BRUNSWICK

A special cancellation bearing the likeness of former Maine governor and Civil War hero Joshua Chamberlain was made available outside the Chamberlain Museum Wednesday, drawing stamp collectors and Civil War enthusiasts.

The special cancellation was available Wednesday only on Medal of Honor stamps.

The image of Chamberlain on the cancellation was designed by the Pejepscot Historical Society — which owns and operates the museum — and approved by the U.S. Postal Service.

A cancellation is a marking that prevents a stamp from being reused, and is typically done before a parcel is mailed. The Chamberlain cancellation was done in partnership between the Pejepscot Historical Society and Brunswick’s post office.

The Brunswick Post Office started discussions with the museum about a special cancellation last year, said Postmaster Timothy Mayo, after Chamberlain’s original medal of honor was rediscovered and donated to the museum.

Jean Dvorak of Brunswick came to see what’s new in the museum, after having seen “Chamberlain,” and to get the canceled stamps for her father, a Civil War buff.

“I think there’s not enough patriotism,” said Dvorak. “I think we are of the generation in which patriotism still resonates.”

Performers from Maine State Music Theatre’s production of “Chamberlain — A Civil War Romance,” dressed in period garb, sang standards from Chamberlain’s era. Bob Macfarlane, who performs first person presentations in the guise of Chamberlain, was on hand to pose for photos and recalled details of Chamberlain’s life, and his actions at the Battle of Gettysburg.

But one of the biggest draws for many on Wednesday was the chance to see Chamberlain’s two medals of honor together in the same place.

Chamberlain was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1893 in recognition for leading the 20th Maine Infantry on a bayonet charge down Little Round Top at Gettysburg.

The Medal of Honor’s design was updated and the medals redistributed to previous recipients in 1904. Congress later agreed recipients could keep both medals, so long as both were not worn at once. Chamberlain’s re-issued medal is owned by Bowdoin College, where he served as a professor and college president.

The original medal was donated anonymously to the Pejepscot Historical Society in 2013 after being discovered in the back of a book in Massachusetts.

Troy Ancona of Durham has been a guide at the Chamberlain Museum for 14 years. He said he was also excited about seeing the two medals together, possibly for the first time since Chamberlain’s death.

“More than just Chamberlain, I think it just represents the sacrifices of the men of Maine,” Ancona said. “Obviously we’re connected with Chamberlain, but there’s a whole regiment of men underneath him. This is their medal. This is Maine’s medal.”

jswinconeck@timesrecord.com