ON GREAT FIELDS:
The Life and Unlikely Herosim of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
By Ronald C. White
Chamberlain’s fame waned after his death in 1914 but with the release of Michael Sharra’s Pulitzer Prize winning historical novel, Killer Angels, Ken Burns’ PBS series on the Civil War, and the release of Ronald Maxwell’s film Gettysburg, Chamberlain was again in the public’s mind. So much so that the most visited place on the Gettysburg Battlefield is now Little Round Top.
On Great Fields is a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, an Amazon “Editors’ Pick,” and an extremely well-researched and annotated work. It is also a beautiful book with excellent maps and a prodigious number of photographs. It is the definitive work on Chamberlain’s life and no doubt will be a classic.
The book is not a detailed
account of Chamberlain’s service during the Civil War, however. That is not to say that
his Civil War years are not covered because they are and well, but of the
book’s 483 pages, only 114 are devoted
to his Civil War service. Moreover, it is not until page 123 that the author
begins to cover that part of Chamberlain’s life.
The author
tells Chamberlain’s story from the perspective that there is much more to his
story than his experienced during the Civil War. As the author states, “After the war, he would go on
to occupy more varied positions than any Civil War veteran: professor,
governor, college president, popular lecturer, and author. I have come to
believe that it is not simply his heroism in the Civil War, but the diverse
vocations he held that make his story so compelling.”
The book is
divided into five parts: Part I: Formation, 1828 to 1855; Part II: Professor,
1855 to 1862; Part III: Soldier, 1862 to 1865; Part IV: Leader, 1866 to 1883; and Part V: Interpreter, 1883 to 1914. The author devotes 118 pages to
Chamberlain’s formation and seven-year career as a college professor and
states, “I believe many modern biographies move too quickly through their
subject’s younger years. The assumption
is that readers want to get to the story of the subject’s adult
accomplishments. Yet early years are the
formative period of a person’s life.
Chamberlain’s basic values were formed and shaped as the eldest child of
Calvinist parents, and then during four years of classical curriculum at
Bowdoin College and his oft-overlooked three years of theological education as
a Bangor Theological Seminary student.
The
following may surprise about Chamberlain: he stuttered as a youth, was fluent
in nine languages, strongly considered a vocation as a Calvinist minister, was
a much sought-after public speaker after the war, had a troubled but long marriage to Frances Caroline Adams (known as Fanny), loved music, played the
bass viol and organ, and was called “Lawrence” by his family.
Part I
relates that Chamberlain was born and spent his childhood in Brewer, Maine, on
his family farm. His father wanted him
to pursue a military career and seek an appointment to West Point, but his
mother wanted him to pursue a vocation in the ministry. Chamberlain didn’t like
either choice and, to defer deciding, he opted to attend Bowdoin College, in
Brunswick, Maine (the top destination in Maine for higher education). He began
a long and storied relationship with Bowdoin College that would take him to its
presidency in his post-war years. After
graduation, he decided to attend the Bangor Theological Seminary to prepare for
a Christian ministry.
During his
time at Bowdoin, he led Brunswick’s First Parish Church Choir where he met
Fanny, who was playing the organ. She was three years older, and they had a
five-year courtship, including a difficult separation of three years when Fanny
was teaching in Georgia. Fanny had problems with her eyes that eventually led
to her being blind in her senior years.
The author felt that Chamberlain’s time at the Seminary was important to include and states, “His three years at Bangor Theological Seminary have received no more than several sentences in all previous Chamberlain biographies. Yet his experiences at this Congregational seminary between 1852 and 1855 and between his ages twenty-four and twenty-seven are crucial to understanding his life story. For here his three years as a student would be key in the formation of his beliefs and values.”
Chamberlain
considered being a missionary in a foreign country or in the far western part
of the United States. He received offers
from two Maine churches to be their pastor. He was selected to give the
commencement address at the Seminary as well as to give the masters oration at
Bowdoin’s 1855 Commencement, after which Bowdoin would confer upon him the
degree of Master of Arts. The speech at
Bowdoin was an overwhelming success and immediately after, Bowdoin’s president
offered Chamberlain a teaching position. He had to choose between being a
college professor or a minister. He
chose to become an academic.
Part II
details Chamberlain’s seven years as a professor at Bowdoin. He was a great
educator, beloved by his students and admired by
his colleagues. He witnessed 269 Bowdoin students depart to fight in the Civil War. He
would have known all these students and he corresponded with many who had
enlisted in the Union army.
Chamberlain
and Fanny would marry on December 7, 1855. His two brothers, Horace and John, were
students at Bowdoin when he was a professor there. In August of 1856,
Chamberlain became a full-time professor of Rhetoric and Oratory. This was an
important faculty position for as the author states, “In the middle of the
nineteenth century, the discipline [rhetoric] still occupied a central place in
curriculums of American colleges. It was
considered a critical part of what it meant to be an educated person.”
Chamberlain
became a father while on the Bowdoin faculty. His daughter Grace (called Daisy)
and, subsequently, his son, Harold Wyllys joined
the family.
On July 1,
1862, after the Union defeat at Bull Run, President Lincoln called for three
hundred thousand more men. Thirteen days later, Chamberlain wrote to Maine’s
governor to offer his services to the state and to
the Union. The governor offered him a colonelcy and
command of one of five new Maine regiments being formed in response to
Lincoln’s call. Chamberlain accepted the governor’s offer but stated that
because he had no experience in military matters, he would prefer to have a
lower rank in order that he might learn.
On August
8, 1862, Maine’s governor appointed Chamberlain lieutenant colonel of the 20th Maine Volunteer Regiment. He also appointed Adelbert Ames, a West Point
graduate, colonel of the 20th.
Part III
relates Lawrence’s war service with descriptions of the battles in which he
participated. The maps and photographs accompanying the narrative are very
helpful.
The 20th Maine mustered 979 men (including Tom, Chamberlain’s younger brother) and was
part of the Army of Potomac’s 5th Corps, 1st Division, 3rd Brigade. The 20th came to the war 16 months after the firing on Ft.
Sumter. Its first battle was Antietam, where the 20th and the rest
of the 5th Corps were held in reserve.
The 20th's
next battle was Fredericksburg, where it advanced over open ground toward
Marye’s Heights and was pinned down, spending 36
hours so close to Confederate lines that the men could
hear the voices of the Rebel troops. When the 20th was relieved, it
retreated along with the rest of the army across the Rappahannock.
Subsequently, the men of the 20th participated in Burnsides’ famous
“Mud March.” With Burnsides’ resignation,
Joe Hooker assumed command of the Army of the Potomac and ordered distinctive
corps badges for each of the five corps in the Army of the Potomac. The 5th Corps’ badge (and the 20th Maine’s) was the Maltese Cross.
The 20th did not participate in the Battle of Chancellorsville because it was
quarantined with smallpox. Shortly after it went into
quarantine, Ames was promoted, and Chamberlain was elevated to command the 20th.
The author
devotes twenty-four pages to the Gettysburg Campaign and the 20th Maine’s famous defense of Little Round Top. Several maps and photos accompany
this excellent portion of the narrative.
Following
Gettysburg, Chamberlain became ill and was diagnosed with “nervous exhaustion,”
which meant extreme physical fatigue. On July 30, he travelled to Washington
for care and was granted a fifteen-day leave.
While on leave, he received a request from the Third Brigade Commander,
James Rice (who had become a close friend), asking if Chamberlain could return
to duty to command the Third Brigade so that Rice could visit is wife.
Chamberlain did return to learn that Rice had been promoted to Brigadier
General and would no longer command the Third Brigade, which meant that
Chamberlain would become the Third Brigade commander. He had mixed emotions
about this promotion as it meant he would no longer command the 20th Maine.
Chamberlain
contracted malaria in mid-November 1863 and
became gravely ill. After being hospitalized, he went home to recover. He
returned to Washington in February 1864, but
because he was not fully recovered, he was assigned to court martial duty. Chamberlain rejoined the army during the
battle of Spotsylvania Court House. However, due to a restructuring by General
Grant, Chamberlain would no longer command the Third Brigade, but would return
to command the 20th Maine.
After
Spotsylvania, Grant ordered the Army of the Potomac to Petersburg where the 20th Maine attacked PGT Beauregard’s troops, who
occupied a line of redoubts. Chamberlain was gravely wounded by a minie ball
during the assault. The author states: “The conical bullet penetrated just below
Chamberlain’s right hip and ripped through his body, severing blood vessels,
scraping his bladder and urethra, and smashing bone before stopping at the edge
of his left hip.” Chamberlain relinquished command and was carried from the
field. The field surgeon could not locate the bullet and told Chamberlain that
his wound was fatal.
Tom
Chamberlain, hearing that his older brother was
fatally wounded, hurried to find two surgeons
from the Third Brigade. These surgeons were very accomplished and found and
removed the bullet. This was great progress, but Chamberlain was still in
danger and thought he would die. He was transported to City Point where a steamer
took him to the U.S. general hospital at the Naval School at Annapolis,
Maryland.
Governor K.
Warren, commanding the 5th Corps, wrote to Grant, saying Chamberlain “expresses the wish that he may receive the recognition of
his service by promotion before he dies for the gratification of his family and
friends, and I beg that, if possible, it may be done.” Grant responded by
issuing an order promoting Chamberlain to Brigadier General of Volunteers “for
meritorious services on the field of battle.”
In
September, Chamberlain was furloughed. He was still weak and returned to Maine.
He recovered sufficiently so that by mid-November, he was able to join the army
at Petersburg. In January, he was again ordered on sick leave and went to
Philadelphia for a second surgery, after which he went home. In March, he had recovered sufficiently to return to
Petersburg and the command of his brigade.
Grant
ordered General Sheridan to link up with General Warren’s 5th Corps to turn
Lee’s right flank. Chamberlain’s First Brigade, positioned at the Lewis farm,
was ordered to lead the attack. Chamberlain was wounded once again but remained
in the fight. He was promoted to Major General for conspicuous gallantry in
this action.
Chamberlain’s
brigade participated in the pursuit of Lee’s army as it fled west toward its
end at Appomattox Court House. As a personal honor, likely conferred by Grant,
Chamberlain was designated to command the surrender ceremonies. He placed his
Third Brigade (including the 20th Maine) on either side of the road the Confederates would use during the surrender ceremony. As the Confederate
troops approached, Chamberlain ordered his command to salute his former
enemies. The Confederate troops returned the salute.
Part IV
details Chamberlain’s post-war professorship at Bowdoin. He was in great demand
as a speaker about his experiences during the conflict. He suffered from
depression brought on by his need to have additional surgery and the knowledge
that he would never fully recover from his wounds.
Chamberlain
ran for governor of Maine and won. He served an almost unprecedented 4 terms at
the end of which he offered his services to the King of Prussia in the
Franco-Prussian war, but his offer was apparently not accepted as he received
no reply to his offer.
Following
his stint as governor, Chamberlain became president of Bowdoin college for twelve years.
At that time, he accepted an appointment to lead the Maine state militia, which
was mostly an honorary position in a barely functioning organization. However,
after the 1880 election for governor, there was a significant dispute about who
won the election, culminating in armed men approaching the capitol. The Governor
issued a special order, “Major General Joshua L. Chamberlain is authorized and
directed to protect the public property and institutions of the State until my
successor is duty qualified.” Chamberlain was again a hero and single-handedly
stopped what would have been great bloodshed. The rightful candidate, Daniel F.
Davis, a Republican, took office.
Part V
narrates Chamberlain’s resignation from the presidency at Bowdoin and his
career as a much sought after lecturer on the Civil War. He also pursued
business opportunities in Florida, but, unlike his lectures, these business
ventures were never successful.
Chamberlain
returned to Gettysburg in 1889 to commemorate the battle of Little Round Top
with survivors of the 20th Maine.
He spoke at the dedication of the 20th Maine’s monument on
Little Round Top. At the courthouse on Gettysburg’s town square, he spoke again
and famously concluded his speech as follows:
In great deeds, something abides. On great fields something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear, but spirits linger to consecrate the ground for the vision-place of souls. And reverent men and women from afar, and generations that know us not and that we 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.
In 1893,
Chamberlain was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for “daring heroism
and great tenacity in holding his position on Little Round Top against repeated
assaults and carrying the advance position on Great Round Top.”
Fanny died
in 1905 and Chamberlain was experiencing frequent health issues that kept him
bed ridden. Nevertheless, he kept writing about the war and was able to give an
occasional speech. He was also working on a book that he titled The Last Campaign of the Armies. His
health prevented his participation in ceremonies marking the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Succumbing
to infections from his war wounds and pneumonia, 85-year-old Chamberlain died
at home in Portland on February 24, 1914. He is buried in the Pine Grove
Cemetery in Brunswick, next to Fanny.
His
daughter and son finished the book Chamberlain had begun and had almost
finished. Entitled The Passing of the Armies: An Account of the Final Campaign of the Army
of the Potomac, based upon Personal Reminiscences of the Fifth Army Corps, it
was released in April 1914. In 2003,
a statue of Chamberlain was erected in Brunswick, and he is now the leading
subject of the major Civil War artists, depicted more frequently than Grant,
Sherman, Sheridan, McClellan, and Meade.
Mr. White concludes the book as follows: “I’ve come away from Chamberlain’s compelling and complex life story believing it to be much more than a nineteenth-century Civil War tale—at its heart, it poses a question with many possible answers: What makes a hero—what background, what behavior, what beliefs, what circumstances, what records, what outcomes? At the end of this book, I turn that question over to you.”
This is
fine book and belongs on the shelves of anyone interested in Chamberlain and
his life and times. Spend time with it and unpack the rich history it unveils.
You won’t be disappointed.
_________
Henry M. Rivera is a long-time student of the Civil War and a member of the Civil War Roundtable of the District of Columbia.
