A state with a glorious history

The menacing Gatling gun at the Maine Historical Society in Augusta.

Muskets used during the American Revolution.

Another view of the menacing Gatling gun at the Maine Historical Society in Augusta.

Union colonel Joshua Chamberlain's revolver is on display.

A make-shift Maine cannon is on display.

Water-cooled machine guns line the wall at the Maine Historical Society.

A Hotchkiss cannon is a featured piece at the Society

A Japanese mountain Howitzer is an eye-opener. There is hole in the protective shield that was pierced by an American shell, killing the gun crew.

A Lewis machine gun, featured the movie, "The Sand Pebbles," is now a museum artifact.

My wife and son stand under a Huey helicopter, the perfect symbol of the Vietnam War, is mounted just outside the Maine Military Historical Society.

My wife and I stand next to a battle tank at Camp Keyes.

"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."

Maya Angelou

AUGUSTA — We have read about these devastating weapons of the past in library books, but we never thought we would find ourselves staring down the barrels of a Gatlin gun or Hotchkiss cannon.

These were the weapons of their day, wreaking havoc on battlefields across the world, and here we were, getting up close and personal with hundreds wartime museum pieces, which are on display at the Maine Military Historical Society. The area is crowded with donated relics from wars involving Mainers who put it all on the line for their country. There are displays of artifacts from each war Mainers have served in since America's independence.

The Society is located next to Augusta Airport and Camp Keyes where a mounted Huey helicopter — the perfect symbol of the Vietnam war — stands outside the doors. The unique historical society is only open the first Sunday of the month for four hours, but appointments can be made to visit the site.

When you step through the door, a polished army jeep from World War II sits off to the right. Across from this rugged jeep rests a menacing Gatlin gun, which was used to train Maine troops during World War II. Although it was obsolete by the turn of the 20th Century, Mainers trained on the vintage gun to prepare for war as hostilities spread across the globe in 1941.

The American Revolution War section features muskets used in combat and other memorabilia from a conflict that opened the door to freedom for Americans eager make their own way in the world without King George III calling the shots.

Civil war artifacts include Union colonel Joshua Chamberlain's six-shot revolver and a handful of rifles used during the Civil War. Chamberlain's heroic bayonet charge down Little Round Top during the battle of Gettysburg is remembered at the Historical Society.

The French-made Hotchkiss cannon, with its narrow barrow mounted on two large carriage wheels, is small but packed a punch with its .42-caliber shell. The cannon was first used in the American Indian and Spanish American wars.

There is also a display of various water-cooled machine guns, including the Colt and Maxim machine guns. There are also  tank-killing guns and a captured Japanese mountain howitzer. There is a hole in the howitzer's protective shield that was pierced by an American shell and killed the cannon's crew.

But astute visitors will realize that the Maine Military Historical Society deserves more than a large room to pay homage to Mainers who went to war for their country.