Guide to the Holman Melcher Papers, 1860-1865
Holman Melcher Papers, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine
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Holman Melcher (1841-1905), a native of Topsham, Maine, was the brother of Nathaniel Melcher (Bowdoin 1864). During the Civil War, he served with the 20th Maine Regiment at the Battle of Gettysburg. His journals, published with his letters as With a Flash of His Sword, suggest that it was he, and not Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who led the impulsive charge that helped to rescue the Union forces. Melcher served to brevet major and was wounded in the Battle of Spotsylvania in Virginia, but survived the war.
He served as president of the 20th Maine Regiment Association (1876-1905). He was a successful wholesale grocer in Portland, Maine, and was twice elected mayor of the city (1889-1890). He married Alice Hart and had one daughter.
The collection contains correspondence (1860-1865), Civil War records, clippings, and other material (1863-1865). Correspondence includes letters to his brother Nathaniel, then a student at Bowdoin, and to his parents, written from the front lines at Fredericksburg, Antietam and other battle sites. Also included are general orders of the Army of the Potomac, and a consolidated morning report of the 20th Maine Regiment for March 21, 1863.
Correspondence: 1860 - 1861
Correspondence: 1862
Correspondence: 1863 Jan - Jun
Correspondence: 1863 Jul - Dec
Correspondence: 1864
Correspondence: 1865
Correspondence: partially dated
Correspondence: undated sheets
Consolidated Morning Report, 20th Maine Vols., 1863 Mar 21
General Orders II 84 and 274, Army of the Potomac, 1863
Clipping, New York Herald, 1865 Apr 15 (unauthorized reproduction)