Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
Joshua Chamberlain House. Photo: Pejepscot Historical Society
Few figures connect Maine so powerfully to the defining events of the Civil War as Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. A teacher, soldier, governor, and college president, Chamberlain is remembered nationally for his leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg. In Maine, his story remains especially rooted in the communities and institutions preserving his legacy.
Chamberlain was born in Brewer on September 8, 1828. He came to Brunswick as a student at Bowdoin College, graduating in 1852, and later returned to teach rhetoric and modern languages. He married Fannie Adams, raised a family, taught at Bowdoin, and eventually served as the college’s president. Even during his years as governor, he continued living in Brunswick and traveled to Augusta when state business required.
When the Civil War began, Chamberlain had no formal military training and Bowdoin was reluctant to lose one of its professors; they offered him an opportunity to study languages in Europe. Instead, in 1862, he volunteered his services to Maine and was appointed lieutenant colonel of the newly organized 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
Chamberlain’s defining military moment came on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. The 20th Maine was positioned on Little Round Top at the extreme left of the Union line. Its assignment was critical: the regiment had to hold its ground and prevent Confederate forces from turning the Union flank.
Throughout the fighting, soldiers of the 20th Maine endured repeated attacks, mounting casualties, and dwindling ammunition. As their ability to continue firing weakened, Chamberlain ordered a bayonet charge down the rocky slope. The maneuver helped drive back the Confederate assault and secure the Union position.
The defense of Little Round Top became one of the best-known episodes of the Civil War. Chamberlain was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his leadership at Gettysburg. Chamberlain ultimately participated in numerous engagements, was wounded six times, and nearly died from a severe wound received at Petersburg. In April 1865, he was selected to oversee the formal surrender ceremony of Confederate arms and flags at Appomattox Court House.
After returning to Maine, Chamberlain was elected to four consecutive one-year terms as governor, serving from 1867 through 1871. His administration encouraged economic development, agricultural education, and settlement in northern Maine.
In 1871, he returned to Bowdoin College as president. He sought to modernize its curriculum by placing greater emphasis on science and engineering, reflecting lessons he had learned from military organization and technology.
Chamberlain spent far more of his life as an educator and public servant than as a soldier. Yet the events at Little Round Top became inseparable from his identity and from Maine’s place in the national memory of the Civil War.
