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Hi I'm Eric for Made Here.

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Forlorn Hope, Cumberland, Maine

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director Daniel Lambert's

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historical film, about the 1st

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Maine Heavy Artillery Regiment's

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participation in the Civil War,

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is part reenactment

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and part historical record.

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Late in the Civil War,

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more than 850 Maine soldiers

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accepted orders to charge a

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confederate held position

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near Petersburg, Virginia.

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And within 10 minutes of

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their charge, more than 630

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were struck down.

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Forlorn Hope tells the story

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leading up their charge

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and what happened after,

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towards the end of the war.

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Local stories like these

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tend to get lost

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in the bigger picture of history

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and it's up to filmmakers like

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Daniel Lambert to help remind

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us of the local impact

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these moments have.

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You can watch Forlorn Hope on

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broadcast or online

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at vermontpbs.org

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Enjoy the film and

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thanks for watching!

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(majestic bagpipe music)

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- [Narrator] Upon this 
ground over 150 years ago

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and more than 800 miles 
from the rocky coastline

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and timbered forest 
of down east Maine

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that they called home,

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the men of the First 
Maine Heavy Artillery

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became part of an 
incredible story.

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(muskets firing)

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One that until now has 
gone mostly untold.

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(soft instrumental music)

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A story of courage,

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of sacrifice,

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a story that 
consecrated this ground

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with the blood of men from Maine

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in the service of their country.

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(dramatic music)

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(acoustic guitar music)

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The First Maine Heavy 
Artillery started out

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as the 18th Maine 
Regiment and was raised

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as part of Abraham Lincoln's 
call in the spring of 1862

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for additional three-year 
regiments from each state.

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The men of the 18th 
Maine were drawn

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from up and down eastern Maine.

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Some came from towns in 
the Penobscot River Valley,

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some came from Bangor 
and the surrounding area,

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others came from along 
the central coast

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including the towns of Ellsworth 
and Mount Desert Island.

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As with most regiments 
early in the war,

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the officers were known to 
the men from civilian life.

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As the 18th Maine 
forms, Daniel Chaplin,

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then serving as a major in 
the Second Maine Regiment

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is promoted to colonel 
and placed in command.

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- The colonel of the 
First Maine heavy is a guy

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by the name of Dan Chaplin.

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He's a business 
man out of Bangor,

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considered as a 
merchant of some kind,

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but he has the 
respect and regard

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of the men who are 
serving under him.

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He's considered 
to have integrity,

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he cares for them, 
they will follow him.

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They will take his orders, 
and they will do what he says.

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- [Narrator] In August of 1862,

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the 18th Maine left the state 
and headed for Washington DC.

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When they arrived,

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the defenses protecting 
the federal capital

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were still in need 
of strengthening.

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And quickly the men of 
the 18th got to work,

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cutting trees and 
digging entrenchments.

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Their efficiency 
with a saw and spade

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allowed them to remain 
in and around the capital

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while other regiments 
were moved to the front.

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- And these guys set 
up camp around DC,

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and there in Georgetown, 
there in Arlington,

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and they're part of 
the perimeter defense.

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And they do a lot of drilling.

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From their perspective, 
wartime's pretty 
easy, they like it.

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They've figured out 
how to do the things

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that they did at home.

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They can cut trees, 
they can dig ditches,

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they can build breastworks, 
and readouts, and abatis

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and they were able to 
figure out how to take care

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of themselves even 
better than that

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because they had some real 
ingenious guys in the regiment.

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(haunting instrumental music)

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- [Narrator] The 18th Maine 
Infantry Regiment is renamed

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the First Maine Heavy 
Artillery Regiment

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and spends much of 1863 
in ready watchfulness

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as the war and talk of 
battles swirls around them.

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(cannon fires)

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Chancellorsville, Winchester, 
Aldie, Middleburg, Vicksburg.

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(multiple cannons firing)

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Gettysburg.

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- There was some 
grousing about that,

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because that's not what 
these guys signed up for.

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But at the same time they 
were thinking yeah okay.

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But to become a heavy 
artillery regiment,

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the number of men in each 
company was increased by 50

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and they added two 
additional companies

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so by then you're now 
talking not 1,000 men,

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but close to 1,800.

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- [Narrator] Even though 
they were not being moved

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to the front, Daniel Chaplin 
and the other officers

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spent many hours 
drilling the men,

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making sure their military 
skills and discipline

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did not slip.

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(dramatic music)

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In March of 1864, 
Ulysses S. Grant is named

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overall commander of the Union 
forces and he comes East.

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One of his first priorities 
is to pursue General Lee's

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Army of Northern Virginia, 
and after three years

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of bitter and 
heated engagements,

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he realizes that he 
will need a lot more men

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to get the job done.

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(musket fires)

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- Union command decided 
that some of these guys

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who had been on the 
perimeter defense,

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like the First Massachusetts 
Heavy Artillery

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and the First Maine, let's 
press them into service

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as infantry regiments.

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Which meant guys, 
pack up, hit the road,

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we're gonna give you your 
muskets and you're gonna be

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part of the army.

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(menacing music)

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- When the heavy artillery 
regiments first come online,

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they're not well received.

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They're joining an 
army now that had seen

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some heavy fighting.

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A few weeks prior, the 
Battle of the Wilderness,

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which kicked off the 
overlaying campaign.

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The year before you had 
Gettysburg and beyond that

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you had battles like Antietam.

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(music continues)

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So there were veteran 
regiments that had seen a lot,

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had seen a lot of their 
comrades who were no longer

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with them.

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Regiments that used to be at 
1,000 men are down to 200 now.

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To see these new 
regiments coming aboard,

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they were called names, 
they were made fun of,

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they were called things 
like Old Abe's Pets

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because they had spent 
time in Washington.

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They were called 
paper collar soldiers

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because they had come down 
in their full frock coats,

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trimmed red with the 
artillery service.

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They were called 
bandbox soldiers

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because everybody 
knew they could march,

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but could they fight?

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(dramatic music)

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- [Narrator] By May of 
1864, the garrison troops

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were being ordered to the front.

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Including the First 
Maine Heavy Artillery.

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(military drumming)

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On May 19th, the First 
Maine Heavy Artillery

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is held in reserve 
at Spotsylvania,

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guarding the army's 
wagon trains.

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Confederate general, 
Richard Ewell, Second Corps,

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learns of the supplies.

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(rebel yells)

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The rebels are hungry, 
thirsty, and angry.

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(guns firing)

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Standing between them 
and the supply train

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are the untested infantry.

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Five Union Heavy 
Artillery regiments,

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including the men 
of the First Maine.

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- They quickly get 
a baptism of fire.

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(muskets firing)

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- [Narrator] The men 
of the First Maine

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fought bravely against 
Ewell's veterans.

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The cost of their bravery 
was measured in blood.

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Almost 500 casualties to 
the First Maine's ranks.

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They did their duty. 
They held the line.

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(suspenseful music)

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Over the next month, the Maine 
soldiers would see action

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at North Anna, Totopotomoy 
Creek, and Cold Harbor.

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(guns firing)

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The ever-forward trudge 
of the Union Army's

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overland campaign now 
moves further southward.

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The First Maine 
crosses the James River

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with the Union 
Army on June 15th.

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- They're still 
new to the field,

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but they have been bloodied,

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and they have 
suffered casualties.

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Those men haven't been replaced,

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so roughly 850 men 
are available as part

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of the fighting force of 
the First Maine Heavy.

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- [Narrator] Petersburg 
is a critical railroad hub

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that supplies Richmond 
and the Confederate army

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with food, munitions, and men.

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- Part of the deal was 
that as General Grant

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was figuring out how 
to capture Richmond,

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the idea was to close 
off the supply routes

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feeding Richmond, 
feeding the Confederacy,

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and that meant going at 
the railhead at Petersburg.

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- [Narrator] The First Maine 
arrives on the outskirts

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of Petersburg late on 
the night of June 16th,

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and after an unfortunate 
delay waiting for rations,

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they pushed forward through 
the day of the 17th.

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That evening, they hear 
trains pull into Petersburg

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bringing troops from 
Lee's army to reinforce

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the Confederate position.

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- [David] And the action 
on the train tracks

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means only one thing: 
Robert E. Lee is here.

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(suspenseful music)

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- The intent was, go at 
Petersburg, be quick about it,

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and pull it off.

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If they had done that 
on the 15th of June

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before the Army of 
Northern Virginia,

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Robert E. Lee's troops 
could get there,

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they pretty much had 
the town to themselves,

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and Petersburg at the time 
was under 20,000 people.

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About the size of say 
Augusta, Maine today,

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and that's still 
large, and it was still

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a transportation hub, but at 
the time it was defended by

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invalid troops, senior 
troops, some young kids.

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It really was not an army.

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What they had were breastworks,

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what they had was a 
good defensive position,

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what they didn't 
have was numbers.

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(intense music)

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- [Narrator] In the late 
afternoon of June 18, 1864,

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the outer defenses of 
Petersburg had been overrun

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during three days of fighting.

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The First Maine Heavy Artillery 
was formed up to charge

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300 yards across an 
open field and assault

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the fortified Confederate 
positions facing them at

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Hare House Hill.

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Previous attempts made 
earlier in the day

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by veteran regiments to carry 
this position had failed.

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General Robert E. Lee's 
veteran troops had arrived

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in Petersburg and they were 
ready to repulse any attack

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launched against them.

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At Hare House Hill, Lee's 
massive army of reinforcements

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was dug into trenches,

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presenting a formidable obstacle 
between the Union position

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and the city.

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(intense music)

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To many Union veterans,

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the situation was 
unsettlingly familiar.

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They had seen the same type 
of scenario at Cold Harbor

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earlier in the month.

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At Cold Harbor, thousands 
of battle-tested veterans

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from the Union Second Corp 
had laid down their lives

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00:12:31,466 --> 00:12:34,733
in a futile attempt to 
overrun the well-entrenched

255
00:12:34,733 --> 00:12:36,200
Confederate forces.

256
00:12:37,566 --> 00:12:41,400
General Grant's overland 
campaign not only took a heavy

257
00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,433
physical toll on the 
veterans of the Second Corp,

258
00:12:44,433 --> 00:12:47,000
(musket fires)

259
00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:48,900
but also a mental one.

260
00:12:48,900 --> 00:12:52,433
- There were veteran troops 
accompanying the battalion

261
00:12:52,433 --> 00:12:55,466
and the corp that had 
arrived in Petersburg

262
00:12:55,466 --> 00:13:00,433
who looked at the task before 
them and said there's no way.

263
00:13:00,433 --> 00:13:02,466
- [Narrator] Many of these 
veterans had been suffering

264
00:13:02,466 --> 00:13:06,166
the hardships of war since 
before the Battle of Antietam,

265
00:13:06,166 --> 00:13:10,033
and had faithfully fulfilled 
their duties as soldiers.

266
00:13:10,033 --> 00:13:13,000
With Grant's willingness to 
continually engage the enemy

267
00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,566
with almost no 
break in the action,

268
00:13:15,566 --> 00:13:18,133
veterans were beginning 
to show a hesitancy

269
00:13:18,133 --> 00:13:21,033
in endangering 
themselves unnecessarily

270
00:13:21,033 --> 00:13:24,466
when ordered to charge 
strongly held fortifications.

271
00:13:24,466 --> 00:13:27,166
(musket firing and echoing)

272
00:13:27,166 --> 00:13:30,500
- That was not what Dan Chaplin 
and the First Maine Heavy

273
00:13:30,500 --> 00:13:32,766
thought was the 
role of the troops.

274
00:13:32,766 --> 00:13:35,100
They were to do what 
they were ordered to do,

275
00:13:35,100 --> 00:13:37,900
that was their mission 
and particularly because

276
00:13:37,900 --> 00:13:40,400
they had been razzed 
by the veteran troops,

277
00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:42,633
they were not 
about to step back.

278
00:13:42,633 --> 00:13:45,433
- [Narrator] Early in the 
afternoon of June 18th,

279
00:13:45,433 --> 00:13:48,900
General David B. Birney, 
who was in command

280
00:13:48,900 --> 00:13:51,200
of the Second Corp 
due to the incapacity

281
00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:55,500
of General Hancock, 
ordered the 93rd New York

282
00:13:55,500 --> 00:13:58,933
and the 84th and 105th 
Pennsylvania regiments

283
00:13:58,933 --> 00:14:02,200
to charge the Confederate 
positions defending

284
00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:03,566
the Hare House Hill.

285
00:14:04,733 --> 00:14:06,066
- General Winfield 
Scott Hancock,

286
00:14:06,066 --> 00:14:08,300
one of the best Union 
generals regarded,

287
00:14:08,300 --> 00:14:10,600
not only at the time, but 
history has been very kind

288
00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:13,133
to him as well, would have 
come in on the 15th of June,

289
00:14:13,133 --> 00:14:14,866
but he was suffering.

290
00:14:14,866 --> 00:14:18,233
He had bone spurs from 
wounds in a previous battle.

291
00:14:18,233 --> 00:14:22,700
It stopped him from maintaining 
command of the troops

292
00:14:22,700 --> 00:14:24,700
that arrived at Petersburg.

293
00:14:24,700 --> 00:14:25,866
- [Narrator] The Fifth Michigan,

294
00:14:25,866 --> 00:14:28,500
the First Massachusetts 
Heavy Artillery,

295
00:14:28,500 --> 00:14:31,000
and the First Maine 
Heavy Artillery,

296
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,600
were ordered to be ready 
to support the charge

297
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:35,200
if it was necessary.

298
00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:37,600
(dramatic music)

299
00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:40,166
Almost as soon as 
the order was made,

300
00:14:40,166 --> 00:14:43,566
the veterans from New York 
and Pennsylvania protested

301
00:14:43,566 --> 00:14:45,700
by yelling that they 
were all played out

302
00:14:45,700 --> 00:14:48,766
and they urged Birney to 
let the First Maine go.

303
00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:55,366
(intense music)

304
00:14:55,366 --> 00:14:58,100
The adjutant of the First 
Maine Heavy Artillery,

305
00:14:58,100 --> 00:15:02,033
Lieutenant James W. Clark, 
paced back and forth

306
00:15:02,033 --> 00:15:03,866
in front of the regiment.

307
00:15:03,866 --> 00:15:05,900
When he was asked by 
one of the captains

308
00:15:05,900 --> 00:15:07,833
what this movement 
to the rear meant,

309
00:15:07,833 --> 00:15:11,900
he replied: We are 
all gone to hell.

310
00:15:13,300 --> 00:15:15,766
And with that he proceeded 
to pass his canteen

311
00:15:15,766 --> 00:15:18,400
to his fellow officer 
and asked the captain

312
00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:21,933
to take something to 
help take the edge off.

313
00:15:21,933 --> 00:15:23,200
The captain replied:

314
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:25,833
No thank you.

315
00:15:27,233 --> 00:15:30,166
If I am going to hell I 
am going to do it sober.

316
00:15:30,166 --> 00:15:32,900
(music fades)

317
00:15:32,900 --> 00:15:35,833
(birds chirping)

318
00:15:35,833 --> 00:15:38,366
- We're on the Prince 
George Courthouse Road

319
00:15:38,366 --> 00:15:42,066
and this is a historic 
road trace to us today

320
00:15:42,066 --> 00:15:44,333
in the 21st century, but it 
was even an important road

321
00:15:44,333 --> 00:15:46,433
and a historic road trace 
even for the soldiers

322
00:15:46,433 --> 00:15:49,466
that were occupying it in 1864.

323
00:15:49,466 --> 00:15:51,200
Road connects the 
city of Petersburg,

324
00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:53,766
which is off in front 
of us here today,

325
00:15:53,766 --> 00:15:56,733
the downtown area being 
just a little over a mile

326
00:15:56,733 --> 00:15:59,633
and a half away, with the 
courthouse and what is now

327
00:15:59,633 --> 00:16:01,766
Prince George County, Virginia.

328
00:16:01,766 --> 00:16:04,066
The road is somewhat 
sunken in some areas,

329
00:16:04,066 --> 00:16:08,033
it has very high banks so it 
does afford some protection,

330
00:16:08,033 --> 00:16:10,400
it may be why they're 
forming up here,

331
00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:13,233
but this is really the 
extent of the Union advance

332
00:16:13,233 --> 00:16:14,633
by June 18th.

333
00:16:14,633 --> 00:16:17,033
The Confederates had 
abandoned previous positions

334
00:16:17,033 --> 00:16:19,566
to the east of here, they 
had given up most of those

335
00:16:19,566 --> 00:16:22,666
defenses on June 15th, 
16th, and even the 17th

336
00:16:22,666 --> 00:16:25,966
and had fallen back on a new 
line that was established

337
00:16:25,966 --> 00:16:27,400
by June 18th.

338
00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:30,000
So where we stand in the 
Prince George Courthouse Road,

339
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:34,300
this is really the new 
frontline for the Union forces,

340
00:16:34,300 --> 00:16:37,233
included in that would be the 
men of the First Maine Heavy.

341
00:16:39,100 --> 00:16:41,066
(intense music)

342
00:16:41,066 --> 00:16:42,566
- And they're looking 
up over the berm

343
00:16:42,566 --> 00:16:44,500
because the road was 
sunken a little bit

344
00:16:44,500 --> 00:16:48,900
and to make the road they 
had moved the earth aside

345
00:16:48,900 --> 00:16:51,533
and mounded it up on 
the sides of the roads,

346
00:16:51,533 --> 00:16:53,700
and that had since 
grown over with brush,

347
00:16:53,700 --> 00:16:56,433
so their movements were 
pretty much protected.

348
00:16:56,433 --> 00:16:57,966
The Confederate troops, 
such as they were,

349
00:16:57,966 --> 00:16:59,200
knew that the guys were there,

350
00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:01,466
but they couldn't 
really see them,

351
00:17:01,466 --> 00:17:03,033
so they didn't know what 
the numbers looked like,

352
00:17:03,033 --> 00:17:06,433
but they could assume that 
they had sizeable numbers.

353
00:17:06,433 --> 00:17:08,833
- [Narrator] Chaplin 
told his three officers:

354
00:17:08,833 --> 00:17:12,166
We have orders to charge 
those works immediately.

355
00:17:12,166 --> 00:17:16,100
Go in light marching 
order with bayonets fixed.

356
00:17:16,100 --> 00:17:19,400
Orders were given to load, 
cap, and fix bayonets.

357
00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:24,200
Following the orders passed 
down to him from Colonel Chaplin

358
00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,633
and in compliance with 
orders that had come down

359
00:17:26,633 --> 00:17:30,700
from General Meade, 
Major Russell B. Shepard,

360
00:17:30,700 --> 00:17:34,233
a burly, bearded school 
teacher from Skowhegan, Maine,

361
00:17:34,233 --> 00:17:35,700
stepped to the front 
of the regiment

362
00:17:35,700 --> 00:17:37,700
and bellowed out to his command:

363
00:17:39,133 --> 00:17:43,666
Attention, First Maine forward 
at the double quick. Charge!

364
00:17:45,633 --> 00:17:49,266
With this order, all three 
battalions rushed forward,

365
00:17:49,266 --> 00:17:50,766
climbing over the embankment

366
00:17:50,766 --> 00:17:55,566
of the Prince George County 
Road out into the open field.

367
00:17:55,566 --> 00:17:58,033
- They were to go 
out in three waves.

368
00:17:58,033 --> 00:18:01,366
The first wave was to 
climb up over the berm,

369
00:18:01,366 --> 00:18:04,100
move forward, and clear 
out any of the impediments,

370
00:18:04,100 --> 00:18:06,466
the abatis and stuff that 
the Confederates had put up

371
00:18:06,466 --> 00:18:07,966
in their path.

372
00:18:07,966 --> 00:18:10,700
The second group was to push 
through and relieve the first

373
00:18:10,700 --> 00:18:13,400
and attack the breastworks, 
and the third was to go in

374
00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,100
and secure the breastworks.

375
00:18:15,100 --> 00:18:17,800
- This is the line that the 
Confederates would fall back to

376
00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:21,200
by June 18th, by the day 
of the Maine assault.

377
00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:26,200
But on June 18th these works 
were in their initial stages,

378
00:18:27,366 --> 00:18:28,900
they were laid out 
by the Confederates

379
00:18:28,900 --> 00:18:31,900
as a good line of defense just 
based on the topography here.

380
00:18:31,900 --> 00:18:33,666
They had open ground 
in front of them,

381
00:18:33,666 --> 00:18:36,233
they're on an elevated 
position here somewhat,

382
00:18:36,233 --> 00:18:40,033
and then eventually again as 
this position does develop,

383
00:18:40,033 --> 00:18:41,900
the line tapers away 
behind the hill,

384
00:18:41,900 --> 00:18:45,600
so there's a whole network 
of trenches and bombproofs

385
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:47,200
for the Confederate defenders.

386
00:18:49,500 --> 00:18:52,166
(intense music)

387
00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:56,900
- [Narrator] As soon as the 
First Maine cleared the road

388
00:18:56,900 --> 00:19:00,366
and started their advance, 
supporting regiments in the rear

389
00:19:00,366 --> 00:19:04,366
and to either flank were 
supposed to move forward.

390
00:19:04,366 --> 00:19:06,633
While a few portions of 
the supporting regiments

391
00:19:06,633 --> 00:19:08,566
took a couple of steps forward,

392
00:19:08,566 --> 00:19:11,233
most of these soldiers 
just laid down

393
00:19:11,233 --> 00:19:12,800
and refused to advance.

394
00:19:14,533 --> 00:19:17,533
When the order was given for 
the First Maine Heavy Artillery

395
00:19:17,533 --> 00:19:21,400
to advance, they 
essentially did so alone.

396
00:19:22,866 --> 00:19:25,366
- And bristling on the 
breastworks are muskets

397
00:19:25,366 --> 00:19:27,633
and artillery, canister shot,

398
00:19:27,633 --> 00:19:30,366
everything for the 
Confederates who are waiting

399
00:19:30,366 --> 00:19:31,566
for something to happen.

400
00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,133
- [Narrator] As the regiment 
started to move forward,

401
00:19:36,133 --> 00:19:38,766
Sergeant Charles C. 
Morris of Company L

402
00:19:38,766 --> 00:19:40,233
yelled out to his men:

403
00:19:41,466 --> 00:19:45,566
Boys, put your cartridge 
boxes around in front

404
00:19:45,566 --> 00:19:48,266
so that the Rebs can't 
hit you below the belt!

405
00:19:50,100 --> 00:19:52,533
Without the veterans 
behind them,

406
00:19:52,533 --> 00:19:54,800
the Maine men found 
themselves charging

407
00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,366
the Confederate positions alone,

408
00:19:57,366 --> 00:20:00,866
and thus becoming the only 
targets the Confederates had.

409
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,000
- As the Confederate 
forces open up,

410
00:20:06,366 --> 00:20:09,400
the First Massachusetts 
Heavy, the 16th Massachusetts,

411
00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,200
the Pennsylvania and New 
York regiments stand down.

412
00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:14,800
They refuse to go 
up over the berm.

413
00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:19,000
Nevertheless, second wave of 
Maine, third wave of Maine,

414
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:20,666
proceed across the field.

415
00:20:21,833 --> 00:20:25,166
850 men proceed 
across the field.

416
00:20:27,933 --> 00:20:31,133
All of the Confederate 
guns, every one of them,

417
00:20:31,133 --> 00:20:34,266
has nothing else to shoot at 
but these guys from Maine.

418
00:20:35,133 --> 00:20:37,900
(muskets firing)

419
00:20:39,100 --> 00:20:41,600
(music fades)

420
00:20:43,733 --> 00:20:46,266
- [Narrator] The Confederates, 
who were excited and nervous

421
00:20:46,266 --> 00:20:48,233
as they saw the 
large blue column

422
00:20:48,233 --> 00:20:51,333
of the First Maine Heavy 
Artillery move forward,

423
00:20:51,333 --> 00:20:53,800
remained in control and 
adhered to the orders

424
00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,066
of their officers as they 
calmly directed each rank

425
00:20:57,066 --> 00:21:01,100
to ready, aim, fire, and reload.

426
00:21:01,100 --> 00:21:03,600
(muskets and cannon firing)

427
00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:06,666
Canisters shot and shells 
slammed into the ranks

428
00:21:06,666 --> 00:21:09,400
of the First Maine, 
punching holes

429
00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:11,400
into the one solid line of blue.

430
00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:15,800
Ranks and ranks of men from 
the First Maine Heavy Artillery

431
00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,366
fell as hundreds, 
if not thousands,

432
00:21:18,366 --> 00:21:21,933
of deadly pieces of metal 
slammed into the column.

433
00:21:23,966 --> 00:21:27,000
Yet as the destruction 
kept raining down on them,

434
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,200
the men of the First 
Maine Heavy Artillery

435
00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:32,400
kept moving forward towards 
the Confederate works.

436
00:21:34,233 --> 00:21:37,033
Captain F. A. Cummings 
of Company M wrote:

437
00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:41,600
Men were shot dead within 
the first five feet,

438
00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,166
the crash of 2,000 
muskets rent the air

439
00:21:45,633 --> 00:21:48,400
as a long line of flame leapt 
from the works in our front.

440
00:21:49,766 --> 00:21:52,733
Whole companies reeled 
beneath the fury of the shock,

441
00:21:52,733 --> 00:21:55,166
yet the gallant few 
pressed forward.

442
00:21:55,166 --> 00:21:57,833
- And it's almost like 
a shooting gallery

443
00:21:57,833 --> 00:22:01,400
for the Confederates, and 
everything, and inflated fire

444
00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:03,966
of the Confederates 
comes in on these 850 men

445
00:22:03,966 --> 00:22:05,466
of the First Maine Heavy.

446
00:22:05,466 --> 00:22:07,366
(muskets firing)

447
00:22:07,366 --> 00:22:09,033
- [Narrator] Those who were 
to support the regiment

448
00:22:09,033 --> 00:22:12,500
advance to the cover of 
the road but no farther.

449
00:22:12,500 --> 00:22:15,933
Unsupported, they pushed 
on, a few getting closer

450
00:22:15,933 --> 00:22:18,733
than 40 yards through 
the enemies breastworks.

451
00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,166
When more than two thirds 
of the regiment were killed

452
00:22:25,166 --> 00:22:29,000
and wounded, the order 
to fall back was given,

453
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,333
and they fell back to 
the cover of the road.

454
00:22:32,666 --> 00:22:35,400
(dramatic music)

455
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:47,000
- After it happened by the 
way, Chaplin was bereft.

456
00:22:48,066 --> 00:22:51,100
He broke down in 
tears, he was screaming

457
00:22:51,100 --> 00:22:54,333
at his commanding officer, 
and telling the general:

458
00:22:54,333 --> 00:22:57,200
Here, take my saber, I 
have no more use of it.

459
00:22:57,200 --> 00:22:58,033
My men are dead.

460
00:23:01,766 --> 00:23:05,600
The Battle for Petersburg 
on the 18th of June

461
00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:08,400
lasts less than ten minutes.

462
00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:12,600
The retreat from that battle 
lasts over three days,

463
00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:15,700
because the Confederates would 
not allow the Union forces

464
00:23:15,700 --> 00:23:18,966
to come out and rescue the 
wounded and retrieve the dead.

465
00:23:21,533 --> 00:23:23,900
And here they see their 
friends, their relatives,

466
00:23:23,900 --> 00:23:26,100
their neighbors, 
lying about them,

467
00:23:26,100 --> 00:23:29,233
and they are powerless 
to do anything about it.

468
00:23:29,233 --> 00:23:31,866
The guys who 
finally make it back

469
00:23:31,866 --> 00:23:35,000
and we're talking now 
when you think 632 guys

470
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:39,333
are on the field, many 
of them do not return.

471
00:23:39,333 --> 00:23:42,400
Even wounded, they're lying 
there for two days, three days,

472
00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:44,533
and they bleed out on the field.

473
00:23:44,533 --> 00:23:49,400
And guys go out at night and 
try to rescue their buddies,

474
00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:53,400
try to find their platoon 
sergeant, their lieutenant,

475
00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:58,166
their captain, and they're 
trying to find somebody alive

476
00:23:58,166 --> 00:24:00,166
so they can bring them back, 
and as soon as they come up

477
00:24:00,166 --> 00:24:03,766
over the berm, the Confederates 
start firing at them again,

478
00:24:03,766 --> 00:24:06,266
so they have additional 
casualties that they suffer

479
00:24:06,266 --> 00:24:09,300
in the two days after 
the initial assault.

480
00:24:09,300 --> 00:24:13,100
So you just see bodies. 
Bodies all over the place.

481
00:24:13,100 --> 00:24:16,633
And the moaning and the 
shrieking and the crying

482
00:24:16,633 --> 00:24:20,900
and the howling of imprecations, 
and just praying for relief

483
00:24:20,900 --> 00:24:24,733
and it's something that stayed 
with these guys forever.

484
00:24:24,733 --> 00:24:27,233
(music fades)

485
00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:33,800
(majestic bagpipe music)

486
00:24:44,033 --> 00:24:47,800
And to know and 
to proceed anyway,

487
00:24:49,233 --> 00:24:51,933
is that folly or is that valor?

488
00:24:53,066 --> 00:24:54,600
And for the men of 
the First Maine Heavy,

489
00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,466
who afterwards regarded, 
particularly the survivors

490
00:24:57,466 --> 00:25:01,233
who were there, who actually 
participated in the assault,

491
00:25:01,233 --> 00:25:04,100
for them to look upon the 
sacrifice of their friends,

492
00:25:04,100 --> 00:25:07,000
their neighbors, their 
brothers, their cousins,

493
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:08,666
and to say we did 
the right thing.

494
00:25:10,933 --> 00:25:14,400
It was a piece of 
who we are as people.

495
00:25:15,533 --> 00:25:19,366
(peaceful instrumental music)

496
00:25:42,300 --> 00:25:45,033
(birds chirping)

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(bugle playing Taps)

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(soft piano music)

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(music fades)

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Vermont PBS

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00:27:59,366 --> 00:28:00,966
Partnering with local filmmakers

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to bring you stories

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made here.

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For more: