#joshua chamberlain
Obit of the Day (Historical): Joshua Chamberlain (1914)
There aren few professors of classical languages who are also military legends. In fact there may be only one - Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain - who joined the Maine volunteers at the outbreak of the Civil War only to see him play a significant role in the Battle of Gettysburg, earn the Medal of Honor, and serve as a four-term governor of his home state.
Attending Bowdoin College, Chamberlain studied Greek and Latin under professor Clarence Stowe, while also listening to readings from a new anti-slavery novel written by the professor’s wife, Harriet Beecher Stowe. Upon graduation he attended Bangor Theological Seminary, but rather than becoming a pastor he returned to his alma mater to teach Latin and Greek.
At the outbreak of the war, against the wishes of the college, Chamberlain, who had absolutely no military experience, joined the Maine militia and was given the rank of lieutenant colonel in the 20th Maine regiment. He learned basic military skills through extensive reading as well as from his commanding officer, Colonel Adelbert Ames, a graduate of West Point. (Col. Ames was actually seven years younger than Chamberlain having graduated from the military academy just weeks before receiving his commission.)
The 20th Maine saw little action in the early years of the war. Mr. Chamberlain and his troops were present at Antietam but saw no action. At Fredericksburg, which led to a Union disaster under the command of Gen. Ambrose Burnside, the regiment took only minor casualties. And later at Chancellorsville, the men from Maine were, again observers. It was after the Union loss in this final battle that Col. Ames was promoted to general and Mr. Chamberlain was given command of the entire regiment.
Weeks later Chamberlain and his men were in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, part of the Union line holding a small hill dubbed “Little Round Top.” On the second day of the battle, July 3, 1863, Chamberlain and the 20th were facing attack by Confederate General John B. Hood thoughout the day. Out of ammunition and exhausted from repelling countless attacks Chamberlain gave an order to fix bayonets and charge down the hill. Using a “hinge” maneuver, the 20th Maine headed down while simlutaneously flanking Hood’s troops. They would push the rebels off Little Round Top and take 101 prisoners. Chamberlain was ill with dysentery and malaria while fighting the battle and was put on leave after the Union victory.
Chamberlain returned to command nine months later and placed in charge of the Union’s Fifth Corps. He led them during the Battle of Petersburg where he was severely injured but literally held himself upright on his sword which he planted in the ground. His actions earned him a promotion to brigadier general, although it was awarded under the assumption that Chamberlain was dying of his wounds.
Just days later General Chamberlain was placed in charge of the Union troops at Appomattox Courthouse. As the Confederate troops marched away from the scene of surrender, Chamberlain, to the outrage of some, ordered his soldiers to attention and to present arms, while saluting the vanquished foes.
After the war, like many military heroes, Chamberlain decided venture into politics and ran for governor of Maine in 1866. He set a record for most votes as well as percentage of the electorate won (62.4%). (A record he himself broke in 1868.) In the mid-19th century Maine’s guberntorial term was only one-year, and Chamberlain ran four consecutive times, winning each election.
In 1893, the 30th annivesary of Gettysburg, Chamberlain was awarded the Medal of Honor for his “daring heroism and great tenacity” at Little Round Top. Although by this point there was some debate as to whether Chamberlain actually ordered the charge, the myth had outgrown any chance of doubt and Chamberlain was a Union legend.
He made one last vain attempt to attain miliary glory by volunteering for service at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. The 69-year-old was turned down.
Active in the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization created by Union veterans of the Civil War, he was instrumental in planning the 50th anniversary ceremonies at Gettysburg but was too ill to attend. And just seven months later, at the age of 84, Chamberlain died from complications from wounds suffered 50 years earlier at Petersburg. He was the last U.S. Civil War veteran to die of war wounds.
Joshua Lawerence Chamberlain was laid to rest in Pine Grove Cemetery in Brunswick, Maine.
Sources:The Civil War Trust and Wikipedia
(The portrait of Joshua Chamberlain, circa 1865, was taken by famed Civil War photographer Matthew Brady and is in the Library of Congress. Courtesy of Wikimedia.)
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