THE COURAGE OF A COMPANY
A Regiment is Born
When the American Civil War broke out in April 1861, Maine was among the first states to rally to the United States’ cause. By June, the Third Maine Infantry Regiment had mustered in Bath, making it one of the earliest units to answer to President Abraham Lincoln’s call for volunteers to suppress the rebellion of the slave-holding South. Drawn from shipbuilders, fishermen, and farmers from coastal and inland towns, the regiment reflected the tough resolve of New England’s citizen-soldiers.
“I am proud to say the conduct of my officers and men throughout the entire day is deserving the highest praise. Their coolness and courage in resisting a force which they could plainly see was four times their number I cannot pass over lightly, but feel somewhat recompensed for my loss by the knowledge that the few I have left are of the same material as the gallant spirits that have fallen.”
Moses B. Lakeman, After Action Report, Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863
Into the Fire of War
Led first by Colonel Oliver O. Howard and, later, Colonel Moses B. Lakeman, the Third Maine faced its baptism of fire at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. Unprepared for the chaos of modern battle, the regiment, like much of the U.S. Army, was forced into retreat. But from that day on, the Third Maine grew in courage and reputation. They fought in nearly every major campaign in the Eastern Theater–Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Fair Oaks, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania–carrying their colors into the fiercest fighting and earning respect for resilience under fire.
The Trials of Battle and Loss
The Third Maine faced severe hardships: bullets, disease, hunger, and capture. A total of 1,586 men served in the regiment. Official records show it lost 10 officers and 124 enlisted men, either killed in action or dying from wounds. One more officer and 148 enlisted men died from illness. Thirty-three soldiers died in Confederate prison camps. In total, the regiment suffered 316 deaths and endured a casualty rate of 20 percent.
The Bath Volunteers
Within the regiment, one small company carried the story of Bath, Maine, onto the battlefield. Company D, raised alongside its sister Company A, drew its ranks from Sagadahoc County’s shipyards, farms, and fishing villages. Bound by strong hometown loyalty, they faced the hardships of military life together. Fathers and sons, brothers and cousins, friends and neighbors marched together. Several would go on to receive the Kearney Cross of Valor for bravery in combat.
Led at different times by Captains Charles A.L. Sampson, William H. Watson, Alfred S. Merrill, and First Lieutenant Woodbury Hall, Company D began with 100 eager volunteers. By the time they marched into Gettysburg in July 1863, only 21 men remained in the active ranks. Conscripts and substitutes would later replenish their numbers, but the sacrifice of that dwindling band endures as the true measure of Company D’s contribution to the nation’s cause.
