Turning the Tide at Gettysburg: How Maine Saved the Union

During the first three days of July in 1863, the largest battle ever fought in North America occurred in the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg. More than 160,000 men from the North and the South engaged in mortal struggle in the third year of the American Civil War. At many crucial points of time and location on the battlefield, men from Maine were there to stem the Confederate tide.

Once asked why the Confederate Army lost the battle at Gettysburg, General George E. Pickett replied, "I ...