On a boulder strewn hillside in south-central Pennsylvania, a simple monument marks a pivotal place in the history of the United States. There, on a steamy July afternoon, an unlikely group of soldiers led by a theologian and college professor fought a desperate battle deciding the course of the war and perhaps of the Nation. For years their story was an obscure and forgotten part of our past and visitors to that monument would likely find themselves alone, accompanied only by the spirits of the men who fought there. Today the story is well known and recognition long since due is finally bestowed on the heroes of the 20th Maine and their gallant commander.

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was born on September 8th, 1828 in Brewer, Maine, the first born of Joshua Chamberlain Jr. and Sarah Dupee Brastow Chamberlain’s five children. The family Bible notes that his given name was “Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain,” named for U. S. Navy Commodore James Lawrence of War of 1812 fame. Known as “Lawrence” to family and friends, Chamberlain adopted the sequence “Joshua Lawrence” and signed his name “Joshua L. Chamberlain.” Military traditions ran deep in the Chamberlain family. Chamberlain’s father was a farmer but as a militia Lieutenant Colonel commanded troops during the bloodless “Aroostook War” with Canada in 1839. His grandfather, Joshua Chamberlain Sr. served as a militia Colonel in the War of 1812. Three of his great-grandfathers served in the American Revolution, and two of them in the French and Indian War.

Chamberlain’s parents differed on the career path their eldest son should pursue. Chamberlain had attended Major Whitings Military and Classical School in Ellsworth, and his father encouraged him to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point and become a professional Army Officer. His mother, a deeply religious woman, desired that he instead study for the ministry. Chamberlain did not find either choice especially attractive writing that “...Both alike offered but little scope and freedom. They bound a man by rules and precedents and petty despotisms, and swamped his personality...” Especially uninterested in the idea of serving in a peacetime army, Chamberlain agreed to enter the ministry and become a missionary to some exotic overseas land.

Following his eighteenth birthday Chamberlain taught school in North Milford and embarked on an ambitious program of study of classical literature, Greek and Latin, to gain admission to Bowdoin College in Brunswick. Entering Bowdoin in 1848 he proved an excellent scholar with a special talent for languages eventually mastering Greek, Latin, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, Arabic and Syriac. Chamberlain was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, joined the Peucinian Society, Bowdoin’s oldest literary society, and the Alpha Delta Phi social fraternity. A student of Calvin Stowe, Professor of “Natural and Revealed Religions,” he was a frequent guest at Stowe’s Federal Street home where his wife, Harriet Beecher Stowe, would entertain visiting students with her latest installment Of Uncle Tom’s Cabin prior to it’s publication in 1852.

As a Bowdoin student, Chamberlain attended services at Brunswick’s First Parish Church. There, he became the choir director and met his future wife, Frances Caroline Adams, the cousin and adopted daughter of the Reverend George E. Adams and his wife, Sarah Ann Folsom Adams. Frances, known as “Fanny,” a distant cousin of John Quincy Adams, was born in Boston in 1825. Her father, Ashur Adams, was an elderly man who rather than raise another child, sent Fanny to live with her childless cousin. Three years older than Chamberlain, Fanny was a well educated young woman and an accomplished artist and musician. Although a somewhat unconventional match for the unproven college student, Chamberlain and Fanny courted and eventually married in 1855.

Chamberlain received his Bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin in 1852 and then attended the Bangor Theological Seminary, supporting himself by teaching German and playing the organ in his hometown church across the river in Brewer. In the summer of 1855 he graduated from the Seminary. He also presented his Master’s oration at Bowdoin which combined with his graduate studies at the Seminary earned him his Master of Arts degree. His presentation entitled “Law and Liberty” deeply impressed Bowdoin’s faculty and administration. Chamberlain turned down several offers to serve as a church pastor and instead accepted an invitation to the Bowdoin faculty as an Instructor of Logic and Natural Theology and as a tutor of freshman Greek.

In 1856, Chamberlain was appointed Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory (a combination of English literature, speech and persuasive writing) and later, Professor of Modern Languages of Europe. In October, the Chamberlains had their first child, Grace Dupee, called “Daisy” by the family. Their son Harold Wyllys was born in 1858. The couple also had three children who died in infancy, a son who died shortly after birth in 1857 and two daughters, Emily Stelle who died at four months in 1860 and Gertrude Loraine who died at seven months in 1864. In 1859 the Chamberlains purchased the Brunswick home they had rented for two years and settled into a comfortable life as the family of a successful and up-and-coming Bowdoin College Professor.

In 1861 the long simmering controversy over the issue of state’s rights boiled over. Led by South Carolina, eleven southern states seceded from the Union. On April 12th, the Confederates bombarded Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor and the Civil War began. Chamberlain strongly opposed the secession of the Confederate States but, as a thirty two year old college professor and father of two young children, seemed an unlikely prospect to enlist. He differed greatly with his father’s position that the Confederates should be allowed to leave the Union peaceably and that the conflict was “...not our war.” Chamberlain followed the war’s first year with intense interest and by 1862 felt it was his duty to answer President Lincoln’s call for 300,000 more volunteers. A number of Bowdoin students had left for the Army and a number of alumni were already serving. Chamberlain’s family and friends tried to dissuade him from joining the Army however. Fanny opposed to his going to war and Bowdoin’s Board of Trustees was reluctant to lose his services to the college.

As Professor of Modern Languages, Chamberlain had lifetime tenure and was entitled to a two year, paid sabbatical to travel and study in Europe. Determined to do what he saw as his duty, he took the leave of absence from his duties at Bowdoin, but sacrificed the trip to Europe and instead offered his services to Maine’s Governor, Israel Washburn, writing that: “...this war, so costly of blood and treasure, will not cease until the men of the North are willing to leave good positions, and sacrifice the dearest personal interests, to rescue our Country from desolation, and defend the National existence against treachery at home and jealousy abroad...” Aware of his lack of military experience but confident in his academic skills, he told the Governor: “I have always been interested in military matters, and what I do not know in that line I know how to learn.”

On August 8th, 1862, Chamberlain was appointed as Lieutenant Colonel of the then forming 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Adelbert Ames from Rockland, a West Point graduate, Regular Army Officer and veteran of the first battle at Bull Run, was named as the new regiment’s Colonel. Chamberlain appeared before Bowdoin’s Board of Trustees, commission in hand and informed them that while he regretted opposing their wishes, he was taking his leave regardless. Faced with no real choice in the matter, the College reluctantly acquiesced to his departure.

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The 20th Maine formed at Camp Mason in Portland, and under Colonel Ames’ hard-nosed leadership and instruction the recruits became soldiers and gradually evolved into an organized, disciplined military unit. Ames was not popular with the new soldiers. Chamberlain’s younger brother Thomas Davee Chamberlain, was a Sergeant in Company “I.” Tom feared the men would shoot Ames given their first opportunity writing: “...Colonel Ames takes the men out to drill and he will damn them up hill and down ... I tell you he is about as savage a man you ever saw.” Only after learning the realities of combat first hand would the men realize that Ames’ tough discipline and training were necessary to ensure their survival. Following the day’s training and completion of their other duties, the regiment’s officers participated in formal training themselves, studied the infantry tactics of the day, and learned to be both soldiers and competent leaders as well. Regarding the rigorous training, Chamberlain commented in a letter to Fanny: “I study, I tell you every military work I can find. And it is no small labor to master the evolutions of a Battalion and Brigade. I am bound to understand everything.”

Following a month’s preparation, the 20th Maine traveled to Boston via train and to Washington via coastal steamer. At the Washington Arsenal the regiment drew rifles and ammunition and marched into Virginia to join the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division of the 5th Corps. While marching towards the Battle of Antietam they came across the bodies of some Confederates killed in the fighting near South Mountain. It was a sight Chamberlain never forgot: “I saw him sitting there ... this boy of scarcely sixteen summers. His cap had fallen to the ground on one side, his hand on the other resting on his knee. It clasped a little testament opened to some familiar place. He wore the gray, this was my enemy - this boy! He was dead - the boy, my enemy; but I shall see him forever.” Held in reserve at Antietam, the 20th Maine received it’s baptism by fire on September 20th during a reconnaissance at Shepherdstown Ford and saw combat in a number of skirmishes prior to the Battle of Fredricksburg in December.

Poorly planned, led and executed, Fredricksburg was a disaster. Wave after wave of Federal troops were sent against impregnable Confederate positions only to be mowed down “...handed in piecemeal, on toasting forks...” as Chamberlain described. Chamberlain watched the initial assaults from across the Rappahannock River before being ordered across the pontoon bridges and into action. “ The air was thick with the flying, bursting shells; whooping solid shot swept lengthwise our narrow bridge ... We were directed straight forward, toward the left of the futile advance we had seen so fearfully cut down ... The artillery fire made havoc. Crushed bodies, severed limbs, were everywhere around ... On we pushed, up slopes slippery with blood...” Although a Union defeat, the 20th’s training and discipline were evident at Fredricksburg and they performed admirably. They stayed on the battlefield through the next day before being withdrawn the following night. Chamberlain wrote of a ghastly night at Marye’s Heights, sleeping among the dead and taking cover behind a grisly fortification: “We took warrant of supreme necessity. We laid up a breastwork of dead bodies ... Behind this we managed to live through the day ... No man could stand up and not be laid down again hard. I saw a man lift his head by the prop of his hands and forearms, and catch a bullet in the middle of his forehead. Such recklessness was forbidden. We lay there all the long day, hearing the dismal thud of bullets into the dead flesh of our life saving bulwarks...” During the fighting he received the first of his wounds when his right ear and neck were grazed by a Confederate ball.

In the spring of 1863 the 20th was inoculated with an infected small pox vaccine and ordered into quarantine. Chamberlain’s requests that the regiment be allowed to fight during the Battle of Chancellorsville were denied and they were instead assigned to guard a telegraph line. Chamberlain however, was attached to the 1st Division’s staff and took part in action against Confederate General J. E. B. Stuart’s cavalry. Following Chancellorsville, Colonel Ames was promoted to Brigadier General and assumed command of a brigade in the 11th Corps. Chamberlain was promoted to full Colonel and took command of the 20th Maine.

On the morning of July 1st, Brigadier General John Buford’s cavalry fought a delaying action against a Confederate force three times it’s size northwest of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. General Buford recognized the strategic importance of the crossroads town surrounded by defensible ridge lines and hills. His dismounted troopers managed to hold off the advancing Confederates long enough for Major General John Reynolds’ 1st Corps to arrive and reinforce the horse soldiers with infantry. The Armies of the Potomac and Northern Virginia converged on the quiet town and opened the most decisive battle of the war.

Late in the afternoon of July 2nd, the Union’s chief engineering officer, Brigadier General Gouverneur K. Warren, was shocked to find that Little Round Top, the key position on the battlefield, was unoccupied by Federal soldiers and that Confederate troops were poised to seize it. He hurried word to Major General George Sykes, commander of the 5th Corps. General Sykes immediately sent orders to his 1st Division commander Brigadier General James Barnes, to send a brigade to defend the hill. Unable to locate General Barnes, Sykes’ courier found the 3rd Brigade Commander, Colonel Strong Vincent. On his own authority Colonel Vincent rushed his brigade into position.

Colonel Vincent placed the 20th Maine along the southern spur of Little Round Top, the extreme left flank of the Federal position on Cemetery Ridge, and instructed Chamberlain “...I place you here! This is the left of the Union line. You understand. You are to hold this ground at all hazards...” Chamberlain fully understood the criticality of his mission. If the Confederate forces were able to flank his position, they would gain the rear of the entire Union line with disastrous results and be positioned between the Union Army and the capital in Washington. What Chamberlain could not have known, was that in the event of a significant Confederate victory during General Robert E. Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania, the leaders of the Confederacy intended to present President Lincoln with an offer to pursue a negotiated peace, potentially dividing the Country permanently.

To protect his exposed left flank, Chamberlain ordered his Company “B,” under the command of Captain Walter G. Morrill, into a supporting position in the valley between Little and Big Round Tops. Battle casualties and illness had more than halved the regiment since leaving Maine ten months earlier and the 20th Maine was now defending Little Round Top with 308 officers and men.

Following a preparatory Confederate artillery barrage, Little Round Top was assaulted by the 4th and 47th Alabama regiments and the 20th Maine was hotly engaged. During the attack, Chamberlain was alerted to the movement of a number of Confederates between the Round Tops towards his left flank. This was the 500 man 15th Alabama under Colonel William C. Oates. Chamberlain countered by ordering a “refusal of the line,” a complicated maneuver where the men of the 20th extended their line to twice it’s original length and formed the left wing of the regiment at a right angle to their front as a further defense against a flanking attack. The execution of this difficult maneuver while under fire is a tribute to the regiment’s training and discipline and to Chamberlain’s resourcefulness.

When the 15th Alabama attacked what had moments before been an unprotected flank, the left wing of the 20th fired a devastating volley that momentarily stopped the assault. The Confederates quickly reformed and assaulted the position again, reached the Maine line and engaged in vicious, hand-to-hand combat. Colonel Oates believed that his men penetrated the Union lines five times but each time the Maine regiment managed to repel the assault. Chamberlain remembered that: “The two lines met and broke and mingled in the shock. The crush of musketry gave way to cuts and thrusts, grapplings and wrestlings. The edge of the conflict swayed to and fro with wild whirlpools and eddies. At times I saw around me more of the enemy than of my own men; gaps opening, swallowing, closing again with sharp convulsive energy; squads of stalwart men who had cut their way through us, disappearing as if translated. All around, strange, mingled roar, - shouts of defiance, rally and desperation; ... everywhere men torn and broken, staggering, creeping, quivering on the earth, ... Things which cannot be told - nor dreamed. How men held on, each one knows, - not I ...”

Through a rift in the smoke Chamberlain saw that the center of his line had been shot away and the colors stood alone. He recalled a stirring sight: “wreathed in battle smoke stood the Color Sergeant, Andrew Tozier. His color-staff planted in the ground at his side, the upper part clasped in his elbow, so holding the flag upright, with musket and cartridges seized from the fallen comrade at his side he was defending his sacred trust in the manner of the songs of chivalry.” Chamberlain ordered his brother Tom, now a Lieutenant, and his orderly, Sergeant Reuel Thomas, to help fill the gap. He expressed surprise that the Confederates did not exploit the weakness at the center of his line: “Perhaps they saw no weakness. Perhaps it was awe or admiration that held them back from breaking in upon that sublime scene.”

The fighting raged for over an hour and a half and the troops of the 20th were stretched dangerously thin having lost nearly a third of their strength. Many of the men had fired their issued sixty rounds of ammunition and found little more available in the cartridge boxes of the dead and wounded. Below them on the slopes of Little Round Top, the Alabama soldiers, still twice the number of the Union troops, were forming for another assault. Grimly, some Maine soldiers grasped their muskets like clubs, preparing for more brutal hand-to-hand fighting. Chamberlain knew that in it’s present condition, his regiment could not repulse another attack, but also knew that retreat was not an option. Colonel Vincent’s last order, to hold the ground at all costs, would be obeyed.

Lieutenant Holman Melcher approached Chamberlain and asked permission to move forward and rescue some of the wounded who were now lying in front of the line. Chamberlain replied: “You shall have the chance, I am about to order a charge.” He quickly issued the orders, stepped to the colors and ordered: “BAYONET! ... Forward” the rest of the command unheard amidst a roar from the regiment and the crash of bayonets being fixed to muskets. Under command of Captain Ellis Spear, the 20th’s left wing surged forward. When the left wing came abreast of the right, the entire regiment charged down the hill in a huge arc, as Chamberlain described, “swinging like a great gate on it’s hinges ...”

The attacking Confederates recoiled in terror at the sight of the two hundred screaming men charging towards them with fixed bayonets. Many retreated towards a stone wall in the valley between the Round Tops. As they approached, Captain Morrill and the men of the detached Company “B” rose from behind the wall, fired a volley into the Confederate ranks and then joined in the pursuit down the slope. Believing that he was being attacked from different directions by several Union regiments, Colonel Oates ordered a retreat. In the panic and confusion an orderly retreat was impossible and Oates admitted that “...we ran like a herd of wild cattle.”

The 20th Maine had saved Little Round Top at the most critical point in the battle. Colonel Oates would later write: “There never were harder fighters than the 20th Maine men and their gallant Colonel. His skill and persistency and the great bravery of his men saved Little Round Top and the Army of the Potomac from defeat. Great events sometimes turn on comparatively small affairs.”

Chamberlain was wounded twice during the fighting. Once, when a shell fragment or rock splinter pierced the instep of his right boot, and again when a Confederate ball struck his left thigh but was deflected by the sword scabbard hanging at his side. While these injuries were not serious, Chamberlain may have unknowingly come perilously close to death at Little Round Top. After the war Chamberlain received a letter from a soldier who had fought with the 15th Alabama: “Dear Sir: I want to tell you of a little passage in the battle of Round Top, Gettysburg concerning you and me, which I am now glad of. Twice in that fight I had your life in my hands. I got a safe place between two rocks, and drew bead fair and square on you. You were standing in the open behind the center of your line, full exposed. I knew your rank by your uniform and your actions, and I thought it a mighty good thing to put you out of the way. I rested my gun on the rock and took steady aim. I started to pull the trigger, but some queer notion stopped me. Then I got ashamed of my weakness and went through the same motions again. I had you, perfectly certain. But that same queer something shut right down on me. I couldn’t pull the trigger, and gave it up - that is, your life. I am glad of it now, and hope you are.”

The 20th Maine suffered 21 killed outright and 90 wounded, many of whom would die of their wounds. They inflicted even heavier casualties on the Confederate forces and captured over 400 prisoners from five Confederate regiments during the final bayonet charge. At dusk, although they still had not been re-supplied with ammunition, Chamberlain led his remaining men up the steep slopes of Big Round Top and seized the summit to deny the Confederates that commanding terrain.

Although now considered one of the most incredible small unit actions in United States military history, recognition for Chamberlain’s performance at Gettysburg was long in coming. Thirty years after the battle, Chamberlain received a small package in the mail. The package contained the Nation’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor for his leadership, bravery and “... daring heroism and great tenacity in holding his position on the Little Round Top against repeated assaults and carrying the advance position on the Great Round Top.”

In August of 1863, Chamberlain was given command of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division of the 5th Corps. He led the brigade during the Culpepper and Centerville campaigns that fall. Chamberlain’s skill and bravery had earned him the respect and loyalty of his men but he was also remembered as a humble man who paid great care to his brigade’s wounded and ill and shared the same harsh conditions and risks as they did. In November Chamberlain suffered a severe recurrence of malaria and came down with pneumonia. He spent the remainder of the winter recuperating in Washington and Brunswick and re-joined the brigade in May of 1864. After leading the 3rd Brigade in action at Bethesda Church during the Cold Harbor campaign, the 5th Corps re-organized and on June 5th, Chamberlain took command of the 1st Division’s 1st Brigade of six Pennsylvania regiments.

On June 18th, Chamberlain’s brigade held a position nearly a mile in front of the main Union lines at Rives Salient during the siege of Petersburg. Chamberlain received a vague, verbal order to conduct a frontal assault, across poor ground against a fortified and entrenched Confederate position. Chamberlain felt the order was suicidal having repeatedly seen the futility of similar assaults against prepared defenses. As he received the order from a staff officer he did not recognize, he requested confirmation stating that: “... From what I can see of the enemy’s lines, it is my opinion that if an assault is to be made, it should be by nothing less than the whole army.” The order was confirmed and Chamberlain informed that the whole army would attack but that due to his advanced position on the field, his brigade would lead the assault. Chamberlain felt compelled to personally lead the attack on foot. The Confederate defense was devastating and the attacking Union troops suffered terrible casualties. When the color sergeant next to him was shot dead, Chamberlain grabbed the colors himself. Turning to his left to direct his men around some swampy ground to their front, Chamberlain was shot in the right hip, the bullet crashing through the joint, severing arteries, hitting his bladder, fracturing the pelvic bone and lodging in his left hip.

Fearing that the brigade might falter if his men saw him fall, Chamberlain thrust his sword into the ground and facing his troops, used it to support himself, remaining standing as they passed around him. Weakened by the loss of blood, he finally slumped to the ground where he remained for over an hour before being removed to a field hospital three miles to the rear. Corporal James A. Stettler who was wounded earlier in the day had been on the operating table but was moved aside when the wounded Colonel was brought into the hospital. Stettler later recalled that Chamberlain rebuked the surgeon stating “Lay me to one side; I am all right. go and take care of my dear boys.” The doctors ignored his protests but after examining him declared his wound was mortal and that save making him comfortable, nothing could be done. Unwilling to accept such grim news, Tom Chamberlain, now a Captain, located Doctor Abner O. Shaw, the 20th Maine’s Regimental Surgeon, and Doctor Morris W. Townsend from the 44th New York and arrived at the hospital with them after dark. Laboring through the night to save the dying man, Doctors Shaw and Townsend performed a remarkable feat of surgery, so much so that the wound, operation and recovery were specifically reported in the official medical and surgical history of the war.

Believing he would not recover, Chamberlain wrote a farewell to Fanny the following day: “My darling wife, I am lying mortally wounded the doctors think, but my mind & heart are at peace Jesus Christ is my all-sufficient savior. I go to him. God bless & keep & comfort you, precious one, you have been a precious wife to me. To know & love you makes life & death beautiful. Cherish the darlings & give my love to all the dear ones Do not grieve too much for me. We shall all soon meet Live for the children Give my dearest love to Father & mother & Sallie & John Oh how happy to feel yourself forgiven God bless you evermore precious precious one Ever yours - Lawrence”

On June 20th, upon learning that the hero of Little Round Top has been mortally wounded, General Ulysses S. Grant promoted Chamberlain to Brigadier General for: “...meritorious and efficient services on the field of battle, and especially for gallant conduct in leading his brigade against the enemy at Petersburg, Virginia, on the 18th instant, in which he was dangerously wounded ...” General Grant later wrote of the matter: “Colonel J. L. Chamberlain of the Twentieth Maine was wounded on the 18th. He was gallantly leading his brigade at the time, as he had been in the habit of doing. He had several times been recommended for a brigadier generalcy for gallant and meritorious conduct. On this occasion, however, I promoted him on the spot, and forwarded a copy of my order to the War Department, asking that my act might be confirmed and Chamberlain’s name sent to the Senate for confirmation without delay. This was done, and at last a gallant and meritorious officer received partial justice at the hands of his government, which he had served so faithfully and so well.” Chamberlain’s promotion was the only incident during the war where Grant ordered a battlefield promotion to General officer rank.

While it would plague him the rest of his life, Chamberlain not only survived his wound, but incredibly returned to duty the following November although still unable to mount a horse or even walk any distance. During his recovery he had been offered the post of the Collector of Customs in Bath as well as his former position at Bowdoin. Chamberlain could have justifiably requested a medical discharge and his family encouraged him to leave the Army but he wrote to his father that: “I owe the Country three years service. It is a time when every man should stand by his guns. And I am not scared or hurt enough yet to be willing to face to the rear, when other men are marching to the front. It is true my incomplete recovery from my wounds would make a more quiet life desirable & when I think of my young & dependent family the whole strength of that motive to make the most of my life comes over me. But there is no promise of life in peace, & no decree of death in war. And I am so confident of the sincerity of my motives that I can trust my own life & the welfare of my family in the hands of Providence.” He was hospitalized again in December, but following an additional month’s convalescence he again returned to command of his brigade, although without the knowledge or permission of his physicians.

On March 29th, 1865, Chamberlain led his brigade against the Confederate’s defenses at Quaker Road where he was again wounded. Leading an assault, his horse charged ahead of his advancing troops. When Chamberlain reined the horse back it reared, and a bullet meant for the rider tore through it’s neck before ripping along Chamberlain’s left arm and striking his chest. Chamberlain was saved by a sheaf of field orders and a brass backed mirror in his breast pocket. Covered in his horse’s blood and his own, he remained in command and rallied his troops, cheered on incredibly by troops from both armies. He later recalled that: “I was astonished at the greeting of cheers that marked my course. Strangest of all was that when I emerged to the sight of the enemy, they also took up the cheering. I hardly knew what world I was in.” Chamberlain’s appearance was that of a dying man on a last, desperate mission and for the second time in the war, the New York papers printed his obituary. Inspired by his courage, his brigade captured the Confederate breastworks, drove the enemy from their positions and opened the way to the Boydton Plank and White Oak Roads. In the closing days of the war, Chamberlain’s men captured more than 1000 Confederate prisoners and five Confederate battle flags. For “conspicuous gallantry and meritorious service in action” during the Quaker Road engagement, Chamberlain received a brevet promotion to Major General.

On the night of April 6th, General Lee sent General Grant a message asking what surrender terms he would offer. Sadly, word of the pending surrender did not reach the units in the field and fighting continued for several days. Chamberlain learned of it on the morning of April 9th when a Confederate staff officer approached him under a flag of truce. “Sir,” he reported to Chamberlain, “I am from General Gordon. General Lee desires a cessation of hostilities until he can hear from General Grant as to the proposed surrender.” Four years after the shelling of Fort Sumter, the Civil War was over. That night, Chamberlain was summonsed to Union headquarters where Major General Charles Griffin informed him that of all the officers in the Federal Army, General Grant had selected Chamberlain for the honor of receiving the formal surrender of Confederate arms and colors at Appomattox Court House.

At Chamberlain’s request, his old 3rd Brigade including the 20th Maine was put under his command for the April 12th ceremony. Chamberlain felt that the surrender should be an occasion to welcome the defeated Confederates back into the Union and gave orders to ensure they would not be humiliated. On his own he decided that a salute of arms to the Southerners was appropriate, well aware of the responsibility and criticism that would follow. His reason he said: “... was one for which I sought no authority nor asked forgiveness. Before us in proud humiliation stood the embodiment of manhood: men whom neither toils or sufferings, not the fact of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve; standing before us now, thin, worn, and famished, but erect, and with eyes looking level into ours, waking memories that bound us together as no other bond; was not such manhood to be welcomed back into a Union so tested and assured?”

As the Confederates commanded by Major General John B. Gordon approached, a single bugle call sounded and the entire Union formation brought it’s muskets from the position of “order arms” to the position of “carry arms,” the soldier’s marching salute. General Gordon, realizing the significance of the gesture, wheeled his horse towards Chamberlain and dropped his sword point to the toe of his boot in acknowledgment. He then ordered his own troops to the “carry” position and the two armies met one last time, honoring each other in a final salute, “honor answering honor” as Chamberlain described it: “On our part not a sound of trumpet more, nor roll of drum; not a cheer, nor word nor whisper of vain-glorying, nor motion of man standing again at the order; but an awed stillness rather and breath-holding, as if it were the passing of the dead.”

On May 23rd, Chamberlain commanded the 1st Division of the 5th Corps during the Grand Review of the Army of the Potomac in Washington. After passing the reviewing stand, Chamberlain was invited by the President to join him for the rest of the great parade. Watching the Divisions and Corps march past to their dissolution and recalling the glories and tragedies of the past years was an emotional event. Chamberlain describes his feelings afterwards: “The pageant has passed. The day is over. But we linger, loath to think that we shall see them no more together, - these men, these horses, these colors afield. Hastily they have swept to the front as of yore; crossing again the long bridge and swaying pontoons, they are on the Virginia shore, waiting, as they before had sought, the day of the great return.”

Chamberlain participated in 24 battles and numerous reconnaissances and skirmishes. He was wounded in battle six times and had six horses shot from beneath him. Uninterested in serving on the western frontier, he declined a Regular Army appointment and in January of 1866 was mustered out. Now revered as one of the Nation’s most remarkable soldiers, his military career had lasted less than four years.

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