James J. Chase, Turner Historian of a Heartbreaking Civil War Memoir

On this page we are going to focus on the impact of the American Civil War upon the people of Maine, as seen through the eyes of the inhabitants of the town of Turner.

All of the issues we will explore are typical of what Maine soldiers endured, and of what went on in any Maine town or city during this turbulent period.

Most of the material presented here comes from correspondence, reports and photographs received by the Governor and the Adjutant General of Maine; and from data compiled by the Adjutant General exercising his principal responsibility for keeping track of everything related to the State's War effort.

Let's begin by meeting a citizen soldier from Turner.

By the summer of 1862, it was evident that the War was not going to be over in the foreseeable future as many had once believed; and the Federal Government was now calling for more troops.

Major Archibald D. Leavitt, 16th Maine Volunteer Infantry.

Recruiters like A. D. Leavitt were scouring every county in Maine, trying to induce men to volunteer.

About 55 men from Turner had already enlisted in the 14 Infantry Regiments and the Cavalry Regiment that had been raised in 1861, and a number of them were beginning to return home discharged for disabilities due to sickness or wounds; or on medical furloughs in order to recuperate.

But some were also deserting the army or refusing to return to duty, having discovered that soldiering was not the great adventure they had hoped it would be.

Here is a letter from Solon Chase, who would one day become one of Turner's most famous citizens. He was reporting on recruiting progress in the area, but you will notice he also offers his services for certain "duties" in Androscoggin County.

W.A Blossom's letter is more explicit - he wants to be appointed as a "secret agent."

To find out what this letter is all about go here.

One of the difficulties the State encountered in trying to recruit volunteers was the understandable reluctance of men to leave families for whom they were the sole support, particularly if they were very poor to begin with. Farmers were apprehensive about who would till the fields, tend to the harvests, cut wood for the winter and attend to all the other heavy chores while they were gone.

To alleviate these concerns, the Maine Legislature authorized towns to pay what was called "State Aid" to dependant families of volunteers, funds that would then be reimbursed by the State to the towns. By 1865, the laws governing State Aid had been amended several times, but throughout the War, the average amount of State Aid awarded to the wife or adult dependant of a volunteer was 75 cents per week; while the aid to children under 15 was 50 cents a week.

What did the womenfolk of Turner do for the War effort?

We have found no direct documentation relating to Turner women in this regard here at the Maine State Archives, but they undoubtedly worked very hard at raising funds for the relief of soldiers in hospitals and in the field by holding church suppers, raffles, and bazaars, as did women in towns all over the State.

We do know that the town of Turner raised a total of $1, 575, largely through the efforts of women. The ladies also knitted socks, sewed shirts and, rolled bandages, cooked up jams and jellies and collected other foodstuffs to be shipped to the Maine State Relief Agency, the United States Christian Commission and the United States Sanitary Commission, all based in Washington, D.C.

These agencies then distributed the supplies to soldiers. Some women from Maine worked directly for the Washington relief agencies and often were on the scene of a battle as soon as the fighting ceased. Although she was not from Turner, we would like you to meet an intrepid Maine lady named Isabella Fogg for whose care and efforts many a Turner boy must have been grateful. Here is her harrowing account of what she found around Sharpsburg , Maryland months after the Battle of Antietam, which had occurred on September 17, 1862.

The folks in Turner heard about the same dreadful conditions in the aftermath of the Battle of Antietam that Isabella Fogg described. They could have gotten it first hand from Archibald (or "Arch," as they called him) Leavitt, who might have been home on leave from the 16th Maine or the "Arch Leavitt" referred to might have been his father. Find out about what the townsfolk did about it here.

Since so many Turner boys were in the 16th Maine, let's find out more about this regiment. You can see a summary of their entire service all the way to the surrender of Lee's Army at Appomattox .

You will note that they went into action just a little over a month after they had been mustered into service and left the State of Maine. One of the 16th's toughest fights came in December, 1862 at Fredericksburg, Virginia. Their Colonel, Charles W. Tilden, describes what happened there.

However, the 16th Maine's finest hour unquestionably came at Gettysburg. Their courageous stand in this Battle has been overshadowed by the much-publicized exploits of the 20th Maine under Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, but we can give them their due right here as we join the 16th upon their arrival in Gettysburg!

We have now come to the end of our exploration of how the Civil War affected the people of Turner. Before we leave, we need to find out what happened to "Arch" Leavitt and let his story stand in tribute to all the brave men who were caught up in the struggle to save the Union.

Go here to find some suggestions about how you can go about researching your town's role in the Civil War, as well as some further information about the resources we used for this page on Turner.

The boy from Turner who saw war's cruelty!

James J. Chase ... Historian of a heartbreaking Civil War Memoir.

DOB: February 9th, 1847 DOD: June 1st, 1918.

Buried at the Laurel Hill Cemetery, Saco Maine