HOME | DD

Description
"Many of us volunteered to fight for the Union. Some came mainly because we were bored at home and this looked like it might be fun. Some came because we were ashamed not to. Many came because it was the right thing to do. This is a different kind of army. If you look at history you'll see men fight for pay, or women, or some other kind of loot. They fight for land, or because a king makes them, or just because they like killing. But we're here for something new. This has not happened much, in the history of the world: We are an army out to set other men free. America should be free ground, all of it, from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow, no man born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here you can be something. Here is the place to build a home. But it's not the land. There's always more land. It's the idea that we all have value, you and me. What we're fighting for, in the end... we're fighting for each other.

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was a professor of rhetoric and Modern Language at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine when the Civil War broke out in 1861. He volunteered for the Maine militia, and was tapped to be the second-in-command of the 20th Maine Regiment when it was formed in 1862. One month before Gettysburg, he was promoted to full colonel and commander of the Regiment, having proved himself at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

On 2 July, 1863, Chamberlain led his regiment in a bayonet charge down Little Round Top into the teeth of a Confederate advance that endangered the left flank of the Union line. His decision stopped the advance in its tracks and permitted the Union victory that would follow the very next day. For his gallantry, courage under fire, and leadership, Chamberlain was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Chamberlain's speech to deserters before the battle from Gettysburg
Charge of the 20th Maine, Little Round Top (Battle of Gettysburg, 2nd day)

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain: Digital Archive offered at Bowdoin College

Description
"Many of us volunteered to fight for the Union. Some came mainly because we were bored at home and this looked like it might be fun. Some came because we were ashamed not to. Many came because it was the right thing to do. This is a different kind of army. If you look at history you'll see men fight for pay, or women, or some other kind of loot. They fight for land, or because a king makes them, or just because they like killing. But we're here for something new. This has not happened much, in the history of the world: We are an army out to set other men free. America should be free ground, all of it, from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow, no man born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here you can be something. Here is the place to build a home. But it's not the land. There's always more land. It's the idea that we all have value, you and me. What we're fighting for, in the end... we're fighting for each other.

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was a professor of rhetoric and Modern Language at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine when the Civil War broke out in 1861. He volunteered for the Maine militia, and was tapped to be the second-in-command of the 20th Maine Regiment when it was formed in 1862. One month before Gettysburg, he was promoted to full colonel and commander of the Regiment, having proved himself at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

On 2 July, 1863, Chamberlain led his regiment in a bayonet charge down Little Round Top into the teeth of a Confederate advance that endangered the left flank of the Union line. His decision stopped the advance in its tracks and permitted the Union victory that would follow the very next day. For his gallantry, courage under fire, and leadership, Chamberlain was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Chamberlain's speech to deserters before the battle from Gettysburg
Charge of the 20th Maine, Little Round Top (Battle of Gettysburg, 2nd day)

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain: Digital Archive offered at Bowdoin College