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The record won by Maine troops in defense of the Union has become the glory of the state. No town was so obscure, no community so destitute, that it could not contribute its share of men and money. In many towns, in less than twenty-four hours after tidings of the firing upon Fort Sumter were received, full companies of volunteers were formed, ready to march. The first company which filled its ranks, and was accepted by the governor, was the Lewiston Light Infantry. During the four years Maine sent seventy-two thousand nine hundred and forty-five men to the battlefield and over nine thousand never returned. She furnished thirty-two infantry regiments, three regiments of cavalry, one regiment of heavy artillery, seven companies of unassigned infantry, seven companies of coast-guards, and six companies for coast fortification; six thousand seven hundred and fifty men were also contributed to the navy and marine corps. It was a Maine regiment that returned with the largest number of battles recorded on its flag of any regiment in the service, and another of its regiments sustained the greatest loss of any regimental organization in any arm of the service. |
MEGenWeb Project Civil War resources:
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Source(s) for narrative on this page: The Maine Book, by Henry E. Dunnack, Librarian of Maine State Library. Augusta, Maine 1920. pages 3-8.
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