Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Gettysburg: The Topography That Saved The United States, Benjamin Wyman

Maine History

Many scholars have analyzed the Battle of Gettysburg and the factors that determined its outcome. This work argues that the topographical features on the extreme

left flank of the Union army, which the Union troops held on July 2, were the primary factors in a Federal victory at Gettysburg. Focusing on the second day of the battle and the terrain the two armies fought over on the left flank of the Union army, this article combines an analysis

of topography and leadership in what would prove to be a pivotal Confederate defeat at the high tide of the Civil War. …

Color Sergeant Andrew J. Tozier, 20 Maine Medal Of Honor Winner, James A. Christian

Maine History

Sergeant Andrew Jackson Tozier’s seizing of an abandoned rifle to defend the 20th Maine’s national flag at his lone, advanced position would earn him a Medal of Honor. As Tozier left no personal diary, or personal letters written during the war, scholars must instead turn to archival military records, published regimental histories, contemporary newspaper accounts, and the diaries and letters of Tozier’s regimental comrades. Using these sources, the article herein sketches a portrait of the man General Joshua Chamberlain lauded as “an example of all that was excellent as a soldier.” More broadly, perhaps, it depicts the experiences of a …

Benevolent Chaos: Nurse Harriet Eaton’S Relief War For Maine, Jane E. Schultz

Maine History

Harriet Eaton, Portland citizen and Civil War nurse, kept a daily journal of two tours of duty with Maine regiments in the Army of the Potomac. The journal reveals the mistrust that local aid organization workers had regarding the sweeping benevolent objectives of the U.S. Sanitary Commission. The Maine Camp Hospital Association, a local aid society established in Portland in 1862, resisted absorption by the Maine State Relief Agency early in the war, but, in time, the two groups came to cooperate effectively with one another, despite Eaton’s continuing critique of the efficacy of federal benevolence. Jane E. Schultz is …