Home / Civil War Genealogy / Maine / 20th Maine Infantry
20th Maine Infantry
Company Unknown
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain - Colonel
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Date Added: 8/15/2004

Company Unknown
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain - Lt. Colonel
Joshua was my 5th cousin 4 times removed. Would enjoy talking with other Chamberlain relatives.
Contact Name: Tom Sloper
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Contact Homepage: www.sloperama.com
Date Added: 9/18/2007

Company Unknown
Hezekiah P. Doore - Private
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Contact Name: Mark Dorr
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Date Added: 11/3/2014

Company Unknown
Cyrus Osborne - Corporal
Source: 1866 Maine Adjutant General's Report, appendix D


CORPORAL

Cyrus Osborne 31 Alna M Aug. 29,'62 Disch. For disab. Jan. 6. [15,'65

I have an image of him after his service. He was from Alna, Maine and served under Chamberlain. Shot in arm.
Contact Name: Matt Lyons
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Date Added: 8/16/2008

Company A
Francis Grindle - Private
Frank Grindle (Grindell) originally of the 2nd Maine Infantry Regiment was transferred to the 20th Maine due to the disbandment of the 2nd Maine. He must have been one of the mutineers who decided to fight with the 20th at Gettysburg.
Contact Name: Phil Robinson
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Date Added: 12/8/2014

Company B
James Burns Jr. - Private
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Contact Name: James Burns
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Date Added: 12/29/2011

Company B
Ezekiel L. Chase - Private
Served in Company B from Sept. 1862 - March 1863. Fought at Shepardstown Ford and Fredericksburg. Medically discharged (pneumonia) in March 1863. Mentioned in histories of Sebec, Maine. Buried in Sebec. He was the grandson of Ezekiel Chase, a Revolutionary War soldier, also from Sebec.
Contact Name: Daniel E. Peters
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Date Added: 12/2/2007

Company B
Eli Webster Cross - Private
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Contact Name: Neal A. Cross
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Date Added: 11/25/2005

Company B
royal b decker - 1st Lieutenant
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Contact Name: chris decker
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Date Added: 1/5/2009

Company B
William Parker Lamson - Private
Enlisted as a Private on 29 August 1862 at the age of 18.
Killed on 5 May 1864 at Wilderness, VA.
Contact Name: Eric Stone
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Date Added: 6/5/2010

Company B
Seth H. Libbey - Private
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Contact Name: David Luken
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Date Added: 1/2/2004

Company B
James Sharrett - Private
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Contact Name: Mike Dumond
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Date Added: 8/26/2009

Company B
Charles A. Skillings - Musician
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Contact Name: David Luken
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Date Added: 1/2/2004

Company C
Alexander Jesse Alley - Private
Transferred from 16th Infantry Regiment Maine on 14 August 1862.
Mustered out on 16 July 1865.
Contact Name: Eric Stone
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Date Added: 5/28/2010

Company C
Benjamin F Chase - Private
If anyone has any info on any members of the 20th maine Co C please let me know.
Contact Name: James Allen
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Date Added: 11/10/2006

Company C
Silas Curtis - Private
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Contact Name: David Luken
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Date Added: 1/2/2004

Company C
William Libbey - Private
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Contact Name: David Luken
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Date Added: 1/2/2004

Company D
Morrill G. Curtis - Private
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Contact Name: David Luken
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Date Added: 1/2/2004

Company D
Rufus B. Harmon - Private
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Contact Name: David Luken
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Date Added: 1/2/2004

Company D
Leander M. Libbey - Private
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Contact Name: David Luken
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Date Added: 1/2/2004

Company D
John M. Safford - Corporal
John M. Safford was my husband Klint's great-great grandfather from Corinna. He was born 1845 and enlisted August 1862. His pension papers say he was 'sunstruck' at Williamsport a week after the Battle of Gettysburg, and he spent 9 months in hospitals. After the war he came to Michigan for some unknown reason and married in 1867. He resided in Tyrone Township (Livingston County) where he was buried in Gardner Cemetery after his death in April 1912. In the 1890 and 1900 decades he lived in Fife Lake (Grand Traverse County) where he was a township officer. He is noted as being present at the dedication of the 20th Maine monument at Gettysburg October 3 1889 along with Coan, Swett & French also from Company D.
Contact Name: Dale Safford
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Date Added: 11/5/2008

Company D
Alfred Skillings - Private
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Contact Name: David Luken
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Date Added: 1/2/2004

Company D
Sumner L. Skillins - Private
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Contact Name: David Luken
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Date Added: 1/2/2004

Company D
Thomas J. Skillins - Private
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Contact Name: David Luken
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Date Added: 1/2/2004

Company F
David Blaisdell - Private
Transferred from Company F, 1st SS Regiment Maine on 21 June 1865.
Absent, sick on 16 July 1865.
Contact Name: Eric Stone
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Date Added: 5/28/2010

Company F
James S Blaisdell - Private
Transferred from Company F, 1st SS Regiment Maine on 21 June 1865.
Contact Name: Eric Stone
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Date Added: 5/28/2010

Company F
Hezekiah Long - 2nd Lieutenant
Hezekiah Long of Thomaston, Maine, served as a SGT in Company I and, for most of the war, as a First Sergeant and 2LT in Company F. The collection of his letters (Sep. 1862-May 1865) to his wife Sarah in Rockland, Me., is the subject of a book titled 'Hard Times, Hard Bread, and Harder Coffee' published in May 2008 by Richardson's Civil War Round Table. The book contains Long's biographical information and a sketch of Long's family history.
Contact Name: Daniel E. Peters
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Date Added: 5/14/2008

Company G
Cyrus Osborn - Corporal
This is my 2nd Great Grandfather

I requested and he just received the 'Civil War Medal' From the Department of the Army

Contact Name: Stephen Lyons
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Date Added: 12/7/2014

Company G
Cyrus Osborn - 1st Corporal
Corporal Cyrus Osborn
Born 1830
Awards: Awarded Civil War Medal 2015 (Process and requested through Department of the Army by 2nd Great Grandson, Stephen Lyons) Request For Purple Heart Denied By Department of The Army Due to Time and Order that came out in 1999 on the issuing of the Purple Heart to Civl War Veterans.
Residence: Born Alna, Maine WHen Elderly Lived Son In-Law & Daughter Bridge Street, Richmond, Maine
Enlisted: August 11, 1862/Mustered August 29, 1862/Wounded July 2, 1863/Medical Discharge January 6, 1864
Married to Mary Osborn / Buried Richmond, Maine
Military Units Assignments: Company G - 20th Maine Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 5th Corps, Army of the Potomac, U.S. Army
The 20th Maine later transferred to 3rd Brigade.
Dates of Service for Cpl. Osborn from Maine State Archives-Secretary of State 20th Regiment Mustered Roll Book

20th Maine Assignment: August 29, 1862, organized at Portland, Maine and mustered in as Company G-20th Maine Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 5th Army Corps, Army Potomac. Later assigned to the 3rd Brigade.

20th Maine Assignment: September 3, 1862, Departed State of Maine.

Prior to their notable actions at Gettysburg, the regiment was held in reserve at Antietam, was among those forced to remain overnight within sight of the Confederate lines at Fredericksburg, forcing the regiment's Lt. Col. Joshua Chamberlain to shield himself with a dead man. The unit was unable to participate in the battle of Chancellorsville due to a quarantine prompted by a tainted smallpox vaccine that had been issued to the unit's soldiers. On May 20, 1863, Colonel Ames was promoted and was succeeded as colonel of the regiment by Joshua Chamberlain, who had been offered and declined leadership of the unit at the time it was formed.

Regimental monument at the center of their lines on Little Round Top.
The most notable battle was the regiment's decisive role on July 2, 1863, in the Battle of Gettysburg, where it was stationed on Little Round Top at the extreme left of the Union line. When the regiment came under heavy attack from the Confederate 15th and 47th Alabama regiments (part of the division led by Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood), the 20th Maine ran low on ammunition after one and a half hours of continuous fighting; it responded to the sight of rebel infantry forming again for yet another push at them by charging downhill with fixed bayonets, surprising and scattering the Confederates, thus ending the attack on the hill. The 20th Maine and the adjacent 83rd Pennsylvania together captured many men from the both Alabama regiments (including Lt. Col. Michael Bulger, commander of the 47th),[4] as well as several other men of the 4th Alabama and 4th and 5th Texas regiments of the same division. Had the 20th Maine retreated from the hill, the entire Union line would have been flanked, and would have most likely lost the battle of Gettysburg, although there is much debate on the subject. Union morale and support for the war was wavering, due to many defeats. If the Union had lost the battle of Gettysburg the Confederate army could have possibly marched on to Washington D.C. and ended the war. The 20th Maine’s action in holding the hill has been credited with helping to turn the tide of the war.20th Maine assignment: June 12-July 24, 1863 Gettysburg PA Campaign, Company G-20th Maine (Col. Joshua Chamberlain), 3rd Brigade (Col. Strong Vincent/Col. James Rice), 1st Division (Brig. Gen. James Barnes), 5th Corps (Maj. Gen. George Sykes), Army of the Potomac (Brig. Gen. George Meade)

20th Maine Assignment: July 1-3, 1863, Battle of Gettysburg PA. Company G-20th Maine (Col. Joshua Chamberlain), 3rd Brigade (Col. Strong Vincent/Col. James Rice), 1st Division (Brig. Gen. James Barnes), 5th Corps (Maj. Gen. George Sykes), Army of the Potomac (Brig. Gen. George Meade) A three-day battle fought by 160,000 soldiers, with 51,000 casualties. During the battle of Gettysburg Cpl. Osborn fought with the 20th Maine on Little Round Top. This is the smaller of two rocky hills at the Battlefield. It was where an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union’s left flank on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. This was considered by many historians to be the key point in the Union Army's defensive line that day, Little Round Top was defended successfully by the 20th Maine Regiment and commanded by Col. Joshua Chamberlain. It has been argue that Little Round Top was the most famous engagement there, culminating in a dramatic downhill bayonet charge against the confederate that is one of the most well known actions at Gettysburg and in the American Civil War. Cpl. Osborn was shot in the left arm during this charge. The Department of the Army denied him the Purple Heart based on current executive order issued in 1999. However Cpl Osborn's 2nd Great Grandson, Stephen Lyons requested and Cpl. Osborn was issued the Civil War Medal.

Camp Letterman Field Hospital, York, PA. Cpl. Osborn was seriously wounded from a bullet wound to his left arm during the battle of Gettysburg. Family legend has him getting shot during the famed bayonet charge. It is believed Cpl. Osborn was sent to Camp Letterman Field Hospital, York, PA, one of the field hospitals at the battle of Gettysburg.

U.S. Army General Hospital in York, PA. Muster records indicate Cpl. Osborn was discharged for disability in York, Pennsylvania on January 4, 1864.

Discharge And Additional information for Cpl. Osborn came from Maine State Archives as well as the injury record or letter written by Col Chamberlain, Commander 20th Maine Regiment, located in Maine State Archives.

World Wide Web:

Bollet, Alfred Jay, M.C. (2004). Plagues and Poxes: The Impact of Human History on Epidemic Disease. New York: Demos Medical Publishing. ISBN 1-888799-79-X.
Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence (1994). Bayonet! Forward: My Civil War Reminiscences. Gettysburg, PA: Stan Clark Military Books. ISBN 1-879664-21-6.
Desjardin, Thomas, A. (1995). Stand Firm Ye Boys from Maine: The 20th Maine and the Gettysburg Campaign. Gettysburg, PA: Thomas Publications. ISBN 1-57747-034-6.
Trulock, Alice Rains (2001). In the Hands of Providence: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the American Civil War. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-2020-2.
Styple, William B., ed. (1994). With a Flash of his Sword: The Writings of Maj. Holman S. Melcher, 20th Maine Infantry. Kearny, NJ: Belle Grove Publishing. ISBN 1-883926-00-9.


Contact Name: Stephen Lyons
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Date Added: 7/29/2013

Company G
Nelson PowersRank Unknown
Transfered from the 13th Me. Inf. Regiment 15 June 1864.
Contact Name: Steve Thompson
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Date Added: 1/9/2010

Company H
Theodore Gerrish - Private
Theodore Gerrish was my gggg grandfather's brother.
Contact Name: Erica Smith
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Date Added: 1/4/2006

Company H
William Gerrish - Private
William Gerrish was my gggg grandfather. His brother, Theodore Gerrish, served with him in the same company of the 20th Maine. William lost his right leg in the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 3, 1864.
Contact Name: Erica Smith
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Date Added: 1/4/2006

Company H
Mansfield Ham - Private
Mansfield was a farmer from Hodgdon ME. He was wounded at Little Round Top (serious wound to the side and had his thumb shot off) but survived. I have written a book for young adults about three 'boys' from Hodgdon who went off to war.
It is Who Would Not Be a Soldier! The Boys of the 20th Maine and you can read more on www.whowouldnot.com
I based a lot of it on the diaries of Nathan Clark, Theodore
Gerrish and William Livermore. I am also in contact with a descendant of Gustavus Walker, musician in the 20th. Sure learned a lot writing the book!
Contact Name: Valerie Josephson
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Date Added: 2/1/2008

Company H
Orrin L Hayden - Private
Buried in Presque Isle, ME

Prvt 20th ME Co. H

Born: 1/19/1836
Died: 12/18/1919
Contact Name: Larry M Boulier
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Date Added: 7/10/2010

Company H
Otis Ireland - Private
Buried in Presque Isle, Maine

Pvt. 20th ME Inf. Co. H

Died Dec. 5th, 1863

Believe he may have died from wounds suffered at:

The Battle of Mine Run, also known as Payne's Farm, or New Hope Church, or the Mine Run Campaign (November 27 – December 2, 1863), was conducted in Orange County, Virginia, in the American Civil War.

This was closest conflict to date of death.

Contact Name: Larry M. Boulier
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Date Added: 7/10/2010

Company H
Freeman H Knowlen - Private
Buried at Masardis, Maine.
F.H. Knowlen - Co H 20th ME
March 13, 1832 to May 4th, 1907
Contact Name: Larry M Boulier
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Date Added: 7/10/2010

Company I
Eli Bickmore - Corporal
The son of Samuel and Amelia (Sawyer) Bickmore, he was born in St. George, Maine on April 13, 1833. He was wounded in the Battle of Cold Harbor. His wife was Julia (Simmons) Bickmore, the daughter of Isaac and Nancy (Wiley) Simmons of Friendship, Maine. Eli and Julia Bickmore had five children - Oscar M., Mary, Emma F., Carrie A. and Blanche D. Bickmore. Eli Bickmore died in North Nobleboro, Maine on September 5, 1907 and was buried in The Flagg Cemetery nearby his home. (His daughter Carrie married Henderson W. Moody in 1900. They are my g-grandparents.) His daughter Emma married Asa I. Moody and their son Percy B. Moody founded the noted Moody's Diner on Route One in Waldoboro, Maine.
Contact Name: Thomas Moody
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Date Added: 1/30/2015

Company I
Hiram Marr - Private
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Contact Name: Dana G. Cobb
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Date Added: 10/18/2005

Company I
Hiram Morse - 1st Lieutenant
I have about 30 of Hiram's Civil War letters.
If you're interested in reading them email me.
Contact Name: Brian McGarry
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Date Added: 8/26/2006

Company I
Hosea B. Thorndike - Private
He was at 'Little Round Top'. He survived the war. He was a brother of Warren and George. (See other posts)
Contact Name: George W. Jones, III
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Date Added: 7/22/2017

Company K
George A Toothaker - Private
George was dischaged a Cpl in 1865
Contact Name: Dan McLean
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Date Added: 3/8/2012

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