Tag Archives: Charles H. Haynes

Prickling sensation irritates a supposedly missing foot

Shot and wounded as the charging 20th Maine Infantry Regiment reached Confederate trenches at Saunders Field in the Wilderness on Thursday, May 5, 1864, Sgt. Charles H. Haynes of Ellsworth soon experienced a peculiar sensation. Striking his left leg “about five inches below the knee,” two lead bullets shattered leg bones, and a third bullet […]

Appointment with a Wilderness destiny, part 2

The enemy was close, way to close for comfort in midafternoon on Thursday afternoon, May 5, 1864. Sgt. Charles H. Haynes of Ellsworth and Co. E, 20th Maine Infantry Regiment stood with his comrades inside the treeline along the eastern edge of Saunders Field, a large opening amidst the scrub-entangled Wilderness in central Virginia. He […]

Appointment with a Wilderness destiny, part 1

Sgt. Charles H. Haynes of Ellsworth marched toward his appointment with destiny as he crossed the Rapidan River on a pontoon bridge around sunset on Wednesday, May 4, 1864. His life would change dramatically within 72 hours. Twenty-six when he enlisted in Co. I, 2nd Maine Infantry Regiment on December 13, 1861, the married Haynes […]