Tag Archives: Cedar Creek

A brother dead, a brother dying, and a Mainer’s promise kept at Cedar Creek: Part II

Did a letter written by a Bangor lieutenant at least partially heal the broken heart of a Georgia father? Launching a successful early morning surprise attack on the Union Army of the Shenandoah on Oct. 19, 1864, Confederate troops initially routed the Union divisions camped near the meandering Cedar Creek some 20 miles south of […]

A brother dead, a brother dying, and a Mainer’s promise kept at Cedar Creek: Part I

Approximately 18 months after two sons vanished during the Battle of Cedar Creek in the Shenandoah Valley, William H. Rogers of Quitman in Brooks County in Georgia received a letter from Maine. The letter was from a Yankee lieutenant, Lagrange Severance, not someone upon whom Rogers could look favorably. After reading the letter, Rogers may […]

A Christmas gift from God and Abner Coburn

  At Camp Russell south of Winchester, Virginia, Capt. John Mead Gould of Portland and two other 29th Maine Infantry Regiment officers — George H. Nye of Lewiston and Alpheus L. Greene of Portland — received a particularly wonderful Christmas present on Friday, Dec. 23, 1864. The recent promotion of Col. George L. Beal of […]