Joshua Chamberlain

Joshua Chamberlain – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Explore the life of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain — from humble beginnings in Maine and his academic path to heroism in the the Civil War, to political leadership and his enduring legacy. Discover his famous statements and lessons drawn from his life.

Introduction

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (born September 8, 1828 – died February 24, 1914) was an American college professor, Union Army officer, politician, and intellectual. He is most celebrated for his valor during the Battle of Gettysburg, where he led a dramatic bayonet charge to hold Little Round Top. Later, he served four terms as Governor of Maine and as President of Bowdoin College.

Chamberlain is remembered as a model of honor, leadership, and duty. His life combines scholarship and soldiering, public service and personal integrity. In this article, we trace his biography, contexts, achievements, and share some of his enduring remarks.

Early Life and Family

Joshua Chamberlain was born in Brewer, Maine (then a small community across the Penobscot River from Bangor) on September 8, 1828.

His family had a tradition of military service: his grandfather served as a colonel during the War of 1812.

Growing up in a rural Maine setting, Joshua showed early interest in languages, reading, and learning. He attended Major Whiting’s military academy in Ellsworth, Maine, and was largely self-taught in classical languages to prepare for college. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.

In 1848, he gained admission to Bowdoin College (in Brunswick, Maine) after self-study of Greek and Latin.

After Bowdoin, he spent time at the Bangor Theological Seminary in pursuit of religious studies, though he later abandoned a career in theology. Fanny Adams (a cousin and adopted daughter of a clergyman).

By that time, he had begun teaching at Bowdoin College—first logic and theology, then rhetoric, oratory, and eventually modern languages.

Thus, before the outbreak of the Civil War, Chamberlain was known in Maine as a learned, articulate, and moral man—rooted in classical education, faith, and public duty.

Youth, Education & Intellectual Formation

Chamberlain’s educational and intellectual formation is a key to understanding how he bridged the worlds of scholarship and war.

• At Bowdoin, he excelled in languages, oratory, literature, and ethics. He also taught in the college curriculum: rhetoric, logic, and natural theology.

• He developed facility in multiple languages — classical languages, and modern ones — which shaped his analytical mind, his eloquence, and his sense of discipline.

• His moral and religious roots (Congregationalist/Calvinist leanings) were influential in his character—he maintained faith and ethics as central to his identity.

• When the Civil War began in 1861, though college administrators at Bowdoin wished to shield him from enlistment, Chamberlain insisted on participating. He took a leave and volunteered for Union service.

His mindset combined intellectual curiosity and strong moral conviction. That foundation would later inform his leadership style, decision-making under pressure, and his postwar career.

Military Career & Achievements

Early Service & Commission

• Chamberlain began his military service in 1862, being commissioned as Lieutenant Colonel of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

• The 20th Maine was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, V Corps.

• In June 1863, after his superior (Colonel Adelbert Ames) was promoted, Chamberlain became Colonel of the regiment.

Battle of Gettysburg: Little Round Top

Chamberlain is best known for his role at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863:

• His regiment was placed on the far left of the Union line, at Little Round Top, a key position.

• Under relentless Confederate attacks (notably by the 15th Alabama), Chamberlain’s men held firm even as ammunition ran low and casualties mounted.

• In a moment of crisis, he ordered a bayonet charge downhill, swinging the left flank forward in a hinge-like motion, driving back the enemy and securing the Union line.

• That bold maneuver is often credited with preventing the Confederate forces from flanking the Union army.

• For his actions at Gettysburg, he was later awarded the Medal of Honor (in 1893).

Later Battles & Wounds

• Chamberlain was wounded severely at Second Petersburg in June 1864: shot through the hip and groin, with the bullet exiting his left hip. Surgeons considered it mortal. Yet he survived and returned to service.

• In early 1865, he was wounded again (in arm and chest) near Quaker Road, in a shot that nearly forced amputation.

• Despite these injuries, he continued to command, participating in the Appomattox Campaign and present at the surrender of Confederate forces.

One of his most symbolic acts came at the formal surrender at Appomattox Court House (April 1865). Chamberlain was selected (or volunteered) to command the Union infantry in the surrender parade. As Confederate soldiers marched by, he ordered his men to come to attention and “carry arms” as a mark of respect—an act some Union hardliners saw as controversial, but one he justified as dignity and reconciliation.

He was brevetted Major General of Volunteers on March 29, 1865.

In total, Chamberlain fought in roughly 20 major battles and many skirmishes, had multiple horses shot out beneath him, and was often wounded.

Political, Academic & Postwar Life

After the war, Chamberlain’s life entered a second phase of public service and scholarship.

Governor of Maine

• Chamberlain was elected Governor of Maine in 1866, taking office January 2, 1867, and served four one-year terms until January 1871.

• His tenure was marked by fiscal conservatism, support for public education, and controversy—such as debates over capital punishment and control of state militia.

• In 1880, during a contested gubernatorial election in Maine, an armed standoff erupted in the state house. Chamberlain, as commander of the Maine militia, intervened, sent home armed men, and maintained control until the legal resolution.

Academic Leadership & Later Career

• In 1871, Chamberlain became President of Bowdoin College, his alma mater. He held that position until 1883, when ill health forced his resignation (largely due to lingering war wounds).

• After leaving academia, he practiced law in New York for a period, held a federal appointment as Surveyor of the Port of Portland, Maine, engaged in real estate ventures (including in Florida), and was active in civic organizations.

• In 1898, during the Spanish–American War, he attempted to rejoin the military in command, but due to poor health was passed over.

• He also helped found the Maine Institution for the Blind (later The Iris Network), influenced by the fact that his wife Fanny had visual impairment.

• Throughout his later years, Chamberlain remained a prominent speaker, writer, and civil war commemorator. He published The Passing of the Armies (a memoir of the Appomattox Campaign) posthumously in 1915.

Death & Legacy

Chamberlain died on February 24, 1914, in Portland, Maine, aged 85. last casualty of the Civil War.

He is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, Brunswick, Maine.

His home in Brunswick is preserved as the Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum, managed by the Pejepscot Historical Society, which holds many artifacts (his original Medal of Honor, relics, documents). Gettysburg where he is portrayed by Jeff Daniels), historical studies, and public commemorations.

Historical Context & Significance

• Chamberlain’s emergence as a college professor turned soldier reflects a broader theme of the Civil War: that it drew people from civilian life into wartime decisiveness and reshaped careers and identities.

• His defense of Little Round Top at Gettysburg became legendary in shaping narratives of courage, leadership under pressure, and the turning point of the war.

• His salutary gesture to Confederate troops during the surrender at Appomattox is often cited as a symbol of reconciliation and respect even amid conflict.

• Postwar, his leadership in politics and academia underlined the idea that war veterans could transition to civil leadership and intellectual roles—a model for public service in Reconstruction-era America.

• His life also highlights the long-term personal cost of war: chronic injuries, health struggles, and how those burdens shaped his later years.

Many modern historians urge that beyond Gettysburg, Chamberlain’s full life—the teaching, the governance, the intellectual contributions—deserves deeper study, not just his battlefield heroism.

Personality, Leadership & Traits

Joshua Chamberlain was often described as dignified, moral, self-disciplined, and courageous. His temperament blended academic thoughtfulness with bold decisiveness.

He was deeply religious and believed in moral duty. His leadership style emphasized calm authority, respect for soldiers, and leading by personal example rather than coercion.

Despite great suffering from wounds and chronic pain, he remained service-oriented, public-minded, and intellectually active to the end.

His eloquence, capacity for self-reflection (through letters, speeches, memoirs), and his capacity to integrate moral conviction into action have made him a lasting figure in American memory.

Famous Quotes of Joshua Chamberlain

While fewer in number compared to politicians or authors, Chamberlain’s writings and speeches contain striking lines. Here are some notable ones:

• “In great deeds something abides.”

• “We zealously desired that no passionate outburst at the last moment should mar the grand scene of the surrender.”

• “But faith, and hope, and patience, and endurance make me strong.”

• “Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”

(These lines are drawn from his memoirs, speeches, and correspondence; they resonate with his ethos of perseverance, dignity, and moral steadfastness.)

Lessons from Joshua Chamberlain

1. Courage can be born of conviction
   Chamberlain was not a lifelong soldier, but his moral, intellectual, and patriotic convictions motivated him to act decisively in crisis.

2. Leadership demands both firmness and respect
   His actions at Gettysburg, and especially at the surrender, show that strength can be coupled with dignity and humanity.

3. Never abandon one’s higher calling
   Even amid war and political life, he strove to maintain the scholar’s mind, the teacher’s voice, the moral compass.

4. Service doesn’t end with the battlefield
   His postwar civic, educational, and political roles show that leadership is not just in war, but in building society after conflict.

5. The costs of service are enduring
   Chamberlain’s wounds and lasting health challenges remind us that sacrifice often carries long shadows, and resilience is as much a test as bravery.

Conclusion

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain stands as a multifaceted figure: professor, soldier, politician, moral exemplar. His defense of Little Round Top is often the highlight in public memory, but his full career—his intellectual life, his civil service, his moral leadership—offers a more nuanced, inspiring portrait.

His life invites us to ask: how do we act with integrity under pressure? How do we transition from crisis to peace, from war to building? His legacy encourages both valor and dignity, public duty and private reflection.