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This company was enlisted at East Machias,
Maine. The first enlistment was on April 25,
1861. In the first call for volunteers, three men of that town went to the Adjutant General's
Office for enlistment papers. They received them on the 25th, and all three (J. W. West, P.
Foster and A. H. Chase) enlisted there at the Post office. Of the three, only one (A. H. Chase)
went out with the company. The town hall was opened for a recruiting office, and all business of
the town was suspended for a few weeks until the company was about full.
Company H was enlisted for the 6th
Maine. However, at the muster of the regiment it
was found that there were 25 more companies than were needed. At about this time the
"copperhead movement [1]" began to show itself, and a
number of those who had enlisted were
prevailed upon not to take the oath. Because the quota of the first call was full, the remaining
companies were paid off and took a furlough, holding themselves ready for the second call,
which soon came.
The second filling of Company H
was done rapidly. From the 25 companies that were on
furlough, the 7th, 8th, and part of the 9th Regiments were formed. Company H was part of the
latter, and had about 84 men when the company was organized around the first of September.
W. I. Chase was chosen as Captain and W. J. Ramsdell as 1st Lieutenant. Of the three East
Machias men from the first enlistment on April 25 only Aaron H. Chase joined the company in
September. The others, having failed to get elected as officers, would not go. However, J. W.
West later went into the 11th Maine as 2nd Lieutenant and P. Foster went into the 1st Maine
Cavalry as Sergeant.
The company took teams to Lubec,
a distance of 25 miles, about the 10th of Sept. 1861.
From there it traveled to Eastport by boat, going into camp at Fort Sullivan to wait for a
detachment of Company A from Calais, Maine. The company then took a steamer to Portland
and then journeyed by rail to Augusta. Here enough men were found to fill the company to 101
men, and the company chose of Sam Buckly as 2nd Lieutenant. The regiment was also
organized here, with the choice of officers at this
time[2]. Company H was with the regiment
throughout the entire war. The regiment arrived at Augusta on the 14th of Sept. and was
mustered into the U. S. service, leaving for Washington on the
16th[3]. Company H had the honor
of being the "right company" by being the first to muster into the U. S. service.
The regiment arrived at Washington
all right, with the exception of one little incident at
Baltimore, Md. Some of the men got poisoned by eating cake and pies bought from the hawkers
on the street, but none died. On arrival in Washington the regiment went into what was called
the "Soldiers Retreat," a dirty barn of a building wholly fit for a hog pen. The cars from
Baltimore were bad enough (cattle cars, not cleaned out), but this retreat was worse. The
regiment then went into camp on what is called Capitol Hill, a low, flat, wet ground with very
poor water. The men were more or less sick. The regiment waited here two weeks for arms. As
soon as equipped it went into camp at Annapolis, Md., waiting for the expedition going south
under Sherman. Here the regiment got its first drill, although the time was short. The 1st
Lieutenant of Company H resigned and went home and Lieutenant Joseph Noble of Company A
was assigned in his place.
While taking boats from here to
Fort Monroe, the Captain of Company H was taken sick
and sent to the hospital with A. H. Chase as nurse. The fleet sailed under sealed orders. Off
Cape Hatteras the ships encountered a fearful gale which nearly destroyed the fleet. The
boat[4]
that the 9th Maine was on had four feet of water in the hold. The men worked the engines for
three hours with bars[5]. The captain of the
boat called for volunteers from the soldiers to help
work the boat. Thirty men came to his help, and these, he said after the storm, saved the boat.
The thirty were all seamen.
After this storm the fleet landed
at Hilton Head, S.C. somewhere about middle of
October. The 9th Maine was the first regiment to form line of battle on the island. Here the
regiment went into camp doing guard, fatigue & drill duty. The wet conditions, exposure & poor
food told on the men fearfully. Fevers, colds and bowel complaints were common.
Sometime in February an expedition
was organized to take Fernandina, Florida. The 3rd
Brigade, to which the 9th Maine belonged, was the one selected to go. The 9th Maine sailed in
the steamer Star of the South, with two companies, D & H, on the schooner Sarah Collins of
Baltimore. The ships laid in Ossabaw Sound, Ga three weeks waiting for
gunboats[6]. Here
Company H lost a man by drowning. He was in the hospital on the steamer when in the night he
either was insane or he blundered out of the hatchway (his name was Roberts).
On the 4th of March, 1862, the
brigade took possession of Fernandina. Companies D &
H of the 9th Maine went into Fort Clinch and remained there ten months doing drill, picket and
guard duty. In February, 1863, Company H went to do outpost duty at the railroad bridge.
While the regiment was at Fernandina, Company I lost 8 men taken prisoner and one that would
not surrender (killed?). Company H had a squad of men on Cumberland Island, Ga, doing safe
guard duty. The regiment was on a number of secret (raids?), one at St Mary's taking down a
mill[7]. Later at the same place, as the
regiment was withdrawing the pickets were fired on and
one man from Company A was shot. The captain of the gunboat that was protecting the troops
gave notice to the mayor of the place to remove the women and children from it as he was going
to open fire on the place, which he did. The regiment was engaged in digging up cannon
(preparing artillery positions?) on the mainland at the south of Amelia Island. The regiment went
by boat to Jacksonville, but did not land as the enemies left without a fight. The regiment
returned to Fernandina until ordered to Hilton Head.
At Hilton Head the regiment went
into camp, doing duty guarding prisoners and duty on
the wharf. After some time at this place the captain of Company H resigned and returned home.
Soon an order came for the regiment to go into camp on St Helena Island. The
brigade[8] was
reorganized and practiced boat drill and charging forts. About the 1st of July the regiment was
ordered to embark for Folly Island where it went into camp for a few days.
On the night of the 10th of July
the regiment embarked in small boats, a company to a
boat. The night was very dark and foggy and the boats took all night going across Shell
Creek[9],
which is broad and deep. At 4 o'clock in the morning the guns on Folly opened on the Batteries
on Morris Island, the place where the troops were to land. At 4:30 in the morning the troops
landed without any opposition from the enemy except for a small picket line. Here Company H
lost a man wounded and Company G had one killed. The troops took possession of the island up
to Fort Wagner, which they charged on the morning of the 11th before daylight, losing quite a
number of men as prisoners, killed & wounded[10].
The regiment got inside of the fort,
but could not hold because it had no support. The
other regiments thought they had retreated, and it was so dark that they could not see. Lieutenant
Were of Company I was taken prisoner in the fort. By some mishap Company H was overlooked
when the charge was made and was not called. The men of the different companies took the best
protection they could from the guns of Wagner and Sumpter. The regiments in the charge were
the 3rd N. H., 76th Penn., 7th Conn., 9th Maine and five companies of the 6th Conn. The 6th
Conn. got inside of the fort but could not hold.
The troops had a heavy duty to do
at this time, fatigue duty, days in the trenches and
frequent night duty. On the night of the 18th of July another charge was made with the same
result as the first. The 54th Mass. colored regiment made the charge, the following regiments
supporting them in column by companies: the 3rd N. H., 76th Penn., 7th Conn., 9th Maine and
6th Conn. (5 companies). Three charges were made: first the 54th Mass., second the 3rd
Brigade, and third the 2nd Brigade. General Strong was wounded in both legs and ordered a
retreat, two men of Company H carrying him off the field. The troops got to the parapet of the
fort, but the fire was too heavy - grape, canister & musketry. The 9th Maine lost 130 men in this
charge[11].
Then began the siege of Wagner,
which was kept up until September when the trenches
had been run so near the fort that the enemy left. The regiment was under fire all the time, night
& day, for 6 months. After the evacuation of the fort the regiment was on duty all the time
building batteries to demolish Fort Sumpter. About the 1st of December the regiment went on
outpost duty on Black Island, between James & Morris Island. Here 440 men of the regiment
reenlisted. The regiment helped to build the Swamp Angel. While on outpost duty the men had
a great deal of boat picket duty to do, a very dangerous duty. Most of the men were out every
night. The regiment stayed here until ordered home on a veteran furlough for a month in the
middle of winter. Some of the men made the long trip back to Maine, the remainder of the
regiment went to Yorktown, Va to join forces being organized to go up the James River under
the command of General Butler.
The furloughed men gathered at
Portland, Me and took the steamer General Lyons for
Washington D.C. They went to sea in a fearful gale. There were 1000 men on the boat, among
them a soldier with the smallpox, but it was treated so carefully it did not spread. The steamer
was blown out of her track 300 miles and was one week getting to Washington. The men went
into camp at Alexandria, Va, until they could get a steamer to take them to Yorktown. Here they
got new rifles and joined the rest of the regiment. The division was attached to the 18th Corps
and was brigaded three times one day[12]. The
troops took steamers from here to Bermuda
Hundred, Va, on a campaign against Richmond, Va, under the command of General
Butler[13].
The regiment landed at Bermuda
Hundred on May 4th, 1864, and marched out toward the
Petersburg & Richmond Railroad, which they struck that night. On the 7th the army engaged the
enemy at Green Valley[14], Va, driving him
from his line of works and taking the railroad. The
troops tore up and destroyed the track for a long distance. The day was hot and quite a number
of the men were overcome with the heat. That night the regiment went on picket duty on the
railroad. About 12 o'clock in the night they got marching orders to join General Gillmore at
Drewry's Bluff on the James River. The regiment got to his command early in the morning, just
in time to save the 112th N.Y. Regiment from being all cut up. The 9th Maine drove the enemy
back. The morning was very foggy and the enemy was making charges all along the line. The
9th went on the picket line on the right of the line near Fort Darling. The regiment had a number
of skirmishes with the enemy, finally charging them about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, driving
them back and taking a few prisoners. The colonel of the 9th Maine was wounded in this charge
and the regiment lost a few men wounded. That night the troops fell back to the old line of
works. The regiment remained here doing trench picket duty until the last of the month, when
orders came to take boats for White House Landing to join Grant at Cold Harbor, Va.
The regiment landed at West Point
and marched to White House Landing, a distance of
30 miles in 12 hours. They were acting as flankers to the transports. The brigade joined Grant at
4 p.m. on June 2nd, just in time to save the 6th Corps. The brigade made a charge and drove the
enemy back over three lines of his works. He then was reinforced and made a countercharge, but
gained no ground. The 9th Maine colors and fifty men would not give back a foot and held the
ground until reinforced. The regiment lost quite heavily in this
charge[15], but beat the best
charging regiment in the service, the 13th Indiana. That night a squad of men who had been to
the rear with a number of prisoners were returning and about 50 of them went into the enemy's
lines. It was a fearfully dark night and the pickets of the 48th N.Y. did not connect with the right
of the 3d Brigade. The regiment was here a few days at the front, in heavy firing most of the
time.
About the 10th of June the regiment
got orders to march to White House Landing and
take boats back to Bermuda Hundred. After arriving there the regiment rested for a few days
before taking up the march towards Petersburg. Upon arriving there the regiment captured a
squad of schoolboys that was defending the works. The general sent them home to their
mothers. The brigade held the works until the 9th Corps relieved them, the 16th Maine taking
the 9th Maine's place. The next day the regiment was formed in line of battle in front of the
Trotting Fork to draw the enemy's attention while the 1st Maine H.A. made a charge. On the
19th the regiment moved to the left and took possession of what was known as Fort Hell. The
lines were so near that a man could toss a small pebble into the enemy's line. It was continual
fire all the time. The small trees in front of the line were cut down by bullets, yet the regiment
lost but few men.
At this time the regiment got orders
to report to General Burnside to help in the charge
after the blowing up of the Cemetery Hill Fort[16].
A few men were lost in
this charge[17]. After
this charge the regiment went to its old lines at Bermuda Hundred. Here the regiment rested a
few days, then, on a march to the north of the James, drove the enemy from his lines and
captured a four gun battery. The regiment crossed the river at Deep Bottom on the 28th of
August and met the enemy at Strawberry Plains in a hard fight. The 9th Maine came very near to
being taken prisoners when the 4th N.H. fell back of the line of battle and left the left flank of the
9th exposed. The enemy took advantage of the gap and took the regiment by surprise, but could
not capture them; they fought their way back through the lines. Major Dyer of the 9th Maine
was on the general's staff and reported to him that the 9th was surrounded. The general's reply
was "let them fight their way out and win a name," which they did, but with heavy
losses[18].
The regiment went into the enemy's
line of works that evening. The next day the enemy
made a charge to regain his line of works. He was unsuccessful, but captured 3 companies of the
115th N.Y. Two picket posts of the 9th did not come in, a swamp in front protected them. At
dark a flank movement was ordered, the 9th Maine holding the line of works until the main body
of troops was well to the rear. They then moved out at the double quick. The movement was so
silently made that the enemy did not discover it until late the next morning. The flank movement
was made to Seven Pines, all night in a heavy rainstorm, so dark the men could not see four feet.
The next day the troops encamped within sight of the James River near Deep Bottom. The men
were all tired out, yet in the afternoon took up the march to the left of the line. The men had
been marching all night and fighting all day for most of three months. The ranks were thinned
and the men ragged rough, but were ready to fight.
It was now time for the men who
did not reenlist to be mustered out[19]. There
was strong talk of consolidating the 8th and 9th into one regiment, but the general would not hear
of the 9th Maine losing its organization. The regiment was
small[20], but it had done as much fighting as the
larger regiments. On the 28th of September the troops crossed the James River at Akins Landing
on a flank move towards Richmond, Va. The colored troops took the advance. They met the
enemy at Charles City Crossroads, Va, and, after two charges, drove him from his lines. The 9th
Maine acted in support. The colored troops drove the enemy eight miles. The white troops took
the front at Choppins Farm and drove him into the main defenses of Richmond. The troops
charged the line but could not carry it because they found a deep ditch to cross with no easy way
of getting over. On the left Fort Gilmer had a flank fire and on the right a battery had the same.
The 9th Maine went into this charge with 75 men and officers and left 44 on the field; every
officer was lost. The men fell back that night to Choppins Farm and went into camp. On the
29th the enemy tried to retake the line, but failed.
From the 29th of September to the
27th of October the regiment was on picket duty most
of the time. The regiment got 600 recruits about the 1st of
October[21]. On the 27th of October
the regiment engaged the enemy at Derbytown Road in a cold rain storm. The attack was a
failure and could not dislodge him[22].
The regiment then went into winter quarters, doing picket
& camp duty. In the first part of January 1865 the regiment was ordered to Fort Fisher, N.C.
under General Terry(?). The regiment made a landing a Smithville, N.C. to flank a fort above
Fort Fisher, but the enemy left before they got there. The 9th Maine was in all the engagements
in front of Wilmington, which was taken on the 22nd of February. It was a very warm day but at
night a rainstorm set in. The regiment overtook the enemy at a railroad bridge at what is called
the Northeast Station. The bridge was on fire and the pontoon was cut so a halt was called. The
next morning the pontoon was in position for crossing troops.
The next morning the enemy sent
word that they would parole the prisoners they had
taken out of Wilmington, N.C. when they left the city. The whole number, 10,000 men, were
delayed here some days until the papers were made out. The army then went on the march again
after General Johnson, but could not bring him to battle. On the march General Terry(?) took the
three right companies of the 9th Maine and took possession of a railroad repair shop at Magnolia.
Here the three companies stopped three weeks until orders were received to abandon the road to
make a move on Raleigh, N.C. Before this the army had formed a junction with General
Sherman. The march was in three columns entering Raleigh along three different roads. This
was the last that the regiment marched; it stopped here guarding the city.
On the 1st of July the regiment got
orders to muster out and return home. On the 13th of
July the regiment took cars for Morehead, N.C. From there they embarked on a steamer for
home, landing at Baltimore and traveling from there by rail to Maine to be paid out and
discharged. At Augusta the men were delayed some time before they could get discharged,
which was done on August 13th, the troops going to their homes that night.
The regiment was not what is called a
brilliant one, but it was a fighting one. It never
was driven from a position it had taken. It had fallen back a number of times, but never at any
time was it driven back. It was in all the campaigns in what was called the Dept. of the South,
that is the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and through the campaign of the James and
the campaign of N.C. It was at the front all the time. There are a great many skirmishes and
picket fights I have not put in because I have forgotten the dates. The regiment had as many
killed in action (96) as any other Maine regiment. It was always up on the march at all times and
it was always ready to do its duty.
[1] The Copperheads were an anti-war faction of the Democratic Party. For a more information see: James M. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, (New York, NY: Penguin Books USA, Inc., 1988).
[2] The privates elected the line officers, who in turn elected the field officers. William E.S. Whitman and Charles H. True, Maine in the War for the Union, (Lewiston, Maine: Nelson Dingley Jr. & Co., 1865), 209.
[3] Ibid., 209, gives the departure date as Sept. 24, 1861. Regimental strength given as "more than one thousand strong".
[4] The steamer Coatzacoalcos. Ibid., 211.
[5] Assisting the engine at every revolution by using iron bars on the walking-beam. Ibid., 211.
[6] Ibid., 212, says they were at Warsaw (Wassaw) Sound. Both places exist. The original intention of the force was an attack on Savannah.
[7] A steam-powered sawmill, it was moved to Hilton Head and set up for use there. Ibid., 214-215.
[8] The brigade consisted of: the 9th Maine, 6th and 7th Conn., 76th Penn., 48th N.Y. and 3rd N.H. Ibid., 216.
[9] The Folly River. Ibid., 216.
[10] About 100 men killed and wounded. Ibid., 218.
[11] 217 men killed, wounded and missing according to Ibid., 219.
[12] Finally ending up in the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Division, 10th Corps. Ibid., 221.
[13] Regimental strength at this time was 732 men and 29 officers. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Maine for the Years 1864 and 1865, (Augusta, Maine: Stevens & Sayward, 1866), 253.
[14] Walthall Junction. Ibid., 253.
[15] 10 killed, 49 wounded and 12 missing. Ibid., 254.
[16] This was the famous "Battle of the Crater", the explosion of 4 tons of gunpowder in tunnels dug beneath a confederate fort. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, 758-760.
[17] 7 killed, 34 wounded and 5 missing. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Maine, 254.
[18] 8 killed, 38 wounded and 10 missing. Ibid., 254.
[19] 158 men. Ibid., 254.
[20] 195 men and 6 officers present on Sept. 29, 1864. Ibid., 254.
[21] 603 men between Oct. 7 and Oct. 26. Ibid., 254.
[22] 7 men killed, 38 wounded and 3 missing. Ibid., 254.