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In great deeds something
abides. On great fields something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear, but
spirits linger, to consecrate ground for the vision-place of souls. And reverent men and
women from afar, and generations that know us not and that we know not of, heart-drawn to
see where and by whom great things were suffered and done for them, shall come to this
deathless field to ponder and dream; And lo! the shadow of a mighty presence shall wrap
them in its bosom, and the power of the vision pass into their souls.
(October 3, 1889, Gettysburg, PA.)
~Joshua Lawrence
Chamberlain~
After visiting the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, my interest in this remarkable man
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (he preferred to be called Lawrence) was a professor of rhetoric,
and languages at Bowdoin College in Maine when the Civil War broke out. Desperate to go and
fight this battle which he viewed as a righteous one, Lawrence approached the college board and
asked to be allowed leave in order to go and fight. Fearing they would lose this extraordinarily
talented scholar, the board refused. Instead they offered him a sabbatical in Europe for two
years (this, they hoped, would keep him well out of harm's way). Lawrence accepted the
sabbatical, then promptly joined the Twentieth Maine Volunteers. During his military career
he distinguished himself through his intelligence, integrity, bravery, and kindness. After the
battle of Gettysburg one officer said to him: "Chamberlain, you have the soul of a lion. . . and
the heart of a woman."
At the
battle of Gettysburg, on July 2 1863~the second day of fighting~ Lawrence was in 
command of the troops
defending
Little Round Top, the Union's last line
of defense. There could be no retreating they
were the last, best hope. He was given the order
to hold the flank "At all hazards." He knew this
meant that the 20th Maine was to hold on until
death.
Chamberlain's unorthodox tactics of creating a
right angled line of defense as well as his call to *fix bayonets* have been credited for winning
the battle of Little Round Top, holding the high ground for the Union's next engagement
and catching many of the Confederates off guard.
During his military career Chamberlain was wounded six times, more than any other surviving
officer. The wound he sustained at Petersburg was so severe he was not expected to survive.
He had been leading his men in a charge and had been shot in the left hip, the bullet exited
through his right hip. Fearing that if he collapsed his men would stop to aid him, Chamberlain
stuck his sword into the ground before him and leaned upon it urging his men on. Once his
men had passed he collapsed. He was taken back to the field hospital. Certain that he would
not survive such a wound General Ulysses S. Grant promoted him on the spot, Chamberlain
was the only officer promoted on the field by Gen. Grant.
He did indeed survive and became a Brigadier General fighting through the Wilderness
Campaign, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbour, Petersburg, Globe Tavern, Poplar Springs Church,
Dabney's Mill, Five
Forks, and finally Chamberlain and the 20th Maine were selected to
receive the Confederate colors and arms at Appomattox Court House.
On the right you can see Lawrence's Medal of Honour
he won for his actions at Gettysburg, and a bracelet made
with the Twentieth
Maine's red cross insignia
On the right you can see Chamberlain's Medal of Honour
he won for his actions at
Gettysburg, and a bracelet made
with the Twentieth Maine's red cross
insignia.
Several years ago Michael Shaara wrote a fictionalized
account of the battleof Gettysburg, using Chamberlain as one of the main
characters. It is one of the finest pieces of historical fiction of
that period, beautifully told and historically accurate.
Years later Ted Turner turned this book into the television movie
Gettysburg. The movie was so true to the book most of the
dialogue was taken verbatim. In the film Jeff Daniels portrays
Chamberlain. Known mostly for his physical comedy it was a
surprise and a delight to
see him turn in such a fine 
performance. In the summer of 1999 filming will begin on
Gods and Generals, a prequel to Gettysburg,
and starring many of the same cast. I'm hoping Jeff is still slated to
play Lawrence.
Jeff as Col. Chamberlain
Here is an excerpt from my favorite
scene. Col. Chamberlain has just been
given command of 120 mutineers from
the now dissolved 2nd Maine.
The men had signed up for 3 years,
but they thought they were signing
up to fight only with the 2nd Maine:
"I've been ordered to take you along, and that's what I'm going to do. Under guard if necessary. But you can have your rifles if you want them. The whole Reb army is up the road a ways waiting for us and this is no time for an argument like this. I tell you this: we sure can use you. We're down below half strength and we need you, no doubt of that. But whether you fight or not is up to you. Whether you come along, well, you're coming. Well, I don't want to preach to you. You know who we are and what we're doing here. But if you're going to fight alongside us there's a few things I want you to know. This Regiment was formed last fall, back in Maine. There were a thousand of us then. There's not three hundred of us now. But what is left is choice." [He was embarassed. He spoke very slowly, staring at the ground.] "Some of us volunteered to fight for Union. Some came in mainly because we were bored at home and this looked like it might be fun. Some came because we were ashamed not to. Many of us came . . . because it was the right thing to do. All of us have seen men die. Most of us never saw a black man back home. We think on that, too. But freedom . . . is not just a word." [He looked up to the sky, over silent faces.] "This is a different kind of army. If you look at history you'll see men fight for pay, or women, or some other kind of loot. They fight for land, or because a king makes them, or just because they like killing. But we're here for something new. I don't . . . this hasn't happened much in the history of the world. We're an army going out to set other men free. This is free ground. All the way from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow. No man born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not by what your father was. Here you can be something. Here's a place to build a home. It isn't the land--there's always more land. It's the idea that we all have value, you and me, we're worth something more than the dirt. I never saw dirt I'd die for, but I'm not asking you to come join us and fight for dirt. What we're all fighting for, in the end, is each other."
(The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara) (Thank you Michael and Jeff for writing these books, for making history, our history, live again.)
This is a picture from
Little Round Top
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