September 2023 Maine at War blog posts
In September 2023 my Maine at War blog reported on topics ranging from the Republican governor who got into trouble with his own party from the “git go” to a fast-thinking Mainer who impersonated Ohio.
September 6: Trouble awaited Abner Coburn, Maine’s second war-time governor
During his inauguration speech in January 1863, Republican Governor Abner Coburn detailed the many challenges that Maine faced that year. But trouble simmered within his own party as political powerhouse James G. Blaine discovered that he could not impose his will on Coburn.
September 13: Oliver Otis Howard recognizes the Copperhead threat
Home on furlough after Gettysburg, Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard encountered the rising Copperhead opposition to the war effort. Speaking from a soldier’s viewpoint, he appealed to wavering Mainers to stay the course to final victory and the preservation of the United States.
September 20: Maine impersonates Ohio
Captured at Gettysburg, a 16th Maine Infantry officer went to Libby Prison before bouncing around other Southern prisons into late 1864. Suddenly he saw a chance to effect his freedom; could he become whom he wasn’t?
September 27: Draftees’ bounty stirs political debate in Gardiner
In summer 1863, the Lincoln Administration informed the small city of Gardiner that it must cough up an additional 72 men for the army. Enlistees would get a $300 bounty. What about draftees? Gardiner politicians debated long and hard if and how to financially reward draftees.
