when I took his pistol) and very likely his men would have got such headway they might have swept us all back. It is important to note that Melcher's position was in the center of the regiment atop a large rock formation where the unit's monument now stands. By every account of the battle written by men of both sides, the 20th's charge began on the far left of the regimental line, a few dozen yards from Melcher's position. The famous "right wheel" of the regiment could not, by definition, have started at its center. Also, for Melcher to have initiated the charge of the left wing of the regiment, he would have had to lead his men over a 15-foot drop from the rock formation directly in front of them without breaking the regimental line, a physical impossibility. Later war service During the Battle of the Wilderness, near the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, Lt. Melcher lead a small company of seventeen men through a forest needed for alignment with the adjoining company. Due to the heavy fog and subsequent lack of vision, they failed to notice Confederate soldiers move up to their left flank and were surrounded. He ordered his men to lay on the ground and start shooting, capturing thirty confederates while sustaining only minor injuries. Three days later he was shot in the right leg following a counter-attack, during the Battle of Laurel Hill, in Spotsylvania, Virginia. He was rushed to a makeshift hospital in the Mary Washington house. Due to the level of injury sustained he was escorted to Armory Square hospital in Washington, and returned to Maine for recuperation. He returned to active duty in the fall of 1864. His involvement in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia resulted in him being promoted and serious injury. While engaging in battle he was promoted three different times; to first lieutenant in 1863, to Captain a year later, and near the conclusion of the battle he was brevetted Major. His commanding officers, impressed by him, promoted him to acting adjutant to Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. Serving under Ulysses S. Grant, and George G. Meade, he and his company were tasked with the advancement of soldiers to Laurel Hill, a position that was blocking them from Spotsylvania Court House. Confederate soldiers returned heavy fire and the initial program was unsuccessful in dislodging the Confederates. Melcher ordered