The Scholar of Little Round Top: Joshua Chamberlain

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was born in Brewer, Maine, in 1828. Growing up in a disciplined household, he developed an intense passion for education, mastering ancient and modern languages. By his early thirties, Chamberlain had established a respected academic career as a professor of rhetoric and modern languages at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Fluent in nine languages, he seemed destined for a quiet life devoted to scholars and books. However, as the American Civil War threatened to tear the nation apart, Chamberlain felt a profound moral duty to defend the Union. Over the objections of college administrators—who believed his talents belonged in the classroom—he requested a leave of absence and volunteered for military service in 1862.

Appointed lieutenant colonel of the newly formed 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Chamberlain approached soldiering with the same intellectual vigor he had applied to academics. He read every military instruction manual he could find, quickly mastering infantry tactics and leadership skills. His defining moment came on July 2, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. Chamberlain’s regiment was stationed on the rocky, wooded slope of a hill named Little Round Top. Occupying the extreme left edge of the entire Union army, the 20th Maine received strict orders from their commander: hold the position at all hazards. If the Confederate forces managed to capture Little Round Top, they could sweep around the Union flank and devastate the army from behind.

For nearly two hours, Chamberlain’s men endured relentless assaults from the 15th Alabama Infantry. The hill turned into a chaotic arena of heavy smoke and intense fighting. As casualties mounted, Chamberlain’s troops ran critically low on ammunition, having used nearly all their cartridges to push back wave after wave of enemy soldiers. Recognizing that his men could not survive another direct charge with empty rifles, and knowing that retreat meant total disaster for the Union line, Chamberlain made a bold and creative decision. He ordered his men to fix bayonets and prepare to charge down the hill in a swinging, wheeling motion.

When the Confederate infantry charged up the slope once more, the soldiers of the 20th Maine surged downward with a terrifying shout. The sudden, aggressive counterattack stunned the exhausted Confederate troops, many of whom dropped their weapons and surrendered on the spot. Chamberlain’s daring maneuver saved Little Round Top, secured the Union position, and helped determine the outcome of the Battle of Gettysburg. For his extraordinary bravery and decisive leadership, Chamberlain was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. After the war, he returned home to serve four terms as Governor of Maine and later as the president of Bowdoin College, forever remembered as one of the nation's remarkable hero-scholars.