The 32nd Maine Volunteers

On 8 Feb 1864, General Order No 12 required that two regiments of infantry (the 31st and 32nd Maine Volunteers) be raised in Maine and organized by the first of March, in Augusta. Col Mark F. Wentworth, former commander of the 27th Maine, was chosen to lead the 32nd. Of the 1000 men being raised for this unit, 300 were to be raised from York County. Also, it was "suggested" that 2/3 of the commissioned officers be veterans who had seen previous service.

At left is a recruitment poster printed in Portland's Daily Eastern Argus newspaper through the month of February '64. The recruiting officers listed for the York County towns were all veterans from the 27th Maine. In all, according to the History of the 32nd Maine, pg 35, some 140 men in the entire regiment had seen prior service. 48 of them had previously been with the 27th Maine Infantry.

The men from York County made up three companies, with Company A being  the first mustered in, on 3 Mar 1864. Co F would be mustered in on 5 April, followed by Co K on 6 May, the last one for the regiment.

From the list of the field and staff, the following were veterans from the 27th Maine:
Col Mark F Wentworth of Kittery
Adjutant Calvin L Hayes of Kittery
Quartermaster John Hall of North Berwick
Sgt-Maj William B Barker of Limerick

Col Mark Wentworth

Adjutant Calvin Hayes

Sgt Major William B Barker

Other 27th ME veterans filled the ranks as officers in the 3 York companies:
Company A
Capt Seth E Bryant
2nd Lieut William B Pierce (promoted from 1st Sergt)
Sergt's Daniel Watson, William P Carr
Corpls William H Staples, Frank E Lawry (prom to Sgt), Cyrus E Brown, Joseph W Bartlett, Hiram M Grace
Company F
Capt Isaac P Fall of South Berwick
1st Lieut Fred S Gurney
2nd Lieut John G Whitten (promoted to 1st Lieut)
1st Sgt Albion L Durgin
Sgts William B Barker (promoted to Sgt-Maj), Adrial Thompson Jr, Nathan Chadbourne (prom from cpl)
Cpls Gardiner L Patterson, James H Smith
Company K
Capt Horace H Burbank (prev 1st Lieut of Co A)
Sgts George W Damon, Charles S Hubbard, Charles H Wadleigh, Hiram Hodgdon
Cpls George A Taylor, George Gordon

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The regiment, though mustered in to serve for three years, only survived until December of 1864. Participating in numerous battles and engagements, including the Battle of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, the Siege of Petersburg, and the Battle of the Crater (aka Burnside's Mine), their numbers were greatly reduced by death, injury, and sickness. On 12 Dec, the remaining members of the regiment were transferred into the 31st Maine, with any excess officers discharged. The veterans would continue to serve until 15 July 1865, when the 31st Maine was mustered out of service.

The following is an alphabetical list of those men from the 27th Maine who reenlisted with the 32nd Maine:

William B Barker Co S     - trans to 31st ME 12/12/64
Joseph W Bartlett Co A   - Wounded 6/18/64 Petersburg
William Berry Co H          - disab disch 1/3/1865 (died 3/1/65)
James A Bragdon Co K   - to 31st ME 12/12/64
Cyrus Brown Co A           -  wounded 5/18/1864 Spottsylvania; disch 4/10/1865
John W Brown Co F        -  Killed 6/18/1864 Petersburg
Seth E Bryant Co A         - Relieved 11/5/1864 on acct of disab, resigned 11/25
Horace H Burbank Co K  - POW 7/30/1864, escaped 3/15/65, disch 5/15
George Buzzell Co K       - trans to 31st ME
Nathan Call Co C             - trans to 31st ME; disch 06/16/65
William T Carr Co A         - must out 12/12/64 when consol w/ 31st ME
Nathan Chadbourne Co F - died as POW @ Salisbury, NC 1/21/1865
George W Clough Co F - trans to 31st ME; POW 5/19/64, rel and returned to regt
George W Damon Co K  - POW, exchanged; disch 05/19/65
Thomas Doieg/Doig Co F - trans to 31st ME
Albion L Durgin Co F         - trans to 31st ME
Walter Eaton Co A - POW 9/30/64 Pegram Farm; believed to have died in prison
Edwd/Edwin W Eldridge Co K - Died from disease  8/22/64 City Point hospital
George W Emmons Co K - POW 7/30/65 Petersburg, released and ret to regt
Isaac P Fall Co F             - POW 6/30/64 Petersburg, released and ret to regt
George Gordon Co K      - must out 12/12/64 when consol w/ 31st ME
Hiram M Grace Co A       - trans to 31st ME 12/12/64
Fred S Gurney Co F        - KIA 6/24/64 Battle of Wilderness
Calvin L Hayes Co S       - must out 12/12/64 at consolidation
Hiram Hodgdon Co K       - trans to 31st ME
Charles S Hubbard Co K  - Died of wounds 7/31/1864
William Kerr Co A             - trans to 31st ME
Franklin E Lawry Co A      - must out 12/12/64 on consolidation w/ 31st Me
Thaddeus Littlefield Co K  - trans to 31st ME
Charles McGuire Co C      - Died of wounds 5/20/1864
John Mealy (Maley) Co C  - Disch 3/23/1865 (wounded 7/18/64)
Charles H Merrill Co F       - must out 12/12/64
Gardiner Patterson Co F   - POW 9/30/64; died in prison 1/7/1865
William B Pierce Co A       - drowned while escaping prison, 10/2/1864
Wallace Prescott Co F      - trans to 31st ME
John W Sanborn Co K      - trans to 31st ME; wd 30 Sept '64 Pegram Farm
James H Smith Co F        - trans to 31st ME
William H Staples Co A   - Wounded 5/12/64 Spottsylvania; disch 04/10/65
Charles E Stevens Co A   - 9/30/64, released, rejoin regt; disch 06/20/65
William Stevenson Co H  - trans to 31st ME
George A Taylor Co K      - trans to 31st ME
Adrial Thompson Co F      -  must out at consol w/ 31st, 12/12/64
David Thorn Co F             - trans to 31st ME
Osborn Trafton Co F        - 5/29/1864 died of wounds
Daniel Watson Co A         - disch 03/14/65
Mark F Wentworth Co S  - resigned due to wounds Oct 64;
John G Whitten Co F        -  KIA 7/30/1864 Burnsides Mine
Charles H Wadleigh Co K  - disch 06/08/65

For more about the 32nd Maine, their history is available online for reading:
Houston, Henry C. The Thirty-second Maine regiment of infantry volunteers; an historical sketch. Portland, Maine: Southworth Press, 1903.