The Indelible Scars of Private Hutchinson, Maine 15th Infantry Regiment

Private Albert E. Hutchinson of the 15th Maine Regiment survived thirteen long and dreary months of imprisonment in a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp, an experience so horrific he made two unsuccessful attempts at escape. It was over thirty years before he could tell his story of abandonment by his own regiment in Louisiana and incarceration in Texas. Surprisingly, his greatest trauma came after the war, when the released POW arrived home as a ‘straggler\u27 neglected and disregarded by officials and citizens in his home state. The glorious welcome other veterans received contrasted starkly with his shoddy treatment. Private Hutchinson’s confrontation with thirty years of bitterness provides interesting insight into the psychology of war and patriotism. Frederick Hoyt is Emeritus Professor of History at La Sierra University in Riverside, California. He holds a Ph.D from Claremont Graduate University and is a veteran of the Pacific Theater in World War II. His research interests include naval, Civil War, and Maine history