George Bicknell joined the Fifth Maine Regiment as a private, was promoted to company sergeant after just four months, later second lieutenant, then first lieutenant and regimental adjutant. He was a seasoned soldier, devoted to his comrades in arms, and a champion of the \u201cTough Old Fifth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Years after writing History of the Fifth Maine Regiment<\/i> in 1871, Bicknell created a lecture entitled Down in Dixie: A Veteran\u2019s Story of the Civil War<\/i>. Notably, he used a \u201cmagic lantern\u201d and glass slides to illustrate the scenes he described in his talk. The novelty of this new technology (an early type of slide projector) was a draw all by itself. But by the late nineteenth century, interest in the Civil War flourished. Aging, nostalgic veterans and a country struggling with post-war Reconstruction sought to memorialize the Civil War. Bicknell hit the lecture circuit.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Bicknell\u2019s slides and notes are part of the Fifth Maine Museum collection and some of Bicknell\u2019s original glass slides and the lecture program are on display at the Fifth Maine Museum. <\/span><\/p>\n

“Company H Officers”<\/p><\/div>\n

One of Bicknell\u2019s stories was about the Fifth Maine\u2019s picket duty in April 1863 at Rappahannock. Bicknell said, \u201cThe picket lines \u2026 were so near together, that conversation between the two could be easily carried on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

“Picket Duty at Night”<\/p><\/div>\n

Camp Scene. Bicknell Lantern Slide Collection.<\/p><\/div>\n

Researchers from all over utilize the archives at the Fifth Maine Regiment Museum. Here’s an article based on our Bicknell collection.
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George Bicknell joined the Fifth Maine Regiment as a private, was promoted to company sergeant after just four months, later second lieutenant, then first lieutenant and regimental adjutant. He was a seasoned soldier, devoted to his comrades in arms, and a champion of the \u201cTough Old Fifth.\u201d Years after writing History of the Fifth … <\/p>\n

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