February 2024 Maine at War blog posts
In February 2024 my Maine at War blog explored a Confederate cemetery in Kentucky, met the reverend who became a warrior, and examined the state and local response to the Lincoln Administration’s threat to draft the militia in summer 1862.
February 7, 2024: The Confederate standing watch at Frankfort, Kentucky
Sculpted from white marble, a young Confederate infantryman guards the Confederate Cemetery inside a public cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Encircling the statue are the graves of more than 60 Confederate soldiers, including some killed during the Civil War.
February 14, 2014: Battle of Baton Rouge hero drowns courtesy of the U.S. Navy
Married and the father of three young daughters, Reverend Joseph P. French joined the 14th Maine Infantry Regiment as a first lieutenant, not as a chaplain. Badly wounded at the battle of Baton Rouge, he was evacuated by a hospital transport. Disaster awaited on the Mississippi River.
February 21, 2024: Maine responds when Lincoln Administration threatens to draft the militia
The Lincoln Administration’s threat to draft the militia in summer 1862 surprised Maine officials then busy organizing and outfitting five infantry regiments. Despite the chaos already surrounding current recruiting efforts, Gov. Israel Washburn Jr. and his administrators responded quickly to the latest demands.
February 28, 2024: Bath taxes the rich to recruit 90 soldiers
When rich businessmen balked at contributing to a “private subscription” that would give each local recruit a handsome bounty, city officials in Bath, Maine voted to raise the funds from local taxes. Doing so forced “the shirks, the misers and those of even less enviable qualities” to contribute after all.
