The Lincolnville Community Library presents a compelling historical lecture, “A Maine Soldier from Lincolnville in Sheridan’s Cavalry; His Fight at St. Mary’s Church, and His Life as a POW in Richmond”, on Wednesday, June 18, at 6:30 p.m. This special event will spotlight the experiences of Pvt. George S. Ames, a Civil War soldier from Lincolnville who served in the First Maine Cavalry, Company B.

Guest speaker Dr. David Urquia, a retired Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University and an esteemed Civil War historian, will lead the presentation. Urquia will provide an in-depth account of Pvt. Ames’s role in the Battle of St. Mary’s Church, Virginia, in June 1864, his capture and imprisonment in Richmond, and his subsequent hospitalizations in Richmond, Virginia, and Augusta, Maine.

Drawing from original U.S. Army communications and personal letters penned by Pvt. Ames between June 23–25, 1864, Urquia will also examine the broader context of Grant’s Overland Campaign, including the pivotal cavalry engagements at Trevilian Station and St. Mary’s Church.

With more than 35 years of medical practice specializing in adult spinal surgery and a lifelong passion for Civil War history, Dr. Urquia has dedicated extensive research to the 1864 Virginia theater and the fate of Maine soldiers. This will be his first presentation focusing on a Lincolnville native, offering unique local insight into the war’s enduring human stories. Urquia and his wife, Dody Laite Urquia, live in Lincolnville.

This event is free and open to the public.

"Join us for an evening of history, remembrance, and discovery," said the library, in a news release.