Charles Davis Jameson

Below is a reprint of the Memoranda section for Charles Davis Jameson from the book "The Jamesons in America"[1]

Mr. Jameson, when a lad, removed with his parents to Oldtown, Maine. His opportunities for education were limited. He was reared to a hardy life, became a full-fledged down east lumberman, embarked in the lumber trade, and became one of the largest manufacturers and shippers of lumber on the Penobscot river. Meanwhile he was active in politics and an enthusiastic commander of the state militia. He did much to keep up the old military organizations of the state and to inspire and keep alive a military spirit among the men. As the colonel of a regiment of the Maine militia he was a fine officer, of commanding presence, and maintained good discipline in the ranks. He was appointed division inspector, and inspected the brigade Aug. 31, 1858, with such penetration and fidelity as to receive mention in verse, a few lines of which were as follows :

In 1860 he was a delegate to the Charleston National Democratic Convention, and was always very active in the councils of the Democratic party. In the spring of 1861, while engaged in a large lumber business along the banks of the Penobscot river, in the depths of the forest, the sound of Ruffin's shot hurled at Fort Sumter startled the country, penetrated the woods of Maine, and roused the people of the North to the unwelcome fact that war had already begun. Young Jameson, although a Democrat, was a patriot. His blood leaped in his veins at the indignity done to his country's flag and the assault made upon the integrity of the Union. Leaving his business to others, he hurried to offer his services and his life to the government in its defense against an armed and determined rebellion.

Mr. Jameson was the first man from Maine to be mustered into the service of the United States, and as commander of the Second Maine Regiment of Volunteers, he led the first troops from the Pine Tree State to the seat of war. His commission as colonel was dated May 2, 1861. He was with his regiment in the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, where his dauntless courage, the masterly handling of his troops in covering the re-treat of our demoralized forces, and his holding in check and beating back the fierce onslaught of the famous Black Horse Cavalry of the rebels, won for him and his men the admiration and high compliment of Gen. Keyes commanding the Brigade and of Gen. Tyler commanding the Division.

Col. Jameson, for his efficient and distinguished service, his marvelous heroism, and control of his troops on this occasion, was promoted, Sept. 3, 1861, to the rank of brigadier-general, and placed in command of choice New York and Pennsylvania regiments. At the head of his brigade he took a distinguished part in the battles of the Peninsula. He was always foremost in the charge. He was the first man to enter Yorktown, and fought with conspicuous bravery at Williamsburg, Mechanicsville, Malvern Hill, and at Fair Oaks, where it is said he charged along the road toward and carried the stars and stripes nearer to the city of Richmond than any one during that campaign, and in fact, nearer than it floated again until Grant led the legions of the Union army. When full three quarters of a mile in advance, and driving before him the Confederates, the darkness coming on, he received orders to fall back, which he bitterly regretted. "But for that," he said, "I would have been in Richmond that night or in heaven ! "

Such was the spirit and the fervor of the man and the great soldier. Gen. Jameson, while doing such splendid service on many bloody fields of battle, was not forgotten in his native state, but in the autumn of 1861 he received the nomination of the loyal part of the Democratic party for the governorship of Maine. But. alas, during the campaign on the Peninsula his health became shattered, and he who had fought so bravely the enemies of his country, was a doomed victim to disease. He refused, however, to leave his command and his duties until the mark of death was on his brow.

The following letter, dictated by Gen. McClellan, shows the condition of the gallant Maine soldier, and the appreciation of his services by the Union commander-in-chief;

Gen. Jameson reached home. His brilliant military career was ended, and in the prime of life, with a glorious record, and a future of still greater promise, this statesman, patriot, and soldier failed rapidly, sank away, and died Nov. 6, 1S62, at his home in Stillwater, Me.
And now on each return of Memorial Day a small flag waves above a grave marked by a simple tablet with this inscription, beautiful in its simplicity:

CHARLES D. JAMESON.
Died
Nov. 6, 1862,
AE. 35 Years.

Within this honored grave, in this quiet and obscure resting-place, lies the man whom McClellan more than once complimented in General Orders, and of whom the poet Stedman, wilting of Kearney at Seven Pines, said :