Maine at War: January 2020

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

January 1, 2020: Help erect the first Maine monument in the Shenandoah Valley.

The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation is raising funds to erect at Third Winchester a monument to the Maine soldiers who served in the Valley during the Civil War. Join us in making this fund-raising effort a success!

January 8, 2020: Returning Port Hudson veterans meet Hannibal Hamlin
Worn out from helping capture Port Hudson, 26th Maine Infantry veterans return to Bangor to muster out in August 1863. Vice President Hannibal Hamlin is there to meet them.

January 15, 2020: Did God ward off a third strike against Joshua Chamberlain?
Shot through the pelvis at Petersburg, Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain survives a late-night surgery and stretcher-borne transportation to City Point, only to encounter rude treatment from a hospital ship’s surgeon. Is this the final hoorah for our hero?

January 22, 2020: Newspaper cheers when Augusta arrests a traitorous lawyer
A newspaper applauds when, after Maine attorney John L. Hunter dispenses free advice to a reluctant soldier, the Republican establishment throws him in the clink.

January 29, 2020: Confederates spring a cannonball trick at Fort Hell
Spotting a tall civilian in a stovepipe hat at Union-held Fort Sedgwick, did Confederate gunners think the guy was President Abraham Lincoln? They let him know that they’re nearby.