Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence

Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence (1828–1913), professor of rhetoric at Bowdoin College when he joined the 20th Maine Regiment as lieutenant colonel in 1862. He commanded the 20th at Gettysburg, anchoring the crucial far‐left flank of the Union army during the fight for Little Round Top. When his troops ran out of ammunition and looked to him, he ordered and led a bayonet charge which routed the Alabama regiment in front of him. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, and rose to brigadier general by war's end. He was later governor of Maine and president of Bowdoin. He wrote a good account of the last campaigns of the Army of the Potomac in the East, The Passing of the Armies (1915). He figures centrally in Shaara's novel The Killer Angels.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-ChamberlainJoshuaLawrence.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-ChamberlainJoshuaLawrence.html

Learn more about citation styles

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain 1828–1914, Union general in the Civil War, b. Brewer, Maine, grad. Bowdoin, 1852, and Bangor Theological Seminary, 1855. He taught at Bowdoin from 1855 to 1862, when he became lieutenant colonel in the 20th Maine Infantry. Chamberlain was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his defense of Little Round Top at Gettysburg (1863), and in June, 1864, Grant promoted him brigadier general of volunteers on the field for his gallantry before Petersburg. He was governor of Maine (1867–71) and president of Bowdoin (1871–83). He wrote The Passing of the Armies (1915), which deals with the final campaigns in the East.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-ChamberlJL.html

"Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-ChamberlJL.html

Learn more about citation styles

Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence

Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence (1828–1914) Union soldier, politician, and educator, born in Brewer, Maine. Chamberlain commanded the 20th Maine Infantry at Gettysburg, holding the extreme left flank of the Army of the Potomac, resting on Little Round Top, against repeated assaults (1863), for which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1893. He also commanded brigades at North Anna and Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Appomattox (1864–65).

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-ChamberlainJoshuaLawrence.html

"Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-ChamberlainJoshuaLawrence.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

In 'the shadow of a mighty presence': a family legacy.(First Lt. Dennis...
Magazine article from: Soldiers Magazine; 8/1/2009
The Grand Old Man of Maine: Selected Letters of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain,...
Magazine article from: The Journal of Southern History; 11/1/2005
Bad in general Accurate Civil War epic a battling bore.(Time Out!)
Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL); 2/21/2003
Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence images
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)