About the Fifth Maine Regiment
Our Civil War History
The Civil War was the definitive experience of nineteenth century America. Even those who did not serve divided their lives into before and after “the War.”
For those who served, the effect was more profound. Nothing could have prepared them for the grisly realities of war or the soldier’s life that swung between exhausting marches, intense battles, and tedious camp life.
Little wonder then, that veterans who had endured the trials and hardship of soldiering sought each other’s company in the years afterwards. Many felt closer to their comrades in arms than they did to their own families.
The Fifth Maine Regiment Memorial Hall was built in 1888 by the veterans of the Fifth Maine Volunteer Regiment as a memorial and reunion hall. The iconic stained glass windows that honor the regiment soldiers were also a fundraising scheme to defray the cost of the building. The veterans created a quiet, almost sacred space where they gathered, reminisced, and drew comfort from each other. As time passed, the reunions grew smaller and smaller (the last one was in 1940), and the building fell into disrepair.
In 1956, The Fifth Maine Regiment building was given to the Peaks Island community by the descendants of the veterans who built it. Since then, restoration work has brought the building back to its former glory. It is an architectural gem that is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today, the building houses the Fifth Maine Museum, a museum that tells two intriguing and related stories: the history of Peaks Island from its days as “The Coney Island of Maine” to its role in World War II, and the story of the Fifth Maine Regiment.
