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10th Maine
Regiment Infantry
in the Civil War
| Regimental History |
| Tenth Infantry. — Col., George L. Beal; Lieut.-Col., James F.
Fillebrown; Majs., Charles Walker, Charles S. Emerson. When the 1st Me. was mustered out
of service in the Union army the various companies composing it, and which had enlisted in
the State militia for two years and in the U. S. service for only three months, were
ordered to rendezvous at Portland for the purpose of reorganizing the regiment to serve
out the rest of their time. This was found to be partially impracticable, however, except
by the employment of coercive measures. All the companies were reorganized except A, C and
D, but 697 out of the 881 men were paid bounty as newly enlisted troops. Co. C was formed
by a fusion of the three companies not able to organize separately; Co. A was recruited in
Saco, and Co. D was raised in Aroostook county. These companies were organized to form the
new 10th at Cape Elizabeth, Me., in Oct., 1861, and were mustered into the U. S. service
as follows: Companies B, C, E, F, G, H, I, and K to serve two years from May 3, 1861, and
A and D to serve three years from Oct. 4, 1861. The two years men were mustered out of
service May 7 and 8, 1863, and the remaining men consolidated into a battalion of three
companies, A, B and D, which was transferred to the 29th Me. on Nov. 1, 1863, by a special
order from the war department. The regiment left Portland Oct. 6, 1861, and arrived in
Baltimore on the 9th, where it remained encamped at "Patterson Park" until Nov.
4, when it moved to Relay House, Md., and relieved the 4th Wis. as guard of the Baltimore
& Ohio railroad until Feb. 27, 1862. It afterward guarded the main line of the same
road leading to Harper's Ferry, and the railroads leading to Martinsburg and Charlestown,
W. Va. The regiment was concentrated at Winchester on May 24, and the following day was
given the dangerous duty of rear-guard to the forces of Gen. Banks on his retreat to
Williamsport, Md., during which it suffered a loss of 90 men. At Williamsport it was
assigned to the 1st brigade, 1st division, Banks' corps. May 28, it made a reconnoissance
towards Martinsburg, advanced to Winchester on the 31st, occupied Front Royal June 22, and
took part in the reconnoissance to Luray Court House on June 29. On July 6, it proceeded
towards Culpeper Court House and arrived there on the 24th. Gen. Crawford, the brigade
commander, often stated that the 10th Me. contained more scouts than all other regiments
in the brigade combined. It subsequently participated in the battle of Cedar mountain,
where its losses were 173 men, and was in all the movements of Gen. Pope's army on his
retreat toward Washington. At the battle of Antietam the regiment lost 20 killed and 48
wounded. From Sept. 19, 1862, to Sept. 28, 1863, it was at Maryland heights, opposite
Harper's Ferry, Berlin, Md., Fairfax Station and Stafford Court House, Va., leaving the
latter place on April 28, 1863, for Maine, as the two years' term of service had expired.
The original members were mustered out at Portland on May 7-8, 1863. The three years' men
were detached from the regiment on April 26, and organized into a battalion of three
companies. On Sunday, April 26, 1863, the following order was received from corps
headquarters: "Special Order No. 100. (extract) The enlisted men of the 10th Me.
volunteers, whose term of service extends to three years or during the war, will be
marched to these headquarters in charge of the following named officers: Capt. J. D.
Beardsley, Lieut. Charles F. King, Lieut. Chandler Libbey, Lieut. Charles H. Haskell, and
Ass't Surgeon H. N. Howard. These men will be constituted a provost guard, relieving the
three companies of the 2nd Mass. volunteers now on duty at these headquarters. They will
be allowed to retain their full proportion of camp and garrison equipage. By command of
Maj.-Gen. Slocum." As soon as the battalion had reported, the officers and men
referred to were immediately organized into three equal companies, and on April 29, with
the rest of the 12th corps, crossed the Rappahannock and arrived at Chancellorsville on
the 30th. It was not actively engaged in the battle which ensued here and lost only a few
men. It next participated in every part of the campaign ending in the battle of
Gettysburg, and was encamped along the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers from Aug. 1 to
Sept. 24, 1863, when it accompanied the 12th corps to Nashville, Tenn. From Nashville it
went to Wartrace, and remained there until Nov. 1, 1863, when it was assigned to the 29th
Me. infantry then being organized, and which the battalion joined at New Orleans, La. |
Footnotes:
Regimental history taken from "The Union Army" by Federal Publishing
Company, 1908 - Volume 1
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