ROCKPORT — Many people know Maine's heroes from the Civil War, but they are only a fraction of those who contributed. On Saturday, May 25, at 2 p.m., the Rockport Public Library will host a presentation by former two-term Maine State Archivist Dave Cheever entitled, “So You Think You Know Mainers: Common Men With Uncommon Civil War Exploits.”

The talk was originally scheduled for April but was postponed due to a snowstorm. The program is being presented in partnership with The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

“The emphasis at the State Archives was on the human element of people who performed extraordinary deeds and remained obscure,” says Cheever, in a RPL news release.

This talk will explore the lesser-known stories of Mainers whose actions during the Civil War “have been lost in the crush of larger narratives.”

“Men left homes and families to go places they had never seen, to do something they had never done, and for which they were terribly unprepared,” said Cheever. “They went anyway and managed to perform heroically — for the most part.”

While serving as Maine State Archivist, Cheever led the effort to bring the agency's Civil War archives to the public as part of the observance of the War's sesquicentennial. He also served as Vice Chairman of the state's Bicentennial Commission.

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) is a fraternal organization dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of veteran heroes who fought and worked to save the Union in the American Civil War. Organized in 1881 and chartered by Congress in 1954, SUVCW is the legal heir and successor to the Grand Army of the Republic.