BANGOR — Historians and Civil War authors Diane and Ned Smith, and Petersburg National Battlefield ranger and historian Ann Blumenschine will discuss the role of the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery and its role in the battle at Petersburg, Virginia, which took place on June 18, 1864. The talk will take place at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 24, at Bangor Public Library.
The event is part of the nationwide Civil War sesquicentennial commemoration, called Reverberations, a project of the National Park Service, connecting three national parks in Virginia and eight communities around the country, including Bangor, to illustrate the impact the Civil War had on communities throughout the United States.
During the battle at Petersburg, approximately 900 members of the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery attacked a section of the Confederate defense line east of Petersburg. In less than 15 minutes two-thirds of the regiment was killed wounded, captured or missing, the most severe losses suffered by any regiment during the Civil War, Smith said.
At 8 p.m. during a candlelight ceremony at Mount Hope Cemetery, residents of Bangor, including descendents of the men of the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery, will read the names of those killed and wounded in the attack, as well as letters of the period written by the soldiers and their families. Spreading of soil from the Petersburg battlefield will be part of the ceremony.
For information, contact Diane and Ned Smith at 843-5063 or smithnd@earthlink.net.