Pullen, John (1913 - 2003)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction - Scholarly

Pullen, born in Amity, Maine, graduated from Colby College and from Ricker Classical Institute in 1935. He served as an Army captain during World War II and worked as a newspaper reporter in Maine and as an advertising vice president in Philadelphia, PA before retiring in 1965 to devote himself to writing.

He was one of Maine's most highly respected Civil War historians. His Twentieth Maine: A Volunteer Regiment in the Civil War is a masterful combination of scholarship and dramatic narrative. First published in 1957 and re-issued numerous times, it tells the story of the Twentieth Maine, commanded by Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, and its decisive role in the Battle of Little Round Top at Gettysburg. The book is included in Scarborough Public Library's The Mirror of Maine: One Hundred Distinguished Books That Reveal the History of the State and the Life of its People as it "has influenced the nation's views of Maine's contribution to the war."

He died at home in Brunswick, Maine, on 25 Feb. 2003.

Selected Bibliography

  • A Shower of Stars: The Medal of Honor and the 27th Maine (1966)
  • Joshua Chamberlain: A Hero's Life and Legacy (1999)
  • Patriotism in America: A Study of Changing Devotions, 1770-1970 (1971)
  • The Transcendental Boiled Dinner (1972)
  • Comic Relief: The Life and Laughter of Artemus Ward, 1834-1867 (1983).

Selected Links