Joshua L. Chamberlain

Picture of Joshua Chamberlain in his uniform

Joshua L. Chamberlain was born in Brewer, Maine in 1828. His home is in Maine and he was a schoolteacher in his hometown. He volunteered to join the army and was in the same Regiment as his brother Thomas. He wanted to help his country because it was at war with itself. His actions were important because the part of the battle his regiment was in affected the outcome of the battle and this battle affected the war.

The First action I will focus on is when Joshua Chamberlain was in the battle of Gettysburg and preparing for the defense of Little Round Top. This action meets my definition because he and his men had to defend Little Round Top, which was one of the most important positions to hold in order to keep the army from being flanked and destroyed by the Confederate Army. Chamberlain and his company were at their camp and awaiting orders then they were told to form up and head to the top of the hill. They were told to entrench and defend Little Round Top to the last and that they could not retreat or else the entire army would be flanked. He made sure that his regiment was well equipped and well supplied. This showed that he was a great leader to his men and that he was going to help them get through one of their toughest battles.

Picture of Little Round Top

The Second action I will be focusing on is the engagement at Little Round Top itself. This action meets my definition because he puts his life on the line to help his country. When the battle begins the 15th Alabama advances up the hill several times and they are beaten back each time. When they realize they are about to be flanked, the farthest left half of the regiment reformed the line at an angle in order to beat back the Confederate charge. As the Confederates prepared for one last charge, Chamberlain's regiment had many wounded men and casualties. He then decided that they could not beat back the next wave so he had his entire regiment fix bayonets and charge knowing that they would have the advantage of going downhill. When they charged they caused the Confederates to retreat and they took many prisoners. A quote from the movie Gettysburg that he said was, "... if you look to our left you can see there is no one there. The Union Army stops here... We cannot retreat. We cannot withdraw..." . The impact he had on his soldiers was large because he showed them that they can win by sticking it out and don't give up and he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Little Round Top.

The Confederate soldiers wouldn't have looked up to him as a hero. They wouldn't think he's a hero because they attacked him and his regiment at Gettysburg and they beat them back many times and eventually defeated them. They tried to stop him by flanking his regiment and destroying them. He avoided getting squished by setting up his regiment so that they were in an angle shape and could cover both sides they were being attacked on.

Joshua L. Chamberlain has left behind a legacy for us. It is the fact that if you are willing to put your life on the line, you can help others greatly in life-threatening situations. If you also don't give up when you are faced with a difficult challenge you can succeed. If he hasn't influenced anyone else he has influenced me.