During his time with the 27th Maine, Private Charles Gooch, of Company I, wrote over fifty letters to his wife Julia, back home in Kennebunk, Maine. The following is a letter he wrote to her on the 15th of January 1863. I've transcribed it as written, with lack of punctuation and spelling errors included.

Notes:
(pg 1) "Theodore" is Theodore Gooch, a cousin of Charles W Gooch, who also lived in Kennebunk. His full name is mentioned in an earlier letter.
(pg 2) The Christian Watchman and Reflector was a Baptist newspaper style weekly periodical, printed in Boston, MA. The article mentioned by Charles was likely from the Dec 25th issue (viewable on Genealogy Bank w/ subscription), which included a letter written by a soldier at Fort Albany, describing the 27th Maine (and other units) marching onto the grounds.
   (fath) = perhaps he meant "faith"? As he wrote this word on both ends of the sentence where he declined the offer of milk, was he fibbing about already having coffee that morning? Charles was a religious man, so perhaps he felt bad about lying to the Irishman and wife, so called that out in his letter.
(pg 4) "Isaac" is Sgt Isaac Emery of Kennebunk, who was the brother of Charles' wife Julia.

It is the final day of 2018, and I shall soon be entering my 14th year of having an online presence for my 27th Maine research. 

My original goal of finding more about the soldiers of the 27th Maine Infantry is nearly complete, if such a word can ever be used with any kind of genealogical work. I have researched every man in the regiment and, while there are a few that have completely stumped me, the overall mission was a success. Of the 946 (or 949, as was officially reported) men in the regiment, I have been able to find the burial places for 890 of them. 842 of these have memorials created on Find a Grave (578 of them under my management), and I have personally visited 639 of them, in order to photograph the stones and/or the plots (for those with no stones).

I hope that, in this coming new year, I will be able to make more trips to the cemeteries located out of state, and continue recording these burial sites. With many newspapers now being scanned and uploaded online, especially those from the New England states, finding more information about the 27th Maine and its volunteers is getting a bit easier. Lets hope that it leads to solving a few of these "dead ends" I have.

Here's to 2019!

Steve 

Camp Abraham Lincoln, Cape Elizabeth
The 25th Maine had already marched out on Thursday, the 16th of October, 1862, followed two days later by the 23rd Maine, who were escorted into Portland by the men of the 27th Reg't and the Portland Band. The Seventh Maine Infantry, who had returned from the war front for furlough and recruiting, took over the quarters that formerly housed the 25th Maine.

This would be the last weekend in Maine for the 27th Infantry, as they had received their marching orders - they'd be leaving on Monday morning. Rumor had it that they would be heading to New Orleans. The First Baptist Society, with a church on Federal Street, invited the men from the Twenty-Seventh to attend their Sunday service at 10:30 in the morning, the Rev Dr. [William Hosmer] Shailer to "preach a sermon appropriate for the occasion" [Portland Daily Press, 10/18/62].

Sunday morning came, and a crowd gathered at the church to watch the men march in for the service. They never showed, so the congregation was admitted inside their church.

It was later learned that an incident occurred at Camp Lincoln on Saturday night, where troops had lit the sutler's tent on fire. As reported in the Portland Daily Press on Monday, the 20th, there had been word of the upcoming torching, so the goods stored there had been removed.

Seth Bryant, captain of Company I, wrote in his diary about Oct 18th:

With extra guards put on duty, the restless troops got quiet and went to bed. Tomorrow would be a busy day.

It is not known if the soldiers were restricted from leaving camp on Sunday due to the fire, or perhaps it was due to all of the last minute packing that needed to be done before the 3 a.m. reveille on Monday morning would send them off on their nine month tour of duty in Virginia.

Notes:
Capt Bryant, in his diary, said the troops had attempted to set the sutler tent of the 25th on fire as well. As this regiment had already left two days prior to this, had their sutler not joined them in their trek southward? Maybe he was still in the process of packing up his goods, and would meet up with them later. The Portland Daily Press, on 10/17/62, did mention in their news article about the 25th 's departure, that some 70 men were left behind, as some were still out on furlough, and others were sick. The sutler likely had remained behind, and would take the train with the remaining troops.

In 1862, the First Baptist Church on Federal Street was located where the rear side of the Portland Fire Station on Congress St now stands. It would have been a 2.4 mile march had the 27th Maine Volunteers gone to the Sunday service.

JOSEPH PORTER was the first man of the Twenty-Seventh Maine to die, succumbing to a "congestion of the lungs" on Tuesday, October 7th, 1862, in the hospital at Camp Abraham Lincoln in Cape Elizabeth. 

Other reports would list his death date as the 8th, so perhaps he passed away some time during the night. He was buried in Portland in the afternoon on the 8th, with his company in attendance.  ​But, where was he buried?

The Portland city records were checked, and the following entry for Joseph Porter was found [Vol. 6, pg 17-18]:

The date of death written into the book was "November 5", with a burial on 7 Nov 1862. The cause of death was correct, though his age here was listed as "27 years" (the news article had said 'aged about 30', while his enlistments papers claim he was 24 years of age). This entry may be a reinterment from another burial place, thus the differing dates. The only one of his name in the books, I don't believe this is a different person, just errors in recording the event.

Sadly, his burial plot in the Forest City Cemetery was "No. 22, S. Ground". This was the Strangers Ground*, where those without families or friends to claim them or purchase their plot were laid to rest. Though the strangers ground is marked on a map* of the cemetery, the actual plots inside this section are not, and the cemetery does not have records as to where this particular plot #22 would have been located. 

​JOSEPH PORTER was a sailor, and was from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (the Descriptive Roll says New Brunswick), enlisting on behalf of the quota of the town of York, Maine. It is not known if he enlisted while in town, or may have signed up later in Portland when town agents needed to fill their quotas (there were several sailors from the area outside of York County who ended up in Company D). As the 27th ME was raised without there being a draft, the above news article erred in saying Mr Porter was a sub was a drafted man. He MAY have subbed for someone that was rejected from the company enlistment or, most likely, accepted a town bounty and just signed up. There were a few of this name in the Yarmouth area in the 1851 and 1861 Canada censuses, and it is not possible (at this time) to determine which one, if any, might be him.

​An unknown soldier, in an unmarked grave.

Notes:
​*In later entries, the "Soldiers Lot" or "S. Lot", would at times be called the "Soldiers Ground" (or S. Ground), but the burials in this plot were numbered in order of their burials, so #22 would not have been used in 1862.
* The map of the cemetery was done during the WPA of the 1930's (they can be found here: WPA Maps), with the strangers ground being on the eastern side of the cemetery.  
Sources for images:
Portland, ME Records of Deaths: Vol 6, pg 19 (on Family Search)
Portland Daily Press, 9 Oct 1862 (on Chronicling America)

I present here a letter from Eben N. Higley, formerly of the 27th Maine, and now in the US Navy, stationed in Portsmouth Harbor during September of 1864. He writes the following to his "friend" Julia:

Below is a clipping from the 1860 South Berwick, Maine census (pg 23), showing Ebenezer (Eben) Higley in the household of Walter Abbott. At the time, he was a 17-year old cordwainer. Also here is mill operative "Annie West", age 18, who is probably the person Eben was asking about in his letter to Julia. As the letter mentions she had been married, she may be the Annie W. West who married Nahum G Tripp on 15 May 1864 in Kennebunkport [they were divorced in 1866]

In this same census year for So. Berwick, there is a Julia Bennett, age 14, living in hh of Robert Fernald with several mill operatives. This household, numbered 155/175, is only four homes away from the above record, so it seems probable these two women are the ones in Eben's letter. Julia may have been the one who married George Bragdon in North Berwick in 1871, both of them from Wells [Annie W (West) Tripp, at the time of her divorce, was also in town] . 

Eben (or Ebenezer) Higley had served in the Navy as a landsman in 1861, enlisting on 1 June for one year, and served until 9 July 1862. After his time in the 27th Maine, he reenlisted into the Navy, serving from 30 Aug 1864 to 6 July 1865. He was listed as a coal heaver. After the war, he became a machinist and an inventor, and lived in Somersworth, NH, where he died in 1920. He had a wife and three daughters (1 died young).

"Of the age of eighteen years, and under the age of forty-five years" was part of the law by which all* able-bodied white male citizens were required to enroll in their state militias. The President called forth this militia on the 4th of August, 1862, ordering the members in each community to gather and draft enough men needed to fill the quota required of them. In lieu of this, volunteers were allowed to enlist, to avoid any draft from being needed.  

One of those volunteers, enlisting for the quota of Lebanon, Maine, was Millett Blaisdell, who signed off as being 18 years of age. His father said otherwise.

Thomas Blaisdell, with attorney William Emery, Esq. of Lebanon, petitioned the court for the discharge of his son Millett from the 27th Maine, as he was underage at the time of his enlistment. The case won on the 20th of Oct, Millett was sent home, while the regiment marched out of camp to board the trains for the south. 
​
He turned 18 six days later.  

Private Blaisdell was not the only underage volunteer in the 27th Maine, just the only one that was caught and discharged. Among the others:
​
William Bail [Co. C], born 1846 [on grave]
Richard W (aka Whitney R) Carpenter [Co. B], born Oct 1847 (age 15 in Sept '62)
William H Carpenter [Co. B], born July 1845 (age 17)
John W Center [Co. K], b. ca Dec 1846 [Soldiers Home file; 1900 census]
John W Earl [Co. B], died 18 Oct 1862, aged 16 yrs, 9 mos, 21 das [grave]
Walter A Gowen [Co. F], b. 17 Apr 1846 (aged 16 1/2 when enlisted)
​Charles Guilford [Co. C], b. 4 Oct 1845
Anthony Jackson [Co. I], b. 18 Jan 1845 (17 1/2 in Sept '62)
Roscoe Jewell [Co. H], b. ca 4 Dec 1846 [calc from age at death; census recs]
Frank Mildram [Co. D], b. 18 Nov 1845 [grave; Nov '46 on 1900 census]
Robert Philbrick [Co. E], b. ca 30 Dec 1846, based on age at death (15 in '62)
Charles T Smith [Co. F], b. 7 Apr 1846 (age 16 at enlistment)
Horace Taylor [Co. I], b. 1846 [grave] or Mar 1848 [1900 census, prob error]
Frederick L Willey [Co. G], b. ca Jan 1846 (died Mar 1867, aged 21 yrs, 3 mos)

[There are likely others that I have yet to record, so this list may need to be amended in the future]

Note:
*There were exemptions to the militia enrollment, including those in positions within the government and the courts, religious preachers and followers (shakers and quakers), and men who held key occupations that ran the communities (such as postal workers and ferryman). See the book Militia Laws of the State of Maine (Google Books)

This 1862 bible was presented to Horatio W Trefethen of Kittery, Maine, who was a private in Company G (of the 27th Maine Infantry), by Isaac D Phillips. As can be seen in the photograph of the inscription on the inside cover, both the company letter and regiment number had yet to be assigned when this book was distributed. Horatio probably was the one who added his own middle initial, as well as the "G" for his company, though he wrote the "27" in the wrong spot.

Isaac Deering Phillips, a Kittery resident, was town clerk in the 1850's, employed as a cooper and retail grocer, and was a Justice of the Peace. His gravestone lies in the First Baptist Church Cemetery in Kittery Point, and is engraved with "Dea" for deacon, presumably a position he held at the church in 1862, when this bible was given out. It is not known (at this time) how many bibles were given out, or if they were handed out (by Phillips) to only those parishioners of this particular church, or if Mr. Trefethen was even a member.

Inside the bible was found a newspaper clipping, a poem titled "Heaven", by Martha Remick. She was a Kittery resident, the daughter of Rufus and Sally (Cram) Remick, who was a poet and author. Many poems of hers were printed in various newspapers in Maine and New Hampshire (usually the religious ones), but I did not find the exact issue this writing was clipped from.

​Also:
Individual page on this site for Horatio W Trefethen

On December 9th, 1862, John H. Came wrote home to his sister, Miss Eliza C. Came, of West Buxton, Maine. He was a 1st Lieut. in Company C, 27th Maine. He died while serving in this regiment, on 16 Jan 1863, from typhoid fever. His body was returned home, and buried in the family cemetery in Buxton. He didn't marry.

Above is an 1861 map of Washington and Alexandria. Lieut Came wrote from Camp Seward, which was located somewhere along Arlington Heights. Bailey's Crossroads and Munson's Hill, where Co. C had done picket duty, is highlighted to the left of map. Camp Casey, where Lt Came would pass away in Jan 1863, was located south of Fairfax Seminary, northwest of Alexandria. Camp Vermont, where the regiment had spent the latter part of December '62, was just south of red arrow marked at bottom of map.

NOTES:
Page 1
Sister Eliza C Came, daughter of Abraham L and Annis (Green) Came, was born 1833 in Buxton. She never married, and died in 1885. She is buried in the Came family cemetery. 
Page 2
"Warren" is referring to Joseph F Warren, also of Co C, who was 2nd Lt. at the time of this letter writing. Following John Came's death, he became 1st Lt (and later captain, when John Hill was promoted to major).
Page 4
"Sam Davis" - I believe this is Samuel L Davis of Standish, Maine, who was captain of Co K, 25th Maine Infantry. He was "discharged for incompetency" on Dec 8th 1862 [according to ME archives index card].
There is also has some newer writing along the top that erroneously listed John's death as "Dec 16th", instead of Jan 16th.
Page 1 (closing part of letter)
​Frank C Came, of Co B, the fellow from York, was indeed Charles Came's son. I haven't trace their ancestry to see if or how closely related they may have been.

The Find a Grave entry for: John H Came (with grave photo):

The following is a letter written by Horace Pennell, who was a private in Company C. At first I thought it was addressed to a "Brother Danl (for Daniel)", but now believe the name is Darl, short for Darling [Huntress Chadbourne], his brother-in-law. Darling's brother Francis T Chadbourne, and a first cousin James M Chadbourne, were also in the 27th Maine, but in a different company than Horace, and may be those mentioned in the letter.  In the closing, respects to "Mother", "Lizzy" and "Mellie" are written, and are likely referring to Darling's mother, wife and his sister Melvina. A Sam and David are also mentioned, but I didn't see any close family relations with those names.

There was no puncuation throughout the letter, and I didn't add any to the transcription. It is interesting that there is a piece cut off from page three, removing about three lines of writing. Was this done by someone who inspected the outgoing mail, perhaps an officer within the 27th Maine? Maybe Lieut Warren himself! 

   Horace Pennell, the son of James and Jane (Berry) Pennell, was born 27 May 1819 in Buxton, Maine. He enlisted from Hollis at age 43, his occupation listed as a michanic(sic), though he usually worked as a carpenter. Some time after the war, he moved out west, settling in Meeker County, Minnesota. In 1901, just a few months prior to his death, he moved to Flint, Michigan, to live with his daughter Clara. He died on 10 Aug 1901 in Flint, and was buried there in Avondale Cemetery.
   He was married to Elizabeth "Lizzie" Ann Chadbourne in 1852, and they had two children, Clara E Pennell (who married John E Andrews), and Horace E Pennell (who was married to Mary Nye).

While nearly 900 of the volunteers raised to fill the regiment that became the 27th Maine were residents of York County, only 676 (data from the descriptive rolls) were actually born there. 26 were foreign born, over half of those had come from neighboring Canada. Eight of the men in the unit were from Ireland and, with today being Saint Patrick's Day, I thought I'd write a bit about them.

PHILIP BANFIELD was from Cork, Ireland, immigrating here in 1852 or 1856. His residence was listed as Sanford, Maine when he enlisted in 1862. Following his service with the 27th ME, he re-enlisted with the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry and, after the war, also served in the 1st US Cavalry and the 4th US Infantry, leaving in 1871. He may have lived in New York for a short time, but was admitted into the National Soldiers Home system in 1881, transferring between their several branches. He was last at Togus, Maine by 1911, but died while in Boston, MA on 31 Oct 1912. Perhaps he was absent from the Soldiers Home at this time, as he wasn't buried back there, but instead at Tewksbury, MA. I have yet to find his grave location. All records (except for the death rec) show him as single.

JAMES BURNES (BURNS, BYRNES) was born in Ireland, circa 1844-1847. He was living in Biddeford, Maine when he enlisted but, the city having more volunteers than required of their quota, joined on behalf of Kennebunkport. The Veteran Schedule puts him at Boston, MA in 1890, and he filed for a pension from Mass the following year (it was never certified). Considering his address of "36 Northfield St" in 1890, the Boston street directories show a "James F Byrnes" at this location, a plasterer in 1880, and listed from 1882 to 1894 as a mason. A man of that name died in Boston at that same address, on 13 Nov 1893, aged 46 yrs, a plasterer. I believe this is the correct man. His burial place was not listed.

MICHAEL CARY (CAREY), born in County Galway in 1843, arrived in Boston, MA in 1855, and was living in Biddeford by the 1860 census. Following his time with the 27th Maine, he reenlisted with the 20th Maine, serving from 30 Aug 1864 to 15 June 1865. He was an inmate of the Togus Soldiers Home from 1879 to 1892, when he was discharged at his own request. He may be the Michael Carrey boarding in Augusta in 1900, and could be the Michael J Carey who died in Sidney on 23 July 1901, aged 54, as it says (in error) that he was born in Biddeford, the son of John. The WPA Maine Veterans Cemetery Records says he was the one who died in 1920 and was buried in Portland, but I believe that to be in error.  

PATRICK CRANN (CRAM, CRAMM) was from County Roscommon, Ireland, born in 1829. He arrived in New York City on 15 June 1846, moved soon after to Biddeford, Maine, and became naturalized in 1858. His wife was Catherine Connelly, who he married ca 1858. After his service, he moved with his wife and several children to Fall River, MA, where he worked in a cotton mill. He may have separated from his wife, or went elsewhere for work, as he is not seen with his family in Fall River after the 1870 census (wife Catherine was listed in street directories there until her death in Apr 1889). Patrick filed for a pension in Sept of 1889, from New York state, and is seen in Waterford, NY in the 1892 NY State census and the 1900 census. He died 11 Nov 1906 and is buried in the Waterford Rural Cemetery, with a veteran stone (Find a Grave).

JAMES KERWIN (KIRWAN) was born ca Sept 1845, immigrating here in 1862 (according to the 1900 census). He seemed to only live in Biddeford, ME a short time, as he moved to Lawrence, MA following his return from his 27th Maine service. He reenlisted with the 2nd Mass Heavy Artillery in Nov '63, but deserted a month later while in Providence. He may have just remained in state, as he was living in Lincoln, RI by 1880. He later lived in Central Falls and Pawtucket, the latter place where he died on 15 Sept 1911. He was buried in Mt St Mary Cemetery in Pawtucket. His wife was Bridget Maloney, who he married ca 1867 (33 yrs in 1900). They had nine children.   

JOHN MEALY (MALEY, MALIA), though the 27th Maine Descriptive Rolls list him as being born "at sea", was probably born in Ireland, as all other records state. The 1900 census lists his immigration as 1853, and he was in Portland, Maine by 1860. He enlisted from there for the quota of Eliot, Maine and, after returning from his nine-month service, would reenlist with the 32nd Maine Infantry in Feb 1864. He was wounded that summer at Petersburg, VA, but was not discharged until March of 1865. 
Census records seem to show that he had a first wife Hannah and several children (the 1910 census does say he was married twice) while in Portland, but he was in Lewiston by 1880 with a wife Bridget (Pendergrast), whom he married ca 1870 and had four children with. They returned to Portland by 1890, and he was living there when he died on 7 Sept 1910. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery, South Portland.

THOMAS STEADFAST was born in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland ca 1836, and arrived at New York in April 1843. He was living in Biddeford, ME when he became a citizen of the US in 1858. He moved to Portland by 1862, and was working there as a barber when he enlisted on 14 Oct as a substitute for a Limington, Maine "volunteer". After the war, he moved with his wife Eliza Ann (who was previously married and had a daughter Harriet) and son Thomas to Boston, MA. He died there from heart disease on 25 July 1882, aged 45 yrs. His death was also recorded in Portland, where it said he was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Deering. Records of that cemetery do not list him (or any other Steadfast).