Andrew Jackson Tozier, commonly known as A.J. Tozier, Sr., was born in Monmouth, Maine, on February 11, 1839. He was son of John H. Tozier and Cathirza (Arno) (Cushman) Tozier. When he was a child, his family removed to Plymouth, Maine, and at about the age of ten years Andrew left home and went to sea. He returned home in 1861 and enlisted in the Company F of the 2nd Maine Infantry Volunteers.

A.J. Tozier is best known for his actions on Little Round Top during the battle of Gettysburg which resulted in his being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. It should be noted, however, that prior to his transfer to the 20th Maine Infantry Volunteers and the battle of Gettysburg, A.J. Tozier had experienced an incredible amount of combat. He had been wounded four times, taken prisoner by the Confederates, paroled by the Confederates to a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, and returned by a prisoner exchange to the Union Army. He would suffer from the effects of his wounds for the rest of his life - particularly from a Minie ball which lodged in his skull behind his ear.

After his discharge, A.J. married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bolden of Litchfield. He and his family lived for a time with his former commanding officer, Joshua Chamberlain, who was then the president of Bowdoin College. He would later purchase a farm in Litchfield on Hardscrabble Road. He died in 1910 and is buried in the Litchfield Plains Cemetery. Among his descendents still living in Litchfield are: Helen (Tozier) Allen, Marlene (Tozier) Cook, and Lorraine (Woodman) Kenny.

Much more information about this remarkable man is available through the Historical Society of Litchfield.

Andrew J Tozier