Maine at Gettysburg - Lost Avenue

The 7th Maine Infantry monument stands on Neill (Lost) Avenue at Gettysburg. The 7th was part of the brigade holding the extreme right of the infantry line of the Union army's 'fishhook' position during the battle. (Click image for larger view).

Maine at the wall - Gettysburg

The monument to the 17th Maine Infantry rests behind the stone wall in the Wheatfield among a swirl of fall color at Gettysburg. The marker depicts a soldier crouching behind the stone wall, alert and ready. The 17th was among a handful of regiments holding the wall bordering the Wheatfield against Confederate attacks that eventually took the field, but not without a sharp fight. One officer in the Maine regiment reported: "Never was loading and firing of muzzle-loaders done more rapidly than by the 17th at the time." (Click image for larger view).

The 20th Maine - Gettysburg

Tucked among the rocks of Little Round Top, the squat monument to the 20th Maine Infantry rests where its men fought off repeated attacks on the second day at Gettysburg. Because the fight on the end of the Union line was popularized first in The Killer Angels then the movie Gettysburg, the Maine men receive more attention for their efforts that day than perhaps are deserved in comparison to other worthy units. The fight, however, did result in a heroic stand for the Union men against a determined enemy fighting uphill. Col. Joshua Chamberlain reported as the armies met: "From that moment began a struggle fierce and bloody beyond any that I have witnessed, and which lasted in all its fury, a full hour. The two lines met, and broke and mingled in the shock. At times I saw around me more of the enemy than of my own men. The edge of conflict swayed to and fro - now one and now the other party holding the contested ground. Three times our line was forced back, but only to rally and repulse the enemy."(Click image for larger view).

Hold at Any Cost - Gettysburg

Dawn sun traces the delicately carved state seal on the 16th Maine infantry monument on Oak Ridge on the battlefield of the first day of fighting at Gettysburg. 275 men and officers went into the battle, only three dozen or so would arrive in retreat on Cemetery Hill as the fighting concluded. The bulk of the regiment was captured, not on Oak Ridge but nearby, making a stand under orders to "hold the position at any cost" - allowing countless comrades to escape the rebels as the Confederates won the first day of fighting and swept into the town. (Click image for larger view).