16th Maine Infantry Regt.
The 16th Maine Infantry Regt. was mustered into federal service in Augusta, Maine on August 14th 1862. Under the command of Col. Charles Tilden from Castine they were attached to he Army of the Potomac. After fighting in many significant engagements there finest hour came in the late morning and afternoon of July 1, 1863 in a small crossroads town in Pennsylvania known as Gettysburg. Arriving at around 11 am as part of 2 divisions joining the battle that had been raging since that morning. Forming a line in a field north of the Chambersburg Pike they held their ground through the ensuing 3 hour battle. As both federal and confederate troops joined the engagement coming in from all directions it became obvious that the confederate forces were arriving and organizing faster than the federal forces and the Union was quickly becoming outnumbered. It would be just a matter of time before they would not be able to hold their position.
As the Union troops began retreating back though town the commanders in the field knew it was of the upmost importance to regain the high ground along Cemetery ridge and dig in for the next days battle. The order came down for the 16th Maine to move to a location east of where they had been fighting and form a new line. This happened to be along an unfinished railroad cut that afforded them some cover. They were told to "Hold this position at all costs." Unlike the similar order the famous 20th Maine would be given the next day on the slopes of Little Round Top where it was not expected at the time the 20th Maine would encounter heavy fighting, the 16th Maine immediately knew what they were up against. As 16000 Union troops were routed through the streets of Gettysburg the remainder of the 275 officers and men of the 16th were left behind against overwhelming odds. To their credit they fought valiantly for 20 minutes (Which was enough time to afford the Union forces in retreat to regain the high ground). As thousands of Confederate troops charged their location it was apparent it would be foolish to continue the fight.
Their attention turned to the colors (The US and Regimental flags that all units carried into the field). These were symbols of great pride and honor for the unit and as Col Tilden later would state, "the mens faces burned as they looked upon their colors". Several of the men approached the commander and asked if they could destroy the flags rather that have them captured and Col. Tilden agreed. The men tore the flags from their staffs and proceeded to rip them to small piece and tuck them in their pants pockets and shirts thus depriving the attacking forces of their battle prize. The Maine boys were soon overwhelmed. There were only 38 officers and men of the regiment that reported for duty at Corp headquarters that evening on Cemetery ridge. This engagement sealed their place in history as a unit that played a significant roll in the overall success of the Union over these 3 days at Gettysburg.
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Footnotes. Lt. Col Abner Small from Waterville the units Adjutant narrowly escaped capture that day only to be captured 13 month later and be incarcerated at Libby Prison in Richmond. He would later write of his experiences in that dreaded prison and its horrendous living conditions
Many pieces of the shredded flags were brought back to Maine after the war and are highly valued by collectors.