Maine at War Posts for August 2025
In August 2025, Maine at War joined Col. Thomas W. Hyde and his 3rd Brigade (2nd Division) during the Petersburg Breakthrough. The three-part series brought readers along as VI Corps overran the Confederate picket line on March 25 and assaulted Robert E. Lee’s main line early on April 2, 1865. As an added bonus, readers joined a combat patrol roaming behind Southern lines that very day.
August 6, 2025: Petersburg Breakthrough, part 1: “But the position of the 1st Maine was frightful”
When Confederate troops overrun Fort Stedman early on March 25, 1865, Col. Thomas W. Hyde commands a brigade in VI Corps, led by Maj. Gen. Horatio Wright. He orders an attack to seize the Confederate picket lines opposite VI Corps, and Hyde and his brigade participate in the successful assault.
Colonel Thomas W. Hyde and his 3rd Brigade deploy in the April 1-2, 1865. darkness as VI Corps prepares to attack the Confederate defenses west of Petersburg. As the eastern horizon starts to brighten, VI Corps surges out of the dark and into the enemy lines.
August 20, 2025: Petersburg Breakthrough, part 3: Hyde seeks nuisance rebel battery
Having shattered the Confederate lines defending Petersburg, VI Corps advances to cut the Southside Railroad. Thomas Hyde and his brigade help clear out the remaining Confederates before turning east to deal with Petersburg.
August 27, 2025: 1st Maine captain scouts beyond the Petersburg Breakthrough
Captain Augustus Merrill takes out 20 infantrymen to scout behind the Confederate lines overrun by VI Corps on April 2, 1865. He runs into far more than he expected, and he returns with far more than he anticipated.
