Charles H. Cobb August 8, 1863 Ezekial M. Banks, 28, of
Kenduskeag, enlisted as a private in the 16th Maine Infantry
Regiment in August, 1862. With almost no chance to say goodbye
to his wife and child, Banks was sent immediately to Maryland,
where he marched with his regiment to the battles at South
Mountain and Antietam. The Maine unit was late in reaching the
fight at South Mountain, and was held in reserve at Antietam, so
his first few months of duty were quiet. The regiment's first
exchange of gunfire, however, would be Banks' last. The 16th
Maine was engaged in the battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and
Banks was mortally wounded. When word reached his widow, she
decided that she could not stay in Kenduskeag. She moved to
Danville, and notified the Board of Selectmen there that she
needed help. Specifically, she wanted money. And, according to a
measure passed by the Maine Legislature in 1861, "An Act in aid
of families of volunteers," as the widow of a Maine soldier
killed in action, she was entitled