Colonel Charles J. Tilden: The Overlooked Leader of Maine's 16th Regiment

Quick answer: What did the 16th Maine do at Gettysburg?

On July 1, 1863, Col. Charles Tilden's 16th Maine was ordered to hold Oak Ridge at any cost while other Union troops withdrew. Nearly surrounded, the men tore their regimental flag into pieces to keep it from capture. Most of the regiment, including Tilden, was killed, wounded, or captured.

Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine get most of the attention, but John thinks Colonel Charles Tilden of the 16th Maine deserves as much. Born in 1832 in Castine, a seafaring town on Penobscot Bay, he was the son of a codfish merchant. He was commissioned in the Castine Light Infantry in 1857, the same year a financial panic ruined his father. When war came, his company went south with the 2nd Maine, and at Bull Run he volunteered to bring in wounded men under fire. Sent home to help raise the 16th Maine, he led a regiment others mocked as the "Blanket Brigade." On July 1, 1863, at Gettysburg, the 16th was ordered to hold Oak Ridge so other units could withdraw. Tilden told his men plainly that there would be no support. They held for about twenty minutes, front rank kneeling and firing while the rear loaded. When capture was certain, the men tore the regimental flag into pieces and hid them. Some of those scraps survive today. Most of the regiment's roughly 275 men were killed, wounded, or captured. Tilden was taken prisoner and later escaped from Libby Prison.

Why it matters for leaders: Leaders earn the most trust when they are honest with their people about how hard the mission is and then stay with them through it.

Q: Why did the 16th Maine tear up its flag?

A: To keep the colors out of Confederate hands when the regiment was being surrounded on Oak Ridge on July 1, 1863.

Q: What happened to Colonel Tilden?

A: He was captured at Gettysburg and later escaped from Libby Prison in Richmond.

Read the full article on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/colonel-charles-j-tilden-overlooked-leader-maines-16th-john-fenzel

By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation