Joshua L. Chamberlain

"Introduction: Joshua Chamberlain—A Life in Letters I. Formative Years (38 Letters) This includes brief biography of his childhood followed by letters through his college years. Few Chamberlain fans realize that he suffered greatly as a child from a stammering problem that greatly affected his personality. In an autobiography he wrote decades afterward, he recalled that, “the sleepless anxiety on this score was a serious wear upon the nervous system. It was not much short of agonizing ... This positive disability added to a natural timidity of self-assertion, apt to disclose itself on untimely occasions in that stupidity called bashfulness, had a decided effect on habits both of speech and action, which placed one at a serious disadvantage.” This early affliction shaped the way in which he related to his future wife, Frances “Fannie” Adams, who had her own issues having been sent from Massachusetts by her parents to be raised by a relative who was the minister at the Congregational church in Brunswick, Maine. II. Joshua and Fannie (70 Letters) These letters shed much new light on the most mysterious and defining years of Chamberlain’s life. During this time, he graduated from Bowdoin College, attended and graduated from the Bangor Theological Seminary, married, and had five children, only two of which lived into a second year. His courtship of Fannie Adams, played out in these often needy and emotionally immature letters, reveal a great deal about him and how this period effected his personality and actions in the years that followed. Much has been written about the strained relationship between Joshua and Fannie while speculating what impact this might have had on him and his actions. This is by far the largest collection of letters between them, and they will provide fertile ground for future scholars, researchers, and historians to study. III. Off to War (27 Letters) Chamberlain's desire to serve during the Civil War was thwarted by Bowdoin College's refusal to allow him a leave of absence. Undaunted, Chamberlain applied for a two-year sabbatical to study in Europe, which was awarded. Instead of journeying to Europe, he made his way to the state capitol in Augusta and offered his services to the governor. His appointment as lieutenant colonel of Maine’s 20th regiment of infantry soon followed. A military novice, Chamberlain used the ""down time"" in camp to study military history and tactics. This chapter will detail Chamberlain's initial involvement in the Union army. Using selected letters, we can see Chamberlain's evolution from a military novice to a veteran officer. IV. Gettysburg to Appomattox (23 Letters) Though most well-known for his service at Gettysburg, Chamberlain was so impressive as a field commander during the last two years of the war that Ulysses S. Grant chose him personally to command the Union troops that accepted the surrender of the Confederate Army at Appomattox. He was wounded several times, including a nearly fatal wound at Petersburg, and personally led repeated charges against the enemy in the closing weeks of the war. These letters also include more love letters to his wife, revealing his increasing difficulty in getting her to answer his correspondence. This section includes a very important letter to his wife in which he describes in great detail, directly from his notes, his experiences in the Battle of Fredericksburg. He later referred to this letter when writing his famous article, “My Story of Fredericksburg,” for Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1912. His description in that article formed a large part of an episode of the Ken Burns series The Civil War and the feature film Gods and Generals. V. The Elder Statesman (96 Letters) Following the war, Chamberlain returned home a war hero and soon found himself the preferred candidate of the Republican Party for governor. He was elected to four consecutive one-year terms and struggled with such ominous issues as prohibition (a legal premise invented in Maine at this time) and capital punishment, among other things. Letters from this period also refer to his political prowess and bravery in the great “Count-Out Crisis” of 1880. As head of the state militia, he was called on to keep the peace in the state capitol after a disputed election for governor even while armed mobs of political supporters of the two candidates threatened to capture or kill him. Conclusion: Lion of the Round Top"