By Kathy Miskelly
Houlton Rotarian
HOULTON — On Aug. 25, Jerry Desmond spoke to Rotary members about his new book, “Turning the Tide at Gettysburg: How Maine Saved the Union,” which is being published by Down East Press and should be available for purchase this September.
Desmond is a native of Maine. He was born in Island Falls and holds a master’s degree in history and a master’s degree in education from the University of Maine. For 12 years he taught American history at Maine public high schools.
In 1991, Jerry Desmond moved south and worked with museums in Knoxville and Chattanooga, and has been involved in the start-up and organization of nearly 20 museums in the southeast. He also helped plan and design the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and he currently serves as the executive director of the Birmingham History Center in Birmingham, Alabama.
In his book, Desmond includes maps and photographs of the battlefield at Gettysburg, and he gives details, location by location around the battlefield, of the heroic actions of the volunteer regiments from Maine, which included 172 men from Aroostook County who fought in the battle. Of those 172 men, 38 were from Houlton.
He discussed the technical details of the Battle of Gettysburg, how many men from Maine fought, on which day and from this or that Maine unit. Such as 70,000 Maine men fought in Civil War, 25 percent of the Navy had Maine ties; 4,022 Maine men fought at Gettysburg, of which 172 were from Aroostook County and 38 were from Houlton. The book appears to be a detailed study of the battle and a good resource to research those who fought in the battle, especially for those who are doing a detailed study of men from the local area or perhaps a study of ancestors, or those doing a detailed study of history, especially local involvement.
One interesting point was the Contingency Theory of History that he mentioned, that something small can change events. The point here at Gettysburg was the Confederate men were thirsty and Col. William Oates told 22 men to go and fill canteens for themselves and the rest of the men. While the men were gone, Oates got orders to go to battle. They met the Maine regiment in battle, and the Confederates lost the battle. Perhaps with the extra 22 they could have won the battle? That was an illustration of the Contingency Theory.
Desmond also mentioned the 7th Maine Monument on private property, which can be visited by request in Gettysburg.
There were names of Houlton men mentioned in the book, good for those researching family or Houlton’s involvement in the Civil War.
Desmond told another story of John Chase, age 20, of the 5th Maine Artillery. During the battle, he sustained 48 chest wounds and his arm was amputated. He was left to die three times, but recovered and lived to age 71.
