Membership in the 6th Maine Battery is open to anyone at least 16 years of age, with a serious purpose. This is a family oriented group with men, women  and children. Families are encouraged to join as there is room for everyone and period life styles and positions to be filled. Members portray a soldier of the period.

The 6th Maine Battery participates in parades and encampments, often with other Artillery, Calvary and Infantry groups. They also do presentations to schools, civic organizations and historical societies.

The 6th Maine Battery also does volunteer work at the Gettysburg Battlefield as part of the Adopt a Position Program. We have worked on the 6th Maine Battery site as well as the 20th Maine, 4th Maine and other units sites on the battlefield.

The 6th Maine Battery has two detachments. The 1st detachment is in Maine, the 2nd detachment is in Eastern Massachusetts.

 WHAT IS AN ARTILLERY BATTERY?

 Under ideal conditions, a Civil War field battery mustered 6 guns of the same caliber, each attached to a limber (a 2 wheeled vehicle with an ammunition chest) drawn by 3 pairs of horses in tandem (called lead, swing and wheel pairs), and supplied by 6 more caissons (2 wheeled vehicles, with 2 ammunition chests and drawn by limbers) each also drawn by 6 horses. Guns, limbers, and caissons were served by a traveling forge. A battery's standard strength was 155 men: a captain, 4 lieutenants, 2 staff sergeants, 6 sergeants, 12 corporals, 6 articifers, 2 buglers, 52 drivers, and 70 cannoneers. A standard supply of ammunition - a mixture of solid shot, spherical case, and canister - varied from 1200 to 1300 rounds.

 Actual war conditions forced changes. Battery strength often dropped to 4 or 5 guns and fewer horses and caissons; casualties obliged drivers and cannoneers to perform double duty.

  A lieutenant commanded a section of 2 guns, each under a sergeant - chief of the piece. The gunner - a corporal - sighted the gun, and 7 men served the piece. No 1, at the right of the muzzle, sponged and rammed; No 2 at the left inserted the ammunition and projectile; No 3 at the right of the breech, kept his left thumb over the vent when sponging and loading was done, and pricked the charge through the vent; No 4 hooked a lanyard to the primer and pulled the lanyard on the command to fire; no 5 carried ammunition from the limber chest to No 2; No 6, at the chest, cut fuses when necessary and issued ammunition to No 7, who passed it to No 5