This book follows the 22nd Maine Regiment from their formation through their part in General Nathaniel Banks’ campaign in Louisiana and their return home for mustering out. Among other duties, the regiment took part in the fighting at Irish Bend and in the two ill-considered attacks at the Confederate bastion of Port Hudson. The book draws on first person accounts from private soldiers, a company commander, and the colonel of the regiment, in addition to official records and reports.

Ned Smith is a military veteran and a long time educator who teaches college history courses in Bangor, Maine.

Ned Smith
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 260
Bibliographic Info: 45 photos, 13 maps, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4893-7
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5985-8
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vi

Preface      1

Introduction      3

1. Maine and Louisiana: Two States in a House Curiously Divided      7

2. The Raising of a Maine Regiment      17

3. Francis Ireland and the Boys from Dexter      25

4. Leaving Maine      34

5. New Camps, New Sights      44

6. The 22nd Settles in to Camp Life      56

7. Heading South: Banks’ Expedition Sails for New Orleans and the Lower Mississippi      64

8. The Reoccupation of Baton Rouge      74

9. At Baton Rouge: Balmy Breezes and Deadly Diseases      84

10. More Sickness, Surviving the Cure, Longing for Home      95

11. The First Advance Toward Port Hudson      107

12. The Men of the 22nd “See the Animal”      119

13. New Iberia and St. Martinville: A Slave Uprising; an Escort for an Ailing Rebel Officer      131

14. No Spring Mustering Out      140

15. On to Port Hudson      149

16. Assault on Port Hudson      166

17. The Fall of Port Hudson, Up the Mississippi and Home      178

Appendix A: Raising the Regiments      185

Appendix B: Causes of Death in the Different Theaters of War      203

Appendix C: Roster of the Twenty-Second Regiment      205

Chapter Notes      233

Bibliography      245

Index      247

“excellent”—The Lone Star; “a fine job…fascinating…recommend it highly”—Civil War News; “worthy recommendation”—Civil War Books & Authors.