Keywords: Military Service
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Online Exhibits
Your results include these online exhibits. You also can view all of the site's exhibits, view a timeline of selected events in Maine History, and learn how to create your own exhibit. See featured exhibits or create your own exhibit
Exhibit
Music in Maine - Military Marching Bands
"Fifes are a small woodwind instrument commonly used in military bands because the high pitch sound carries over long distances, even during battles."
Exhibit
George F. Shepley: Lawyer, Soldier, Administrator
George F. Shepley of Portland had achieved renown as a lawyer and as U.S. Attorney for Maine when, at age 42 he formed the 12th Maine Infantry and went off to war. Shepley became military governor of Louisiana early in 1862 and remained in the military for the duration of the war.
Exhibit
Fallen Heroes: Those Who Gave Their Lives: World War II
At least twenty-three Jewish men from Maine died in the military during World War II. Photographs and other memorabilia are available for fewer than half of them. Read more about them.
Exhibit
Northern Threads: Civil War-era clothing
An exhibit vignette within "Northern Threads, Part 1," featuring American Civil War civilian and military clothing, 1860 to 1869.
Exhibit
Civil War Soldiers Impact Pittsfield
Although not everyone in town supported the war effort, more than 200 Pittsfield men served in Civil War regiments. Several reminders of their service remain in the town.
Exhibit
Lt. Charles A. Garcelon, 16th Maine
The son of Maine's surgeon general and nephew of a captain in the 16th Maine, Charles A. Garcelon of Lewiston served in Co. I of the 16th Maine. His letters home in the first 17 months of his service express his reflections on war and his place in it.
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WWI Memorial Trees along Portland's Baxter Boulevard
On Memorial Day of 1920, the City of Portland planted 100 Linden trees on Forest Avenue, each dedicated to the memory of one military service member who had died in World War I, or who had served honorably.
Exhibit
In Canada During the Civil War
One surviving letter from the family of Francis Pratt to the young man who was in Canada in 1865 suggests that going to Canada to escape military service during the Civil War was not unheard of. The letter also suggests money was removed to Canada to protect it.
Exhibit
World War I and the Maine Experience
With a long history of patriotism and service, Maine experienced the war in a truly distinct way. Its individual experiences tell the story of not only what it means to be an American, but what it means to be from Maine during the war to end all wars.
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George Henry Preble of Portland, nephew of Edward Preble who was known as the father of the U.S. Navy, temporarily lost his command during the Civil War when he was charged with failing to stop a Confederate ship from getting through the Union blockade at Mobile.
Exhibit
Putting Men to Work, Saving Trees
While many Mainers were averse to accepting federal relief money during the Great Depression of the 1930s, young men eagerly joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, one of President Franklin Roosevelt's most popular programs. The Maine Forest Service supervised the work of many of the camps.
Exhibit
Rebecca Usher: 'To Succor the Suffering Soldiers'
Rebecca Usher of Hollis was 41 and single when she joined the Union nursing service at the U.S. General Hospital at Chester, Pennsylvania. Her time there and later at City Point, Virginia, were defining experiences of her life.
Exhibit
Sarah Sampson: Caring for Soldiers, Orphans
Sarah Sampson of Bath went to war with her husband, a captain in the 3rd Maine Regiment. With no formal training, she spent the next four and a half years providing nursing and other services to soldiers. Even after her husband became ill and returned to Maine, Sampson remained in the Washington, D.C., area aiding the sick and wounded.
Exhibit
The Sanitary Commission: Meeting Needs of Soldiers, Families
The Sanitary Commission, formed soon after the Civil War began in the spring of 1861, dealt with the health, relief needs, and morale of soldiers and their families. The Maine Agency helped families and soldiers with everything from furloughs to getting new socks.
Exhibit
Rumford's Notable Citizens in the Civil War
A number of Rumford area residents played important roles during the Civil War -- and in the community afterwards. Among these are William King Kimball, who commanded the 12th Maine for much of the war.
Exhibit
Fallen Heroes: Maine's Jewish Sailors and Soldiers
Thirty-four young Jewish men from Maine died in the service of their country in the two World Wars. This project, including a Maine Memory Network exhibit, is meant to say a little something about some of them. More than just names on a public memorial marker or grave stone, these men were getting started in adult life. They had newly acquired high school and college diplomas, they had friends, families and communities who loved and valued them, and felt the losses of their deaths.
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When America entered the Great War in 1917, the government sent out pleas for help from American women, many of whom responded at the battle front and on the home front.
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Field & Homefront: Bethel during the Civil War
Like many towns, Bethel responded to the Civil War by sending many soldiers and those at the homefront sent aid and supported families. The town grew during the war, but suffered after its end.
Exhibit
Fallen Heroes: Jewish Soldiers and Sailors, The Great War
Thirty-four young Jewish men from Maine died in the service of their country in the two World Wars. This project, including a Maine Memory Network exhibit, is meant to say a little something about some of them. More than just names on a public memorial marker or grave stone, these men were getting started in adult life. They had newly acquired high school and college diplomas, they had friends, families and communities who loved and valued them, and felt the losses of their deaths.
Exhibit
A Soldier's Declaration of Independence
William Bayley of Falmouth (Portland) was a soldier in the Continental Army, seeing service at Ticonderoga, Valley Forge, Monmouth Court House, and Saratoga, among other locations. His letters home to his mother reveal much about the economic hardships experienced by both soldiers and those at home.
Exhibit
In 1954, November 11 became known as Veterans Day, a time to honor American veterans of all wars. The holiday originated, however, as a way to memorialize the end of World War I, November 11, 1918, and to "perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations." Mainers were involved in World War I as soldiers, nurses, and workers on the homefront aiding the military effort.
Exhibit
The War was not going well for the Union and in the summer of 1862, when President Lincoln called for an additional 300,000 troops, it was not a surprise to see so many men enlist in an attempt to bring proper leadership into the Army.
Exhibit
Student Exhibit: A Civil War Soldier from Skowhegan
Alexander Crawford a soldier from Skowhegan, was born in 1839 on a farm on the Dudley Corner Road in Skowhegan. He served in the Civil War and returned to Skowhegan to run the family farm.
Exhibit
This Rebellion: Maine and the Civil War
For Mainers like many other people in both the North and the South, the Civil War, which lasted from 1861-1865, had a profound effect on their lives. Letters, artifacts, relics, and other items saved by participants at home and on the battlefield help illuminate the nature of the Civil War experience for Mainers.