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"Civil War Soldiers In Green" - Topic for UHS
Submitted ByUnion Historical Society
(May 25): Union Historical Society (Maine, USA) will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday June 2 in the Old Town House on Town House Road. After a short business meeting Peter Dalton and members of the Richardson Civil War Roundtable of Sandy Point will give a presentation on “Soldiers in Green: the Civil War Diaries of James Mathews of Rockland”, enhanced by Power Point visuals, readings from the diaries, and a display of authentic Civil War materials.
A Warren native who worked as a typesetter at the Free Press, Mathews served from 1862-1865 as a member of Company D of the 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters. Company D was made up of Maine men and served with the 20th Maine Regiment. The Sharpshooters’ green uniforms, designed to make the men less conspicuous while deployed as snipers and pickets, were the first attempt at camouflage. While many Civil War soldiers kept diaries or notes of their experiences, Mathews showed unusual persistence, getting two fellow soldiers from Rockland to write up short portions during Mathews’ absences from the field, for instance after he was wounded at Antietam. After the war ended Mathews continued his diary for two years, moving out West to work and then returning to Maine, where he married a Belfast woman and settled in that town until his death in 1875.
The Richardson Civil War Roundtable became interested in the diaries through Mathews’ grandson Horace Combs who inherited the manuscript. The group published Mathews’ record of the war years in a book edited by Peter Dalton and with an introduction by John Pullen, the renowned historian of the 20th Maine and Joshua Chamberlain. Now in its second printing, this successful effort has paid off the initial costs and all proceeds are now donated to assist in the preservation of Civil War battlefields and monuments.
After the program refreshments will be served by hostesses Judy Grinnell and Elaine Tracy.
Union Historical Society meets monthly at 7:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday. All meetings are free and open to the public, and membership in this very active Society is only $5.00 per year. Saturday, July 17th, is the annual Founders' Day celebration with day long activities. There is still room for entries in the parade and displays on the Common. For more information call 785-5444 and leave a message, or visit www.midcoast.com/comespring
Early 1900's Image of Civil War Soldiers Monument on Union Common(Photo by Union Historical Society)
This story was printed from
Submitted ByUnion Historical Society
(May 25): Union Historical Society (Maine, USA) will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday June 2 in the Old Town House on Town House Road. After a short business meeting Peter Dalton and members of the Richardson Civil War Roundtable of Sandy Point will give a presentation on “Soldiers in Green: the Civil War Diaries of James Mathews of Rockland”, enhanced by Power Point visuals, readings from the diaries, and a display of authentic Civil War materials.
A Warren native who worked as a typesetter at the Free Press, Mathews served from 1862-1865 as a member of Company D of the 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters. Company D was made up of Maine men and served with the 20th Maine Regiment. The Sharpshooters’ green uniforms, designed to make the men less conspicuous while deployed as snipers and pickets, were the first attempt at camouflage. While many Civil War soldiers kept diaries or notes of their experiences, Mathews showed unusual persistence, getting two fellow soldiers from Rockland to write up short portions during Mathews’ absences from the field, for instance after he was wounded at Antietam. After the war ended Mathews continued his diary for two years, moving out West to work and then returning to Maine, where he married a Belfast woman and settled in that town until his death in 1875.
The Richardson Civil War Roundtable became interested in the diaries through Mathews’ grandson Horace Combs who inherited the manuscript. The group published Mathews’ record of the war years in a book edited by Peter Dalton and with an introduction by John Pullen, the renowned historian of the 20th Maine and Joshua Chamberlain. Now in its second printing, this successful effort has paid off the initial costs and all proceeds are now donated to assist in the preservation of Civil War battlefields and monuments.
After the program refreshments will be served by hostesses Judy Grinnell and Elaine Tracy.
Union Historical Society meets monthly at 7:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday. All meetings are free and open to the public, and membership in this very active Society is only $5.00 per year. Saturday, July 17th, is the annual Founders' Day celebration with day long activities. There is still room for entries in the parade and displays on the Common. For more information call 785-5444 and leave a message, or visit www.midcoast.com/comespring
Early 1900's Image of Civil War Soldiers Monument on Union Common(Photo by Union Historical Society)
This story was printed from