United States History I
Professor Minter
April 18, 2013
A Brief Biography on Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was born on September 8, 1828 and died on February 24, 1914. He was originally named Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain and was an American college professor from the State of Maine, who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army. Although having no earlier education in military strategies, he became a highly respected and decorated Union officer, reaching the rank of Brigadier General and Brevet Major General. Chamberlain was born in Brewer, Maine and was the oldest of five children. Chamberlain was an extremely intelligent individual and even taught himself to read Ancient
Greek in order to pass the entrance exam for Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Main where he was accepted into in 1848. While studying at Bowdoin Chamberlain met many people that would influence him during his life, but one person in particular had an extraordinary influence due to her very popular novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Harriet Beecher Stowe enlightened Chamberlain with personal reading of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and may have even influenced him in his joining of a Federalist group of students on campus to further his political knowledge. Shortly after graduating from Bowdoin in 1852 Chamberlain married the daughter of a clergyman, Fanny Adams. They had five children together but only two survived beyond infancy. Chamberlain studied for three more years and Bangor Theological Seminary in Maine and returned to Bowdoin to begin a career in education as a professor of rhetoric. Chamberlain was so intelligent that he eventually went on to teach every subject in the curriculum with the exception of science and mathematics. Because Chamberlain spoke fluently in nine languages other than English, he was appointed Professor of Modern Languages in 1861. Chamberlain himself was not trained in military science, but felt a strong desire to serve his country I think in part because his great great-grandfathers were soldiers in the American Revolutionary War. The political tension between the Northern and Southern states leading up to the Civil War and the heavy Federalist influence he experienced at Bowdoin College also led him in his support for the Union Army. Chamberlain believed the Union needed to be supported by all those willing to fight against the Confederacy and frequently spoke about his belief that the cause was just to his students at Bowdoin. After being granted a two year leave of absence from the College, Chamberlain enlisted in the United States Army without giving any knowledge of this to his colleagues or family. Although Chamberlain was an intelligent and well-accomplished man, he maintained a humble characteristic. He was offered the colonelcy of the 20th Maine Regiment but denied the offer because he wanted to "start a little lower and learn the business first." He was appointed lieutenant colonel of the regiment on August 8, 1862, under the command of Colonel Adelbert Ames. The 20th was part of the V Corps in the Union Army of the Potomac. One of Chamberlain's younger brothers, Thomas Chamberlain, was also an officer of the 20th Maine, and another, John Chamberlain, visited the regiment at Gettysburg as a member of the U.S. Christian Commission until appointed as a chaplain in another Maine Volunteer regiment.