The First Congregational Church of Wiscasset was founded 250 years ago on Aug. 6, 1773. As part of the 250th celebration, the church is offering weekly historical snippets about the church and its early years. The 250th celebration will culminate in a weekend of events including an organ concert by Joel Pierce at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, followed by a tea, and a celebration Sunday church service at 10 a.m. Sept. 10 followed by a reception. Visitors are welcome at all weekend events. Please visit this historic church any Sunday, at 28 High St., Wiscasset. For more information, phone the church office at 882-7544.  

We hope you enjoy the following historical article.   

Contents of the Coffer – Civil War Letters 

There are quite a few letters from two members of the First Parish church, a father and son, who fought in the Civil War. The son, Alfred B. Whitney, who was only 16 when he went to war with his father, talks more about their sleeping quarters and what food they ate and very little about the horrors of the war, although he did mention when writing to his aunt and uncle, that “I commence with asking you when you answer this not to write any doleful letters but be kind enough to write pleasant letters as you ought to do all you can to cheer the soldiers up.” He also wrote “Father’s horse was killed by a solid shot or unexploded shell at Spotsylvania. Father was holding the horse by the bridle reins and was on foot. The shell came within a foot of father’s head.” June 30, 1864. 

The father, S. B. Whitney writes, to his brother and sister-in-law, “wish I could spend a week with you and will when this cruel war is over, which I think will be soon, and if you had been here last week, you would think so too, we had a fight here on Saturday morning. The Rebs broke through a place called Muddy Bottom that was not picketed and surprised our lines, got into two of our Forts, called Fort Steadman and Fort Hascal. We rallied and the killed and wounded were many but have not heard the estimate yet. Our Battery has the credit of staging the greatest number of Rebs of anyone, as we ran our pieces up on the hill opposite the Fort called Steadman, and when they tried to leave that Fort for their lines, we poured volley after volley from our guns and they fell like grass before the mowers scythe. I have yet to say that through the providence of God that the 11th Mass. Battery came out of the fight without the sign of a scratch or the appearance of a Fight.” March 28, 1865.