Maine in the Civil War

In the new issue of Down East you'll find my feature on Maine and the Civil War, which began 150 years ago this spring.

As the piece describes, Mainers affected the war through their outsized contribution of men and material, but the war affected Maine even more profoundly, permanently disrupting its trade links, industries, political influence, and demographics.

There were even confederate raids on the Maine coast, including a shipjacking in Portland Harbor and an attempted bank heist in Calais. No wonder the federal government started upgrading all those granite forts!