Portrait, Colonel Francis E. Heath, 19th Maine

by American Landscapes

Title

Portrait, Colonel Francis E. Heath, 19th Maine

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American Landscapes

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Photograph - Photograph

Description

Photographer: Unknown
Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-cwpb-04806
Source: Civil war photographs, 1861-1865, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Colonel Francis E. Heath was a capable, disciplined, and courageous officer who helped guide the 19th Maine Volunteer Infantry through some of the fiercest fighting of the American Civil War. Born in 1827 in Maine, Heath mustered into service with the 19th Maine in August 1862 and quickly gained a reputation for bravery and determination. Serving initially as Lieutenant Colonel, Heath saw his first combat during the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, where the regiment encountered its baptism of fire. Following the resignation of Colonel S.E. Sewall in February 1863, Heath was promoted to Colonel on March 2, 1863, just months before the Battle of Gettysburg. His leadership would prove pivotal in that climactic engagement.

The 19th Maine was positioned along Cemetery Ridge, and as retreating Union troops fell back through their position with Confederates pressing the advance, Colonel Heath wisely ordered his men to lie prone to allow the retreating soldiers an unencumbered path. When the moment came, Heath gave the order to rise and fire at near point-blank range, just 30 yards from the advancing Confederate line which staggered and halted the enemy. Heath ordered seven more withering volley's from that position before shouting the command to fix bayonets and charge, leading his men forward in a bold counterattack. The 19th Maine drove the Confederates back nearly to the Emmitsburg Road, capturing many prisoners, two stands of colors, three pieces of artillery, and four caissons—equipment that had previously fallen into enemy hands. Heath’s leadership at Gettysburg was not without personal cost. With his regiment at the forefront of Pickett's Charge, Heath was wounded in the attack, yet he remained in command.

After the Confederate surrender in April 1865, Colonel Heath returned to Maine and resumed civilian life. He remained active in veterans’ affairs and helped preserve the legacy of the regiment and its men. Though not a national figure, Heath is remembered in Maine’s Civil War history as a man of action, composure, and leadership under fire, a field officer who led from the front and never asked his men to go where he himself would not. He died in 1897, one of the many steadfast Union commanders whose names may not be widely known, but whose service was essential to Union victory.

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September 25th, 2025

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