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Holman Staples Melcher (1841–1905) was an American Civil War officer and postbellum mayor of Portland, Maine. Melcher was a company commander in the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment that charged down Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg. ==Biography== Melcher was born in Topsham, Maine. He attended Bates College (Maine State Seminary) in Lewiston, Maine from 1858 to 1862, until enlisting as a Corporal in the Union Army on August 29, 1862. During the Civil War, he served with the 20th Maine Infantry at the Battle of Gettysburg and many other engagements. At Gettysburg, Melcher was a company commander and claimed he initiated the bayonet charge at Little Round Top. Melcher was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant in 1863 and served as acting adjutant to Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, a former Bowdoin College professor. Melcher was later promoted to captain in 1864 (serving in Companies B, F, and H over the course of the war). Eventually, Melcher was brevetted to the rank of major by the end of the war. He was badly wounded in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia, but survived the war, being mustered out on July 16, 1865. Holman Melcher later served as president of the 20th Maine Regiment Association (1876 – 1905). He published an article titled ''An Experience in the Battle of the Wilderness'' in the Maine MOLLUS's ''War Papers'' Vol. 1 (1898), based on his own experiences in that battle. Melcher went on to become a successful wholesale grocer in Portland, Maine, and was elected to two terms as mayor of the city as a Republican (1889 – 1890). Melcher was an active member of the Free Street Baptist Church.〔''Genealogical and Family History of the STATE OF MAINE, Compiled under the editorial supervision of George Thomas Little, A. M., Litt. D., http://dunhamwilcox.net/me/me_bio_melcher.htm〕 Holman Melcher first married in June, 1868 to Ellen M. McLellan, from Portland, who died in May of 1872. He then married on May 21, 1874 to Alice E. Hart, who was also born in Portland, and was the daughter of Deacon Henry B. Hart and Sarah (Hill) Hart. Melcher and Alice Hart had one daughter, Georgiana Hill,who married Harry Tukey Johnson.〔''Genealogical and Family History of the STATE OF MAINE, Compiled under the editorial supervision of George Thomas Little, A. M., Litt. D., LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY,'' New York, 1909. http://dunhamwilcox.net/me/me_bio_melcher.htm〕 Most of Melcher's papers are currently stored at Bowdoin College and the Maine Historical Society. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Holman S. Melcher」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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