Maine at War: November 2019

Here’s what our friend Brian Swartz was up to in November at his blog Maine at War:

November 6, 2019: Teen-aged Maine patriot wrote a song predicting his death
A corporal with the 21st Maine infantry Regiment, Charles Morgan Searles wrote an untitled song describing a flag bearer’s responsibilities. Assigned to the regiment’s color guard, he participated in the disastrous May 27, 1863 charge at Port Hudson and came out wounded, with only days to live.

November 13, 2019: Last Soldier Ceremony honors a Civil War soldier on Veterans Day 2019
A member of the 6th Maine Infantry Regiment, Melvin Jellison was one of Maine’s two surviving Civil War veterans when he died in his hometown of Clifton on September 10, 1947. Members of Daniel Chaplin Camp No. 3, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, honored him with a graveside Last Soldier Ceremony on November 11, 2019.

November 20, 2019: Draft-related voter fraud rocks Washington County town
During a meeting held in August 1863 in tiny Marshfield in far eastern Maine, voters approved a measure to spend tax money to buy the commutation fees for Marshfield draftees. The trouble was, 110 ballots were cast, but there were only 62 registered voters on the town rolls.

November 27, 2019: Plan a visit to Pea Ridge National Military Park
Overlooked by historians too focused on military affairs east of the Mississippi, the March 1862 Battle of Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas shattered a Confederate threat to St. Louis. A visit to Pea Ridge National Military Park is certainly worth the effort.