HISTORICAL NOTES:
The 2nd Maine Infantry Regiment (also known as the Second Maine Regiment, Second Maine Infantry, or The Bangor Regiment) was mustered in Bangor, Maine, for two years' service on May 28, 1861, and mustered out in the same place on June 9, 1863.
Five of the ten companies of the regiment were raised in Bangor, including a Gymnasium Company, the Grattan Guards, and a company of Ex-Tigers (firemen). Other companies were from Castine, Milo, and Old Town.
The 2nd Maine was the first Civil War regiment to march out of the state, and was greeted with accolades by civilians as it made its way to Washington, D.C. It engaged in "eleven bloody and hard-fought battles" including the First Battle of Bull Run, where it was the last regiment to leave the field, and Fredericksburg, where it took its greatest number of casualties.
When the regiment was mustered out in Bangor, huge crowds gathered to celebrate its return on Broadway, and a ceremony was held at Norumbega Hall downtown. Those soldiers who had enlisted for three years, rather than two, were transferred to the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment under protest.
The Regiment lost during service 4 Officers and 65 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 70 Enlisted men by disease. Total 139.
OFFICERS:
The first commander of the 2nd Maine was Col. Charles Davis Jameson, a lumber merchant from Old Town, who later became a brigadier general, was wounded in battle, and died of camp fever. Jameson's successor was Col. Charles W. Roberts of Bangor, who had a horse shot out from under him at the Second Battle of Bull Run. The last commander was Col. George Varney.
The Ex-Tigers were led by Capt. Daniel Sargent of Brewer, Maine, who would be promoted to lieutenant colonel and second in command under Varney.
Augustus Choate Hamlin of Bangor, nephew of Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, was the regiment's Assistant Surgeon, and later Surgeon. After the war, he wrote books about Andersonville Prison and the Battle of Chancellorsville.
Quartermaster Sergeant Luther H. Peirce became a wealthy Bangor lumber merchant and funded a monument to the 2nd Maine at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Private J. Sumner Rogers later served as an officer and went on to found Michigan Military Academy.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Left State for Willett's Point, N. Y., May 14, 1861. Mustered into U. S. service for two and three years May 28, 1861. Moved to Washington, D. C., May 30. Attached to Keyes' Brigade, Tyler's Division, McDowell's Army of Northeastern Virginia, June to August, 1861. Fort Corcoran, Division of the Potomac, to October, 1861. Martindale's Brigade, Fitz-John Porter's Division, Army Potomac, to March, 1862. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Army Corps, Army Potomac, to May, 1862. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Army Corps, to June, 1863.
SERVICE:
Camp on Meridian Hill, Defenses of Washington, D. C., till July 1, 1861. Moved to Falls Church, Va., July 1, and duty there till July 16. Advance on Manassas, Va., July 16-21. Occupation of Fairfax C. H. July 17. Battle of Bull Run July 21. Duty at Arlington Heights, Va., and at Fort Corcoran till October, and at Hall's Hill, Defences of Washington, till March, 1862. Moved to the Peninsula March. Warwick Road and near Lee's Mills April 5. Siege of Yorktown April 5-May 4. New Bridge May 24. Hanover C. H. May 27. Operations about Hanover C. H. May 27-29. Seven days before Richmond June 25-July 1. Battles of Mechanicsville June 26; Gaines' Mill June 27; Peach Orchard and Savage Station June 29; Turkey Bridge or Malvern Cliff June 30; Malvern Hill July 1. At Harrison Landing till August 15. Retreat from the Peninsula and movement to Centreville August 16-27. Pope's Campaign in Northern Virginia August 27-September 2. Battle of Groveton August 29. Bull Run August 30. Battle of Antietam, Md., September 16-17. Shephardstown Ford September 19. Shephardstown September 20. Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12-15. Expedition to Richards and Ellis Fords December 29-30. "Mud March" January 20-24. 1863. At Falmouth till April. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5. Ordered home May 20. Three-year men transferred to 20th Maine Infantry. Mustered out June 9, 1863.
ROSTERS:
The composite rosters of this unit contain the names of 1830 men.
Company A - Bangor Light Infantry
Company B - Castine Light Infantry
Company C - Brewer Artillery
Company D - Milo Artillery
Company E - Bangor Company
Company F - Bangor Company
Company G - Bangor Tigers
Company H - Gymnasium Company
Company I - Grattan Guards
Company K - Old Town Company
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Vol. 2. Cartersville, GA: Eastern Digital Resources, 1998. Ref. See p. 1222 (1 photocopied page) for a concise summary of the regiment's service.
Edwards, Abial H. "Dear Friend Anna": The Civil War Letters of a Common Soldier From Maine. Orono, ME: U ME, 1992. 161 p. E601E38.
Maine. AGO. Annual Report...for the Years 1864 and 1865. Augusta, ME: Stevens & Sayward, 1866. Cartersville, GA: Eastern Digital Resources, 2010. UA43M2.1864-1865.AppD. See pp. 379-86 (5 photocopied pages) for a roster of the regiment. Although regimental rosters appear in earlier Annual Reports, that found in this edition is the most complete for the unit's wartime service.
Whitman, William W.S. Maine in the War for the Union: A History of the Part Borne by Maine Troops.... Lexington, ME: Nelson Dingley, 1865. Powder Springs, GA: Eastern Digital Resources, 2010. E511W61. See pp. 225-60 (19 photocopied pages) for a brief history of the regiment.
REFERENCES: Dyer, Frederick H. - A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion
The Union Army by Federal Publishing Company, 1908 - Volume 1
HISTORICAL NOTES: