Joshua Chamberlain, Maine Patriot, was one of many courageous, honorable and humble leaders during the Civil War. Several regular readers of Civil War Bummer have requested additional information regarding the post-war exploits and adventures of some of the renowned individuals detailed on this site.
Chamberlain left the army soon after the war ended, going back to his home state of Maine and was elected and served as Governor of Maine for four, one year terms, 1866-1869. After leaving political office, he returned to Bowdoin College. In 1871, he was appointed president of Bowdoin and over the next twelve years he revolutionized the school’s curriculum and updated its facilities. Chamberlain remained in that position until 1883, when he was forced to resign due to ill-health from his war wounds.
In 1893 Chamberlain was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg. The citation reads,
“Rank and organization: Colonel, 20th Maine Infantry. Place and date: At
Gettysburg, Pa., 2 July 1863. Entered service at: Brunswick, Maine. Born: 8
September 1828, Brewer Maine. Date of issue: 11 August 1893. Citation: 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 1898, he volunteered for service in the Spanish-American War and was bitterly disappointed when his request was turned down.
To the end of his life, Chamberlain was active in the Grand Army of the Republic and made many return visits to Gettysburg, giving speeches at soldiers’ reunions. He served as Surveyor of the Port of Portland, Maine, a Federal appointment, and engaged in business activities, including real estate dealings in Florida. Chamberlain also wrote several books about Maine, education, and his Civil War memoir, The Passing of the Armies. In 1855, Chamberlain had married Fanny Adams, the daughter of a local clergyman, Fanny had five children with Chamberlain and remained with him until her death in 1905. Of the couple’s five children, three died in infancy. As Fanny aged, her sight deteriorated, leading Chamberlain to become a founding member of the Maine Institution of the Blind in 1905.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain died at age 85, of an infection of his wartime wounds, in 1914 at Portland, Maine, and is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, Brunswick, Maine. He had been wounded six times and had three horses shot from under him. Chamberlain was the last Civil War veteran to die from wounds received in battle.
Statues of Chamberlain grace the landscapes and parks of the northeast, including Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine and his home town of Brewer, Maine.
A favorite Chamberlain quote is an example of his eloquence and humility,
“In great deeds, something abides. On great fields, something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear; but spirits linger, to consecrate ground for the vision-place of souls… generations that know us not and that we know 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; and lo! the shadow of a mighty presence shall wrap them in its bosom, and the power of the vision pass into their souls.”
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was one of many heroes of “Little Round Top,” but will always be remembered as a Maine Patriot and Great American and now you know the rest of his story.
Bummer
