- 31st Maine Infantry Regiment
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 31st Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment|
caption=Flag of Maine
dates=April 17 ,1864 toJuly 15 ,1865
country=United States
allegiance= Union
branch=Infantry
equipment=
colonels_of_the_regiment=
battles=Battle of the Wilderness Battle of Spotsylvania Battle of Cold Harbor Siege of Petersburg Battle of the Crater ervice
The 31st Maine Regiment was organized at
Augusta, Maine in March and April 1864 and mustered into service onApril 17 ,1864 for a three year enlistment. The regiment left Maine for Washington, D.C. onApril 18 ,1864 and was attached to the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, IX Corps,Army of the Potomac in which it remained for the remainder of the war. The 31st commenced active campaigning onMay 4 ,1864 and took its first battle casualties two days later in theBattle of the Wilderness , where it suffered heavy losses. The regiment fought again at Spotsylvania Court House onMay 12 , again taking heavy casualties: 12 killed, 75 wounded and 108 missing in action.Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Maine for the year ending December 31, 1866, pp. 164-166.The regiment fought in engagements at
Topotomoy Creek onMay 31 andJune 1 . Between the 4th and 12th of June, the regiment was before the Confederate works at Cold Harbor, then crossed theJames River and fought in theBattle of Petersburg and then remained there for the remainder of the siege. In theJuly 30 Battle of the Crater , its was the first regiment into the Confederate works and lost heavily in the failed assault. "'Maine Adjutant General, 1866, pp. 164-166.The 31st was in support during the
Battle of the Weldon Railroad , followed by theBattle of Poplar Spring Church on September 30. October 1864 was spent on picket duty and drill where it absorbed the 4th and 6th Companies of Maine Unassigned Infantry as companies L and M. On October 27, it was assigned to Fort Fisher, where they remained until the end of November when it was reassigned as the garrison of Fort Davis. The 31st Maine absorbed the32nd Maine Regiment onDecember 12 ,1864 , adding 15 officers and 470 enlisted men to its ranks. The regiment reamined in reserve fromFebruary 11 ,1865 until the early morning ofApril 2 , when it was chosen to provide the initial storming party of three companies for the assault onFort Mahone . The regiment suffered heavy losses in the attack.. It participated in the occupation of Petersburg and spent the rest of the campaign gathering up prisoners and escorting them to the rear.On
April 29 , the regiment marched toCity Point, Virginia and sailed toAlexandria, Virginia , arriving at that city on the 27th.The regiment participated in the
Grand Review of the Armies onMay 23 ,1865 and was mustered out of service onJuly 15 ,1865 .Total strength and casualties
1,595 men served in the 31st Maine Infantry Regiment at one point or another during its service. It lost 183 enlisted men killed in action or died of wounds. 491 men were wounded in action, 176 died of disease, and 34 died in Confederate prisons, and 18 officer deaths, for a total of 411 fatalities from all causes. [http://www.state.me.us/sos/arc/archives/military/civilwar/31meinf.htm State of Maine Civil War Website Page on the 31st Maine ]
ee also
Maine Units in the Civil War Notes
External links
* [http://www.state.me.us/sos/arc/archives/military/civilwar/31meinf.htm State of Maine Civil War Records Website]
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