As the fighting got intense during the Civil War’s infamous Battle of Gettysburg, the 20th Regiment Maine Volunteer Infantry group knew they were about to lose their vital position. In an instant, the group’s leader Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain launched a surprise offensive attack that promptly changed the tide of the battle. In fact, years later in 1893, Chamberlain was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery that day.
Chamberlain was a Maine native who came from a long line of soldiers, with ancestors having fought in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. But instead of following in their footsteps, he decided to study and become a professor. Despite having a stuttering problem as a child, Chamberlain learned over half a dozen languages and taught rhetoric and modern language courses.
However, once the Civil War started, the patriotism that ran through his veins prompted him to quit his position and volunteer his services to the Maine militia. Shortly after, he became lieutenant colonel of the 20th Maine Regiment.
The infantry group engaged in one of its first significant skirmishes in the war during the Battle of Fredericksburg in late 1862. The group of volunteer soldiers missed the Battle of Chancellorsville after suffering an outbreak of smallpox. Then they met their ultimate challenge.
On July 2, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg, the 20th Maine was ordered by Union Gen. George Meade to hold the extreme left of the Union Army’s line on the top of a hill later named Little Round Top. Knowing that the far left side of the enemy line was crucial, Confederate troops led by Gen. John Hood heavily attacked the infantry group.
Now led by Chamberlain, the group, though outnumbered, fiercely held its position. But Chamberlain knew he had to change course soon as his soldiers had run low on ammunition.
Suddenly, Chamberlain screamed, “Bayonet!” Without hesitation, his troops lowered their rifles and charged down the hill attacking their opponents with their mounted blades. The momentum of the battle suddenly changed in the favor of the Union. The Union’s victory at the Battle of Gettysburg became a major turning point in the Civil War.
Chamberlain played a small role in a few more battles before he was severely wounded during the Siege of Petersburg in June 1864. After being shot in the pelvis with a minié ball (a small, hollow-based lead bullet), the U.S. Congress gave him the rank of brigadier general thinking he would succumb to his battle wound.
However, Chamberlain survived and recovered in time to be invited by Gen. Ulysses Grant to receive the Confederate surrender of arms to end the Civil War on April 12, 1865. Chamberlain gained the respect of the defeated Confederate soldiers after he ordered his troops to salute the Confederates during the ceremony.
Overall, Chamberlain fought in 24 Civil War battles. He was wounded in battle six times and was shot off of his horse about a half dozen more. His last wound though, caused him pain for the rest of his life.
When Chamberlain retired from the military, he moved back to his home state of Maine. He used his fame as a war hero to launch a gubernatorial campaign and was elected to four one-year terms as Maine’s governor between 1867 and 1871.
Chamberlain refused to run for a fifth term and instead chose his last leadership role as the president of Bowdoin College, his alma mater. He held his role until 1883, when his health seriously declined. He suffered from pain surrounding his pelvic wound until he passed away in 1914 at age 85.
