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Civil War Sabres, Swords, & Bayonets
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Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain Early life Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was born in Brewer, Maine, the eldest of five children. In time, he developed strong abolitionist views. Chamberlain entered Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, in 1848 and graduated in 1852. He was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society, and a brother of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity. He married Fanny Adams, daughter of a clergyman, in 1855, and they had five children, one of whom was born far too prematurely to survive, and two of whom died in infancy. Chamberlain studied for three additional years at Bangor Theological Seminary in Bangor, Maine, returned to Bowdoin and began a career in education as a professor of rhetoric. He eventually went on to teach every subject in the curriculum but mathematics. Besides English, he was fluent in nine other languages: Greek, Latin, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Arabic, Hebrew, and Syriac. Civil War service Chamberlain's great-grandfathers were soldiers in the American Revolutionary War and his grandfather had served during the War of 1812. His father also had served during the abortive Aroostook War of 1839. Chamberlain himself was not trained in military science, but felt a strong desire to serve his country. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Chamberlain wished to enlist, but the Bowdoin College administration felt that he was too valuable to the college faculty. Chamberlain asked for a leave of absence (supposedly to study languages for two years in Europe), but then promptly enlisted. Offered the colonelcy of the 20th Maine Regiment, he declined, according to his biographer, John J. Pullen, preferring to "start a little lower and learn the business first. " He was made lieutenant colonel of the regiment on August 8. The 20th was part of the Union Army of the Potomac. Chamberlain fought with the regiment at Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, where he was promoted to colonel of the regiment upon the promotion of its first colonel, Adelbert Ames. One of Chamberlain's younger brothers, Thomas Chamberlain, was also an officer of the 20th Maine, and another, John Chamberlain, traveled with the regiment as a member of the Christian Commission until appointed as a chaplain in another Maine Volunteer regiment. Battle of Gettysburg Chamberlain achieved fame at the Battle of Gettysburg, where his valiant defense of Little Round Top became the focus of many publications and stories. Sent to defend the southern slope of Little Round Top by Col. Strong Vincent, Chamberlain found himself and the 20th Maine at the far left end of the Union line, with the 83rd Pennsylvania, 44th New York, and 16th Michigan infantry regiments to their right. He quickly understood the tactical significance of Little Round Top, and thus the need for the 20th Maine to hold the Union left at all cost. The men from Maine waited until troops from the 15th Alabama regiment (under Col. William C. Oates) charged up the hill, attempting to flank the Union position. Time and again the Confederates struck, until the 20th Maine was almost doubled back upon itself. With many casualties and ammunition running low, Col. Chamberlain recognized the dire circumstances and ordered his left wing (which was now looking southeast, compared to the rest of the regiment, which was facing west) to swing down like a door. From his report of the day: "At that crisis, I ordered the bayonet. The word was enough." The 20th Maine charged down the hill, using an unusual tactical maneuver of having the extreme left wing wheel continually to make the charging line swing like a hinge thus creating a simultaneous frontal assault and flanking maneuver, capturing many of the Confederate soldiers and successfully saving the flank. Chamberlain was slightly wounded in the foot at that battle by a spent bullet. Later in 1863, he developed malaria and was taken off of active duty until he recovered. Brigade command In May 1864, Chamberlain returned to the Army of the Potomac and was promoted to brigade commander shortly before the Siege of Petersburg. There, in an action at Rives' Salient, Chamberlain was shot through the right hip and groin. The wound was considered fatal by the division's surgeon, who predicted he would perish; Chamberlain's ostensible death in battle was reported in the Maine newspapers, and Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant gave Chamberlain a battlefield promotion to brigadier general. Some sources believe this was the only such promotion ever given by Grant.[citation needed] Not expected to live, Chamberlain displayed surprising will and courage, and was back in command by November. Although many, including his wife Fanny, urged Chamberlain to resign, he was determined to serve through the end of the war. Given command of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of V Corps, Chamberlain continued to act with courage and resolve. On March 29, 1865, Chamberlain's brigade participated in a major skirmish on the Quaker Road during Grant's final advance that would finish the war. Despite losses, another wound (in the left arm and chest), and nearly being captured, Chamberlain was successful and brevetted to the rank of major general by President Abraham Lincoln. In all, Chamberlain served in twenty battles and numerous skirmishes, and was wounded six times. Receiving the Confederate surrender at Appomattox On the morning of April 9, 1865, Chamberlain learned of the desire by Lee to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia when a Confederate staff officer approached him under a flag of truce. "Sir," he reported to Chamberlain, "I am from General John Gordon. General Lee desires a cessation of hostilities until he can hear from General Grant as to the proposed surrender." That evening, Chamberlain was summoned to Union headquarters where Major General Charles Griffin informed him that of all the officers in the Federal Army, General Grant had selected Chamberlain to preside over the ceremony of the surrender and parole of the Confederate infantry at Appomattox Court House on April 12. Thus Chamberlain was responsible for one of the most poignant scenes of the Civil War. As the Confederate soldiers marched down the road to surrender their arms and colors, Chamberlain, on his own initiative, ordered his men to come to attention and "carry arms" as a show of respect. Chamberlain described what happened next:
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