fifty-eight wounded, and sixteen missing. On the 6th the regiment was engaged with the enemy and lost two men killed and ten wounded. On the 7th the regiment with three others advanced to push the enemy back as far as possible and ascertain their position and force. The skirmishers of the enemy were driven in and through the woods to a line of breastworks from which the enemy opened with artillery and musketry. One officer, Lieutenant Sherwood, was killed here, and Lieutenant Lane mortally wounded ; and a considerable number of men killed or wounded. The regiment followed the corps to Spotsylvania Court House, moving early on the morning of the 8th, and at 6 p. m. advanced, supporting General Crawford's line. It was very nearly dusk when the regiment was, with the other detachments of the brigade, charged by the enemy, who, after a sharp hand-to-hand fight, were repulsed. The regiment lost one officer (Captain Morrell of A) killed and two wounded, five men killed, thirteen wounded and two missing. About 100 of the enemy were captured, including four commissioned officers. The regiment was under fire on the 10th and 11th, but not actively engaged, and lost one killed and two wounded. During the 12th and 13th it was occupied in intrenching, and on the night of the 13th marched all night to the left and went into position near Spotsylvania Court House, where it remained until the 20th of May, constantly under fire. On the 21st of May the brigade was in the advance in following the enemy in their retreat. Encountering a heavy rear guard with cavalry and artillery, which checked the advance of the corps, Colonel Chamberlain, who had recently returned to the regiment for duty, taking with him the Twentieth and two other regiments, made a skillful movement to cut them off and capture their artillery. The demonstration made in crossing a deep stream gave the enemy warning, and they galloped their guns away and were routed from their advantageous position, with the loss of several as prisoners. The regiment crossed the North Anna in the afternoon of the 23d and took an important part in the brilliant actions on that side of the river, but without severe loss. The regiment marched to the vicinity of Mangohick Church on the 27th and crossed the Pamunkey on the day following. It was engaged in the minor actions during the last of May and bore an important part in the severe engagement at Bethesda Church on the 2d and 3d of June, and lost during that time about thirty men. Again under command of Major Spear, it lay on the left of the army at Chickahominy on picket until the 12th of June, when it crossed the Chickahominy and moved towards the James, and thence to Petersburg. On the 18th it was in the reserve and suffered but slight loss. Here Colonel Chamberlain, who had some time before been assigned to command another veteran brigade of the division, was severely wounded in a desperate charge, and was promoted to be Brigadier- General by General Grant, on the field. On the 21st the regiment moved across to the left and after dark went into position and threw up earthworks in front of the enemy nearer the Jerusalem Plank road, where it remained until the 12th day of August. It lost here one officer (Maj. Samuel T. Keene) and five men killed, and seven men wounded. The regiment subsequently, in August, took part in the capture of the Weldon Railroad and was actively engaged during the three days' tight at that point. It la}' upon the Weldon Railroad until the 30th of September, receiving here one hundred recruits. On the 30th of September it moved with the division and took part in the battle at Peebles' Farm. The regiment was upon the extreme right of the line in the formation for the charge, but later was brought to the centre and formed upon the skirmish line and charged on that line directly towards the artillery in an earthwork in the centre of the field, from which a line of rifle-pits extended to the right and left. The charge was led by Major Spear. Captain Prince, then serving on the brigade staff, had rejoined his comrades of the regiment, in this perilous work, and was the first man in the fort. The entire line was captured and a considerable number of prisoners, with one piece of artillery, taken by Captain Fernald and a small squad of his company, General Warren telegraphed General Meade, reporting the charge as " one of the boldest I ever saw " Here the command devolved upon Captain Clark, Major Spear succeeding to the command of the brigade. On the afternoon of the same day a division of the Ninth corps advanced on the left to push the enemy further, and the regiment, with the brigade, advanced to protect the right flank of that division. That division giving way, the brigade became severely engaged with the enemy, but held its position until dark. The regiment lost in this battle one officer (Capt. Weston H. Keene), and five men killed, and three officers and forty-nine men wounded, nearly forty per cent of those engaged. The regiment occupied intrenchments made at this point until the affair at Hatcher's Run, or Boydton Road, on the 27th of October. It was engaged in December in the raid upon the Weldon Railroad and assisted in destroying that road down to near Hicksford (a) It was engaged in the action of Hatcher's Run, February 6th, with slight loss. Returning it remained in camp until the 29th day of March, when it took part in the final movement against Richmond. It was engaged at the Quaker Road on the 29th supporting Chamberlain, whose brigade drove the enemy from that road. It was also engaged on the 31st in the battle at Gravelly Run and on the 1st day of April, 1865, at the battle of Five Forks, where it charged the enemy's works (b) It was with its corps in the movement within the enemy's right, at Petersburg, and in the pursuit to (a) The aggregate casualties during 1864 are stated to have been 254. January 26, 1865, it had 275 muskets, and in addition an unassigned company. Losses in 1865 were 81. Combining the two years we find: Killed, 5 officers, 41 men; wounded, 16 officers, 246 men ; missing, 27 men. Aggregate, 335.—[Eds.] (b) Capturing a battle-flag and many prisoners.—[Eds.] Appomattox Court House, but was not actively engaged until it reached the Court House. The closing scene at Appomattox Court House was a fit end of the last campaign and indeed of the war. The regiment was fortunate in sharing in the closing act, as it had shared in the previous three years, the story of which has been so briefly and imperfectly told. How the Fifth corps and the cavalry, under Sheridan, broke in the extreme right of the enemy and compelled the thinning of their lines in the formidable works, which had so long confronted the army of the Potomac ; how, on the morning of the 2d of April, corps after corps tore their way through musketry and artillery fire, through abatis and over ditches and breastworks, and then pushed on after the retreating Confederates, all the world knows. It fell to the lot of the Twentieth to be in that part which followed Sheridan and the cavalry, endeavoring to pass to the left of their array and block its way In this earnest pursuit the last day's march was occupied from five in the morning until midnight ; indeed, until it seemed that man could march no longer ; only the sound of Sheridan's cannon in front kept them in motion. The writer saw men fall out as they marched, turning aside and falling as they turned from sheer exhaustion ; and finally, on the last halt, they lay down by the roadside, and could not be moved. But the next morning the stragglers were up, and the corps moved out at 5 o'clock, to the sound of battle in front. Gray April clouds hid the morning sun as the columns emerged from the woods into the open country about the unknown little Court House village, destined that day to become historic. The open field, bordered by woods, stretched far out to right and left. To the front, a half mile away, was a low hill, skirted by trees, which hid the village. At the left, along this skirt, near its edge, a line of white puffs showed where the cavalry were stubbornly resisting the pressure of Lee's infantry. As the Fifth corps swung into line of battle, with wings bent forward, and the color-bearers shook out the battle-flags, the sun was breaking through the clouds over the eastern woods. Behind, and moving to the left of the Fifth corps, was the Twenty-fourth, with well-closed columns, in which were two brigades of colored troops, assigned by some whim of justice, to block the last line of retreat of the fleeing Confederates. Before the concaye line of infantry, visible from flank to flank, sprang out the skirmishers, dotting the greensward. Behind, the artillery was moving up. The lines of infantry in order of battle, a long array of bright muskets spaced with colors, on an open field, more than twenty thousand men in sight, formed an unusual and inspiring spectacle even to veterans. But in front of this, and between it and the enemy, appeared a moving panorama still more picturesque. A body of cavalry, apparently relieved by the infantry on the left, came galloping across the field towards the right. In front, apart from the rest, conspicuous, clear against the sky as if in silhouette, on a black horse, in swift gallop, rode Sheridan. A more striking military figure cannot be conceived. It was the same long, powerful stride of the black horse that carried victory to Cedar Creek. Sheridan, alert, eager, his bronzed face set as if carved from oak, seemed in shape and movement the very embodiment of fighting energy. Next behind him spurred on his color-bearer, with the broad and swallow-tailed flag marked with crossed swords, and standing out and quivering in the rapid motion, a flag borne in many battles, and never backward. Behind this, in quick succession, followed staff and orderlies and a hurrying body of horsemen. Over all this and over the infantry lines shrieked the shells of the enemy, bursting in the air, with white puffs, that one after another drifted and disappeared ; or, plowing the ground, rebounded in the air. Sheridan, with this staff and escort and their flutter of flags, passed the front, and the infantry moved on, silent and steady, for what they thought the final grapple with the enemy The writer was riding with the skirmish line, and as it entered the curtain of trees, heard a shout on the left, and spurring in that direction saw emerging from woods a mounted officer in Confederate uniform, waving a white flag. No tidings had reached us of the previous correspondence between Grant and Lee ; but even the men on the skirmish line had at once understood the meaning of the white flag, and all its consequences, and were wildly shouting, " Lee surrenders ! Lee surrenders !" Indeed, an angel appearing from heaven, shining as the sun, could have meant no more than that mounted officer with his bit of white cloth. It signalled the decree of the Almighty- It meant the final and complete triumph of the army of the Potomac, after four years of severe struggle, mixed often with bitter defeat. It meant the vindication and re-establishment of the government, the end of slavery, honor instead of shame, and prosperity and peace instead of peril and disaster. For this a thousand battles had been fought, and hundreds of thousands of men had perished. No one of us doubted that it was the close of the war, and for us it meant home and friends restored. The officer with the flag turned and rode to the right, followed by shouts. With quite different feelings the line moved on through the woods and into the open country in which stood the straggling village. We lay there under orders to be "ready to make or receive an attack" the remainder of that day and the 10th, and on the 11th the regiment, with the remainder of the brigade, under General Chamberlain's orders, relieved General Gibbon's corps from the formalities in receiving the surrender of the Confederate arms and colors, so that the Twentieth had its share in the last part of the closing scene, and when this was done, saw the Confederate troops, a forlorn array, without arms or colors or military music, in straggling columns, march off towards their distant homes. After this the regiment was stationed near the battlefield of Five Forks for some weeks, and returned to Washington and went into camp on the Columbia Pike, on the 8th day of May, 1865. Here the original members of the regiment were sent to Portland under Lieutenant-Colonel Morrill and mustered out, leaving only the recruits and men assigned subsequently to the original organization. In place of the men mustered out, those remaining of the Sixteenth Maine and the battalion of the First Maine Sharpshooters were consolidated with the Twentieth, and under this organization the regiment, under Colonel Spear, returned to Portland and was mustered out on the 16th day of July, 1865. THE LAST ACT. The distinguished honor fell to a Maine officer, Brigadier- General Joshua L. Chamberlain, to be selected to command the detachment of Union troops, as representing the whole, to be marshalled in the military function of receiving, in a proper parade, the surrender of their arms and colors from the hands of the Confederates who had carried them. [This selection of Chamberlain by Generals Gibbon and Griffin could not have been accidental. The Rebellion Records pertaining to that campaign, serial numbers 95, 97, show complimentary mentions of his name, and on page 730 of the latter volume is a recommendation by General Griffin for Chamberlain's promotion, "as a reward for his conspicuous gallantry and meritorious services during this campaign, in the action on the Quaker Road, in the battle of Five Forks, and in the culminating battle at Appomattox Court House. In this last action, April 9th, his brigade had the advance and was driving the enemy rapidly before it when the announcement of the surrender of Lee was made." Communication, April 13, 1865. I, General Chamberlain called for his old brigade for this special duty, the Third brigade, First division, Fifth corps, composed of the Twentieth Maine, First Maine Sharpshooters, 32d Mass., 1st and 16th Mich., 83d, 91st, 118th, and 155th Penn. regiments. This body was augmented during the day by other parts of the same division. Chamberlain formed his troops in brigade line of battle, standing at attention, and in silence, as the Confederates marched up, under the escort of Major Ellis Spear of the Twentieth, and other officers, on staff service, brigade after brigade, along our front from right to left ; some of their officers, by a marching salute, responding to the courtesy shown to a gallant foe by Chamberlain when he ordered his line to a "shoulder arms" (known now as the "carry"), and in the perfect decorum preserved by our men. Matching their front to that of Chamberlain, they halted and formed their line, in succession as they arrived, facing ours, and about twelve paces away, and then sadly they stacked their arms, laid their colors down, and silently departed from sight. This ceremony occupied the whole day, and when it ended the work of the army of the Potomac was done, and peace was fully assured.