Maine at War blog posts for March 2026
During March, Maine at War readers met the nurse whom 3rd Maine Infantry soldiers considered “an angel to all of us,” learned about the actual northernmost land action during the Civil War, looked on as Bangor’s Irish decided how to respond to the Civil War, and met the Monster created by The Crater.
March 4, 2026: Sarah Sampson was “an angel to all of us”
Sarah Sampson of Bath volunteered as a 3rd Maine Infantry Regiment nurse when her husband went to war with that unit. Her devotion and care for sick and wounded 3rd Mainers earned her their undying devotion.
March 11, 2026: Three bold Confederates walked into Calais bank
The 1864 bank robbery in St. Albans, Vermont has gone into history as the northernmost land action during the Civil War. Calais in Maine lies farther north than St. Albans, however, and Confederates attempted to rob a bank there the same year.
March 17, 2026: Bangor’s Irish respond when Confederates fire on Fort Sumter
Ethnic and religious tensions flared between Maine Anglo-Saxons and Irish as the latter settled in the state during the mid-19th century. “Native” Mainers wondered how Bangor’s Irish population would respond when the Civil War began. Local Irish quickly made their response known in Bangor.
March 25, 2026: The Crater Sent a Monster Home to Maine
A handsome youth when he joined the 32nd Maine Infantry Regiment in later winter 1864, James J. Chase emerged something quite different after charging into the boiling cauldron called The Crater.
Its good to tell the words of the wounded, such as Chase, for they are the closest to speaking for the killed in battle whose verbiage is voiceless. God bless his loving wife.
Agree whole heartedly. The acceptance of fate, poise under duress, and words spoken by these individuals never fail to astonish. The recollections they left behind are invaluable.