Maine in the Civil War

Introduction
Maine was a source of military manpower, supplies, ships, arms, and political support for the Union Army. About 70,000 men from Maine served in the U.S. military as soldiers and sailors. They were organized into 32 infantry, 2 cavalry regiments, 7 light Artillery batteries and1 heavy artillery regiment. Hundreds of civilians served as nurses, doctors, relief workers, and agents at home and on the field of battle.

Military Companies
Regimental Histories

Maine State Archives - includes brief summary of the regiment, names of each company and the records that are available.

The Civil War Archive - detailed description of each company.

Battalions

 * 1st Battalion, Maine Infantry
 * Mustered in: February and March, 1865 Mustered out: April 5, 1866 Length of Service: thirteen months Organized in Augusta and Portland Mustered out 3rd Sub-District, Western South Carolina
 * 1st Battalion, Sharpshooters, Maine Infantry
 * October 27 to December 29, 1864
 * Transferred to 20th Maine Infantry June 21, 1865
 * Length of Service: nine months
 * Organized at Augusta
 * 1st Battalion, Maine Light Artillery
 * Muster In: December 18, 1861 at Portland Muster Out: July 15, 1865 at Portland Length of Service: Three Years, seven months
 * Mustered in at Portland
 * Mustered out Portland

Regiments

 * 1st Regiment, Maine Militia State Guards
 * 1st Regiment, Maine Heavy Artillery
 * Mustered in August 21, 1862 Mustered out September 11 and ordered to Bangor, Me. Discharged September 20, 1865 length of service: three years, one month Organized at Bangor as 18th Infantry
 * 1st Regiment, Maine Cavalry
 * Muster In: October 31, 1861 Muster Out: August 1, 1865 Length of Service: Three Years Organized at Augusta
 * 1st Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * (3 months, 1861)
 * Muster In: May 3, 1861 Muster Out: August 5, 1861 Length of Service: 3 Months Mustered in at Portland Mustered out at Portland
 * 1st Regiment, Maine Veteran Infantry
 * Mustered in: August 21, 1864 Mustered out June 28, 1865 Length of Service: ten months Organized at Charleston, Va., by consolidation of the Veterans of the 5th, 6th and 7th Regiments of Maine Volunteer Infantry. Attached to 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 6th Army Corps, Armies of the Shenandoah and Potomac, to June, 1865.
 * 2nd Regiment, Maine Cavalry
 * Muster In: January 12, 1864 Muster Out: December 6, 1865 Length of Service: 23 Months Organized at Augusta Discharged at Augusta, Me., December 21, 1865
 * 2nd Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: May 28, 1861 Muster Out: June 9, 1863 Length of Service: 2 years Organized at Bangor for three months' service.
 * 2nd Regiment, Maine Veteran Infantry
 * 3rd Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: June 4, 1861 Muster Out: June 28, 1864 Length of Service: Three Years Organized at Augusta. Veterans and recruits transferred to 17th Regiment Maine Infantry.
 * 4th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: June 15, 1861 Muster Out: July 19, 1864 Length of Service: Three Years Organized at Rockland. Veterans and recruits transferred to 19th Maine Infantry.
 * 5th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: June 24, 1861 Muster Out: July 27, 1864 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Portland
 * Veterans and Recruits transferred to 6th Maine Infantry
 * 6th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: July 15, 1861 Muster Out: August 15, 1864 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Portland
 * Veterans and Recruits transferred to 7th Maine
 * 7th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: August 21, 1861 Muster Out: September 5, 1864 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Augusta
 * Veterans and Recruits transferred to 1st Maine Veteran Infantry
 * 7th Regiment, Maine Veteran Infantry
 * 8th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: September 7, 1861 Muster Out: January 18, 1866 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Augusta
 * Mustered out at Fortress Monroe
 * 9th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: September 22, 1861 Muster Out: July 13, 1865 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Augusta
 * Duty in North Carolina till July 1865
 * 10th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: October 4, 1861 Muster Out: May 8, 1863 Length of Service: Two years
 * Organized at Portland
 * Transferred to 29th Maine Infantry November 1, 1863
 * 11th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: November 12, 1861 Muster Out: February 2, 1866 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Augusta
 * Mustered out at City Point, Va
 * 12th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: November 20, 1861 Muster Out: December 7, 1864 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Portland
 * Non-Veterans left front November 19, and mustered out December 7, 1864. Veterans consolidated to a Battalion of four Companies
 * 13th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: December 31, 1861 Muster Out: January 6, 1865 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Augusta
 * Non-Veterans left front for muster out December 25. Mustered out January 5, 1865. Veterans and Recruits consolidated to a Battalion and transferred to 30th Maine Infantry December 25, 1864.
 * 14th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: December 31, 1861 Muster Out: January 13, 1865 Length of Service: Three Years Organized at Augusta
 * 15th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: January 20, 1862 Muster Out: July 5, 1866 Length of Service: Three Years Organized at Augusta Non-Veterans mustered out January 15, 1865
 * 16th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: August 14, 1862 Muster Out: June 5, 1865 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Augusta
 * Recruits transferred to 20th Maine Infantry
 * 17th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: August 18, 1862 Muster Out: June 4, 1865 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Camp King, Cape Elizabeth
 * Discharged at Portland, Me., June 10, 1865.
 * 18th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: August 21, 1862 Muster Out: December 1862 Reorganized Length of Service: Four Months
 * Organized at Bangor
 * Designation of Regiment changed to 1st Maine Heavy Artillery January 6, 1863
 * 19th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: August 25, 1862 Muster Out: May 31, 1865 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Bath
 * Recruits transferred to 1st Maine Heavy Artillery
 * Discharged June 7, 1865
 * 20th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: August 29, 1862 Muster Out: July 16, 1865 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Portland
 * Mustered out - Old members, June 4; Regiment, July 16, 1865
 * 21st Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: October 13, 1862 Muster Out: August 25, 1863, expiration of term Length of Service: Nine Months
 * Organized at Augusta
 * 22nd Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: October 18, 1862 Muster Out: August 14, 1863, expiration of term Length of Service: Nine Months
 * Organized at Bangor
 * Ordered home July 24
 * 23rd Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: September 29, 1862 Muster Out: July 15, 1863, expiration of term Length of Service: Nine Months
 * Organized at Portland
 * 24th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: October 16, 1862 Muster Out: August 25, 1863, expiration of term Length of Service: Nine Months - Department of the Gulf
 * Organized at Augusta
 * Ordered home July 24, 1863
 * 25th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: September 29, 1862 Muster Out: July 10, 1863, expiration of term Length of Service: Nine Months
 * Organized at Portland
 * Ordered home June 30, 1863
 * 26th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: October 18, 1862 Muster Out: August 17, 1863, expiration of term Length of Service: Nine Months - Department of the Gulf - 19th Corps
 * Organized at Bangor
 * Ordered home July 25, 1863
 * 27th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: September 30, 1862 Muster Out: July 17, 1863 Length of Service: Nine Months
 * Organized at Portland
 * Left Washington for home July 4, 1863
 * 28th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: October 18, 1862 Muster Out: August 31, 1863 Length of Service: Nine Months
 * Organized at Augusta
 * 29th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: December 17, 1863 Muster Out: June 21, 1866 Length of Service: Three Years - Department of the Gulf - 19th Corps Army of the Shenandoah
 * Organized at Augusta
 * Mustered out Company "A" October 18, 1864; Regiment June 21, 1866.
 * 30th Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: January 11, 1864 Muster Out: August 20, 1865 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Augusta
 * 31st Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: April 17, 1864 Muster Out: August 20, 1865 Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Augusta
 * 32nd Regiment, Maine Infantry
 * Muster In: March 3, 1864 Muster Out: August 20, 1865* Length of Service: Three Years
 * Organized at Augusta
 * Consolidated with 31st Maine Infantry December 12, 1864

Marine Coast Guard

 * Maine Coast Guard Infantry
 * Company A - Mustered in March 18, 1864.
 * Assigned to garrison Fort Washington, MD.
 * Mustered out May 25, 1865.
 * Company B - Mustered in April 27, 1864.
 * Stationed at Fort Foote, MD.
 * Mustered out June 24, 1865.
 * Company C - Mustered in May 16, 1864.
 * Stationed at Fort Sullivan, ME.
 * Mustered out September 6, 1865.
 * Company D - Mustered in January 6, 1865.
 * Stationed at Machiasport, ME.
 * Mustered out September 6, 1865.
 * Company E - Mustered in January 7, 1865.
 * Stationed at Rockland, ME.
 * Mustered out July 7, 1865.
 * Company F - Mustered in January 6, 1865.
 * Stationed at Belfast, ME.
 * Mustered out July 7, 1865.
 * Company G - Mustered in March 1, 1865.
 * Stationed at Augusta, ME and later Calais, ME.
 * Mustered out July 6, 1865.

Unassigned Companies

 * 1st Unassigned Company, Maine Infantry


 * 7th Unassigned Company, Maine Infantry


 * 9th Unassigned Company, Maine Infantry


 * 19th Unassigned Company, Maine Infantry


 * 20th Unassigned Company, Maine Infantry


 * 29th Unassigned Company, Maine Infantry


 * 30th Unassigned Company, Maine Infantry

Census Substitute
1890 Maine census index of Civil War veterans or their widows - Substirute of the 1890 U.S. Federal Census. Lists the individuals name, regiment served in and other information. Doesn't list the family members of the individual.

Military Cemeteries

 * Andersonville Cemetery - Confederate prison which operated for 14 months. During this time, more than 45,000 Union soldiers were confined here. Of these, almost 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure to the elements. This link lists all men buried in the cemetery and what company and regiment they were in.


 * Maine State Archives - has Grave Registration Cards for many Maine Civil War soldiers. This was part of a WPA project conducted in the 1930s. Records are incomplete and have some inaccuracies. They can contain information on:
 * dates and places of birth
 * dates and places of death
 * cause of death
 * name of cemetery where buried
 * type of grave marker
 * war record


 * Find a Grave website - lists quite a few names of individuals throughout the U.S. in their prospective cemeteries. Doesn't include every individual that has been buried in the U.S. as it only contains approximately 50 million names.


 * The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs National Cemetery Administration- online research tool that searches their records to determine if an individual is buried in one of their 119 national cemeteries. need to know the last name of the individual and helpful to know birth or death date and/or cemetery of burial.


 * Soldiers and Sailors System - contains list of those buried at Poplar Grove Cemetery.


 * United States Civil War Center Cemetery Listings- contains by name list of soldiers buried in several national cemeteries. Must know the battle in which the soldier died or the cemetery in which they are buried as there is no search engine by name.
 * Civil War Veterans of Washingon County, Maine - contains a list of cemeteries in Washington County, Maine and the names and regiments of those soldiers buried there. particular focus on 6th and 9th regiments.


 * Many soldiers were not identified at the time of burial and were either buried in mass graves or in unmarked graves. Some were also sent home and buried in family plots.

Battles fought in Maine
No Civil War battles were fought in Maine, except the Battle of Portland Harbor.


 * Battle of Portland Harbor - a naval battle fought in June of 1863 near Portland, Maine when Southern raiders triggered the Battle of Portland Harbor after seizing a pair of non-military vessels and trying to escape to the ocean.

Muster Rolls
Muster-In Rolls, Descriptive Rolls, Monthly Returns and Muster-Out Rolls of each Regiment. Bound and encapsulated in such a way that they cannot be photocopied.

Related to them is the Soldiers' Index, a 3x5 card file for each soldier, on which all information from the Regimental Rolls has been abstracted.

The Adjutant General's Office also tried to maintain a separate index for seamen, but it is very incomplete.

The "obituaries" are a file of newspaper clippings or other memorials regarding the death of Maine veterans; it is very incomplete as are the General Law Pension records.

Compiled records showing service of military units in volunteer Union organizations - 225 microfilms located at the Family History Library. The compiled records are card abstracts containing information relating to the stations, movements, or activities of each unit or a part of it, and frequently to its organization or composition, strength and losses, and disbandment. Sometimes the names of commanding officers, the dates the unit was called into service and mustered out, the terms of service, and similiar information are included.

Pensions

 * USGenWeb pension project - a project still underway to provide actual transcriptions of Pension related materials for all Wars prior to 1900.


 * FamilySearch Record Search - Currently working on digitizing documents online. A free Internet index to pension applications of veterans who served in the US Army between 1861-1917. Each card gives the soldier’s name, application and certificate numbers, state of enlistment, and might include rank and death information.


 * Maine Military records 1700-1940 - films of military pensions for Maine located at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Library in Salt Lake City, UT. They are stored in the church vault and must be requested to be viewed. This can take a couple days if viewing in them at the Salt Lake Library.

GAR records

 * GAR Maine Posts - lists the posts to date collected and compiled by the GAR.

Guides for Maine
A Brief Guide to Researching your Maine Civil War Ancestor - Andrea L. Solarz; January 2001; online PDF