"The Forlorn Hope"

"The Forlorn Hope"

1st Maine Heavy Artillery,

Battle of Petersburg

June 18, 1864

Earl J. Coates

courtesy

Don Troiani

and

Historical Art Prints, Ltd.

Just past 4:30 p.m. on June 18, 1864, at a point east of the city of Petersburg, Virginia, 900 men of the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery scrambled up the high bank which bordered the Prince George Courthouse Road. Only a short time before, these artillerymen, now serving as infantry, had moved into this ready-made trench, to prepare to spearhead an infantry assault. The assault was destined to secure for them an unwanted and unenviable place in American Civil War History. Within minutes, the 1st Maine, only a month out of the defenses of Washington, D.C., would hold the record for the highest number of casualties in a single battle of any regiment in the war.

Once clear of the road, the regiment quickly and precisely regained the formation which the climb had disrupted - three long lines of 4 companies each. In front of them, 350 yards across an open field, lay their objective - the Confederate earthworks defending the stategically important city. To their rear, from a vantage point near the O.P. Hare mansion, their regimental colonel, Daniel Chaplin, now commanding their own 3rd brigade, 3rd Division, 2nd Corps, watched with justifiable pride. He had brought these men from Maine in 1862 as the 18th Maine Infantry. To their disgust, upon reaching the nation's capital, they had been diverted from front line service to first help build, then man the earthwork defenses of the city. Finally redesignated as the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery, the regiment remained for two years waiting for an enemy that never came. For two years, as garrison troops, they had constantly drilled, both as infantry and heavy artillery. That time had not been wasted, however. Today, Chaplin's regiment, commanded by Major Russell B. Sheperd, moved and acted like a regiment of regulars.

Earlier in the afternoon, Colonel Chaplin had received word that his new command, consisting of 7 battle-depleted veteran infantry regiments as well as the 1st Maine, had been chosen to try a breakthrough of the Confederate line. The plan was simple and direct - a javelin thrust with the fresh, strong 1st Maine leading. The veteran regiments would move in close support on the flanks to both draw away enemy fire and exploit any success made by the Maine regiment. Strong reserves would be ready to follow up once the Confederate line was pierced. Here at last was a chance for the heavy artillerymen to prove themselves to the veterans of the campaigns of 1862 and 1863, men who had made them the object of constant ridicule for the past month.

The danger was evident. Since the Army of the Potomac had reached the outskirts of Petersburg 3 days before, numerous attempts had been made to crack the Confederate line; none had succeeded. Not only did assaulting troops have to cross the open ground in front of the rebel defenses, they also had to clear carefully placed obstructions of tangled brush and branches (abatis) at the base of the earthworks. All of this was before they could close with the Confederates themselves.

Within the ranks of the 1st Maine, now in full view of the entire Confederate line, seconds seemed like hours. Except for the scattered sharpshooter firing, the Southerners were quiet, waiting for the Yankee regiments to move. Men nervously adjusted belts and pulled their caps down tight. Within the second rank, the regimental colors were uncased and they moved in the breeze. Each man knew what was expected of him. Those in the first rank, commanded by Major Sheperd, would clear the abatis. Twenty paces behind, the second rank, comanded by Major Christopher V. Crossman, would give them covering fire. Once the way was clear, both ranks, followed by the thrid, commanded by Captain Whitney S. Clark, would break over the Confederate works. But first they had to get there.

Like a starter's gun, the clarion voice of Major Sheperd broke the silence, "Forward, Double Quick - Charge!" With a cheer, the first rank vaulted forward, followed immediately by the second, then the third. Instantly the Confederate works erupted in a sheet of flame. At a run, the 1st Maine surged ahead - alone. There was no support. The veteran regiments, instantly seeing a hopeless situation, either failed to advance, or went forward only a short distance before breaking.

Now the Confederate line, infantry and artillery, had only a single target, the lone Maine regiment. A survivor vividly recalled, "I saw the blinding flash of red flame run along the crest of those works and heard the deafening crash as the awful work began; then the air seemed filled with all the sounds it was possible for it to contain, the hiss of the deadly minnie, the scream of the shell... and through it all that red blaze along the crest of that work which we must cross..." The first rank, then the second and third were literally torn to pieces.

In less than ten minutes it was over. Those who could, retreated to the shelter of the sunken road. But most remained on the field. Of the 900 men who began, 240 were dead or dying and 364 lay wounded. None had even reached the first objective, the abatis.

In addition to the tragic record set on June 18, the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery also stands first among the Civil War regiments in total battle casualties with a final tally of 23 officers and 418 enlisted men killed or dead from wounds, and 922 wounded, all in only 11 months of field service - mute testimony to the savage nature of the final year of the war.

Earl J. Coates

Earl J. Coates, a museum curator for the Department of Defense, is one of the nation's leading experts on Civil War uniforms and is considered to be the foremost authority on Quartermaster procurement and supply operations. With numerous articles and lectures on both subjects to his credit, he is now working on a book detailing the uniforms and equipment of the Gettysburg Campaign. A Great-great-uncle, Nathan D. Hanson, Co. "F", 1st Maine Heavy Artillery, was killed in the charge of June 18, 1864. [1989]

This article accompanied Mr. Don Troiani's painting "The Forlorn Hope" [ Historical Art Prints, 1989 ], and is reproduced here with the expressed written permission of Mr. Earl J. Coates, Mr. Don Troiani, and Historical Art Prints, Ltd. For those who are interested, Mr. Troiani's work can be found at Historical Art Prints Ltd. web site at http://www.historicalartprints.com or in "Don Troiani's Civil War", Don Troiani, images by Don Troiani, text by Brian Pohanka;1995, Stackpole Books. Works by Mr. Earl J. Coates include "An Introdution to Civil War Small Arms", Earl J. Coates and Dean S. Thomas, 1996, Thomas Publications.

Bruce Towers

Prospect Connecticut

(2000)