Mainers are once again on America’s flank | Opinion
A Maine Veteran Reflects on Little Round Top and the State of the Nation
As Independence Day approaches, a Brown University senior and military veteran from Portland is urging Mainers to draw lessons from one of the Civil War's most iconic moments.
Jacob Fogel, who served in both the Navy and the Army and is finishing his degree under the GI Bill, published an op-ed this week reflecting on the Battle of Little Round Top and its relevance to the present moment in American politics.
On July 2, 1863, 386 soldiers from the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment gathered on a rocky hilltop at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The unit was made up of loggers, fishermen, laborers and farmers from across the state, some as young as 16 and many with no prior combat experience. After hours of fighting and outnumbered by Confederate forces, the regiment received the order to fix bayonets and charge down the hill in what became one of the war's pivotal engagements.
In his piece, Fogel tied that moment to current political tensions, writing that "Mainers once again find ourselves on America's flank." He argued that the state's traditions of honesty, community commitment and independence are under pressure from those who "stand to profit from our division."
Fogel also shared his family's history. His great-grandfather emigrated from Eastern Europe and worked delivering newspapers. His son became a social services lawyer, and his mother went on to practice as a breast cancer surgeon in Maine.
"What makes Maine special isn't any one family's story," Fogel wrote. "It's how these narratives merge to form a culture, one where neighbors check on the elderly during a nor'easter and work at the local food pantry as a pastime, not an obligation."
He closed with a call to action tied to the upcoming midterm elections, writing that "forces of division prepare for their final push" and invoking the same battle cry that echoed down the line at Gettysburg 163 years ago.
The essay was published as a column in the Portland Press Herald and tagged as opinion content.
