The Twenty-Seventh Regiment Infantry was comprised by men raised almost entirely from York County, Maine, reporting
to camp in Portland on or around the 10th of September, 1862. On the 19th, the officers were elected, followed by the mustering
in of the troops on the 30th. After their training, and a brief return to their homes (while this occured, the reg't was
'topped off' with later enlistments around the 14th and 15th of October), they left by train for Washington,
DC on 20 October, arriving here two days later and setting up camp on East Capital Hill. From here, they went on to Camp Chase
at Arlington Heights, afterwards to Camp Seward, where they held picket duty from 26 October to 12 December, 1862. Afterwards,
they were sent to Camp Vermont at Hunting Creek,VA to relieve a Vermont brigade of their picket duty, an eight mile long line
from the Orange & Alexandria Railroad to the Potomac River near Mt. Vernon. It was here where they spent the winter, reported
to be a severe one, and they lost several men due to the weather.
The next spring, on 24 March, 1863,
they left camp and moved on to Chantilly, Virginia, where they were placed on the outermost line of infantry in the defense
of Washington. They stayed here until 25 June, when they returned to Arlington Heights.
At this time,
their nine month term of service was expired (they were told they would be released on 10 June, 9 months from their reporting
to camp) and they were preparing to ship home. It was then reported that General Lee and the Confederate army was due
to invade Pennsylvania, the the Army of the Potomac marched on tho meet them. This left the Capital unguarded, and the President
and Secretary of War asked for volunteers to stay beyond their 9-month term. With the 25th Maine Infantry first refusing,
and marching home, some 312 men (or 315 by another account) of the 27th Maine did choose to stay behind when they were
asked. On 4 July, with the Union winning the Battle of Gettysburg, they then boarded the trains in Washington and were back
in Portland, Maine on the 6th of July, 1863. They were then mustered out on the 17th.
The 27th Maine
Infantry, at their mustering in, had 949 men. Of this, 20 (or 22) men died on duty (though none by enemy fire), 8 officers
resigned, and 54 men were discharged or had deserted.
For their voluntary defense of the nations capital,
the 312 were initially rewarded the Medal of Honor. What happened after this, with an inconclusive list of who actually
did volunteer to stay behind, resulted in the entire regiment receiving the medals. This would in turn result in the 1917
purge of all men of the 27th ME from the Medal of Honor rosters.
If you are interested in reading
more about the 27th Maine and the Medal of Honor, you must read John Pullen's A Shower of Stars. Originally
published in 1966, a reprint came out in 1997, and is still available. I have provided a link below to Amazon.com:
sources:
A Shower of Stars by John J Pullen c1966
The Union Army, Volume 1
Maine in the War for the
Union c1965 William ES Whitman + Charles H True
Portsmouth Journal, Saturday, 20 Sept, 1862
History
of York County, Maine c1880 (pg 120-149)
Old Eliot
History of the 27th Maine - James Stone c1895
