The Maine bugle ... campaign; 1-5 Jan. 1894-Oct. 1898 - Maine.gov

366 THE MAINE BUGLE.
the Eighth Maine was taken to Port Royal. Mr. Soule was
purser aboard the transport that took them out, and by mistake
was once ordered under arrest by Gen. Boynton. This brought
Gen. Boynton to his feet, and he told how the arrest came to be
made. He was looking for another man, and his general resem-
blance to Mr. Soule, led to the arrest, and prompt discharge of
that gentleman.
Rev. H. A. Philbrook of Watertown, Mass., chaplain of the
regiment, moved the appointment of a committee of three to
bring to the attention of the members of the next Maine legis-
lature the matter of assisting in the publication of histories of
the different Maine regiments. He suggested that it might be
well to ask the State to buy a certain number of copies to be
placed in public libraries, and otherwise distributed through the
State. Mr. Philbrook said that in his opinion this was the only
way by which there could be saved to the State much valuable
historical material. He would have the histories largely the
work of the comrades themselves, and to render the work of
the editorial committee just what the term would imply. He
thought that one great fault common to many of the regimental
histories should be avoided. There would seem to be no neces-
sity for the giving of a long preliminary sketch of the causes
that led up to the war. Mr. Philbrook also referred to the
Maine Bugle as a most appropriate organ, showing the actual
life of the soldier, and remarked that the articles in the BuGLE
from Chaplain Wright and the story of Erastus Doble's capture,
prison life and escape were worth many times the subscription
price of that magazine.
Gen. Boynton said that was his idea exactly. He would
make the histories to be written just what a regimental history
should be, a sketch of what the different members saw ot the
war and the part they took in it. There would occur to every
man present special acts of bravery on the part of comrades
living and dead that should find a place in such a history.
Don't make it too formal. Gen. Boynton said there was no
doubt that the State ousht to assist in the work. It had been