Holman Staples Melcher (; June 30, 1841 – June 25, 1905) was an American military officer, businessman, and politician active during the Reconstruction Era. A faction of historians and soldiers controversially contend that he led the downhill bayonet charge of Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg. Aside from his feats during the American Civil War, he served two one-year terms as the Mayor of Portland, Maine, from 1889 to 1890. He first began his formal military career in the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which was mustered in and equipped in August 1862. The regiment was assigned to the V Corps of the Army of the Potomac, and first engaged in combat at the Battle of Shepherdstown. During the Battle of Antietam, the 20th Maine was held in reserve on a hill near the Pry Farm. During the Battle of the Wilderness, Melcher led a small company of seventeen men through a forest along the Orange Turnpike needed for alignment with the adjoining company. After being surrounded he ordered his men to lie on the ground and start shooting; they captured thirty Confederates and sustained only minor injuries. His involvement in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia resulted in his promotion and serious injury. While engaging in the war, he was promoted three different times; starting with First Lieutenant in 1863, Captain in 1864 and Brevet Major at Spotsylvania. He was in three different companies during the war, later served on the division staff and was mustered out on July 16, 1865. Early life and education Melcher was born in the small town of Topsham, Maine, on June 30, 1841. He was born to James and Nancy Melcher. His father, a farmer, was a native of Brunswick, Maine and his mother was the daughter of Captain Nehemiah Curtis of Harpswell, Maine, who traces his lineage to colonizing New Englanders. As a young boy Holman Melcher worked on his family farm with his brother, Nathaniel, and his sister, Mary. He initially began schooling in towns near Topsham, in a small school district. After graduating from secondary school he enrolled at Bates College (then known as Maine State Seminary), at age fifteen. He was enrolled at the institution from 1858 to 1862, in Lewiston, Maine. In the spring of 1861, there was an attack on Fort Sumter, which took the nation into the Civil War. During this time