Maine at War: April 2020

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

April 1: Gettysburg scenes for locked-down Civil War fans
With Civil War battlefields currently closed, a photographic stroll across Gettysburg reminds us that better times lie ahead!

April 8: I’d no idea a ‘orspittle was such a jolly place
As nurse Louisa May Alcott watches her hospital patients form up to return to duty, a few battered men thank her for caring for them.

April 15: Courtroom wars, part 1 — Corinna promises its recruits big bucks
Voters in Corinna in western Penobscot County offer a substantial financial incentive to recruits credited to their town. Resident John Winchester accepts the offer and joins the 4th Maine Battery.

While fighting in Virginia, Pvt. John Winchester sends his authorized agent to collect the promised recruiting bounty from Corinna selectmen, who refuse to pay up.

April 29: Courtroom wars, part 3 — the judge lays down the law

Returning veteran John Winchester sues his hometown of Corinna for the full bounty and additional pay promised him. His legal war reaches the uncharitable judges of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.