Chamberlain Statue Nearing Completion in Brunswick, Maine

"(The Civil War) was a turning point in our history," said Deborah A. Smith, executive director of the Pejepscot Historical Society, told the Portland Press-Herald. "It's helped us define ourselves, from civil rights issues to the labor movement. The war and Chamberlain are symbols of that."

I seem to detect the oder of PC piety even here.

Isn't it time we moved on? </sarcasm>

Oh, I thought this was going to be about Neville Chamberlain.

I think they're building a statue of him in Berkeley...or is it Marin County? One of those "Liberal" enclaves where he's considered a hero.

I'm a reb, but glad to see this one. Chamberlain was called "the knightliest" of the Union and I believe this to be true. Good man and soldier.

The statue, by Swanville artist Joseph R. Query, will be erected later this fall or early next year on a grassy mall across from the intersection of Maine and Potter streets.

And...

Theo Holtwijk, Brunswick's director of planning and development, says the town has agreed to seal off the entrance to Upper Park Row, which connects to Maine Street, near the First Parish Church. That will create a grassy park with enough space to erect two granite pedestals for the statue to rest on.

Sounds like a traffic nightmare. Does Gov. King still live right there?

I saw the headline. I thought they were making one of Wilt. Now, that would be impressive.

Bump.

I thought they were making one of Wilt. Now, that would be impressive.

Yeah, but the statue is only eight feet high. Shouldn't it at least be life-sized?

Not for long, he will soon be getting into is RV with his ill gotten gains and returning to Ole Virgnie.

In ME at least the south rose again and got its revenge.

Did she mention "states rights" or big government????

There's an excellent short story in the collection "Alternate Generals" that has Chamberlain attacking the hill, while his brother tried to defend it against the Confederate charge ...

Chamberlain watered his troops, sent them around further (and faster) and defended the stone wall against the side volley that helped break the final Confederate charge in the actual battle ....

And took the mountain top when the Union troops ran out of ammo and tried their bayonet charge.

This turned the Union flank, and Gettsyburg was lost.

Joshua Chamberlain was one helluva man : a school teacher who left wife and family behind to fight for his country; whose only knowledge of war was the books of classic tactics he studied up on right before the battles.

In helping defend Gettysburg,he persuaded a group of slackers, who were about to be shot for desertion,to make amends by joining his company and helping him hold the line.

Hold the line he did:using oblique fire to decimate a charge on Little Round Top, which , had it been successful,would have turned the Union flank, and won the battle for the South.

Previously an unknown, whose volunteers were scoffed at by Regular Army officers, he became one of the best known, and most widely respected leaders in the Union Army.

Sounds like a traffic nightmare. Does Gov. King still live right there?

King is hightailing it back to VA. He could care less.

In ME at least the south rose again and got its revenge.

LOL! Boy did it EVER! It took King 8 years to run Maine into the deep hole of debt. Now, he is running tail back to VA. How the 'ell that man got elected for that second term is beyond me!

He didn't get my vote, remember he was running against connelly the bush killer.

Actually they were not slackers. They wer soliders who had been lied to by their recruiter, they thought they were 90 day men and their enlistsments had ran out.

No one would listen to them, and they were given to Chamberlain to be shot.

He listened to their griveances, and said he couldn't help them at that time, they could come along or stay there.

He didn't enough people to guard them.

They chose to go with cause he was the only one who cared enough to listen.

For a self taught General he didn't do half bad, Two MOH's.

Grant chose Chamberlain to receive the formal surrender of weapons and colors (12 April 1865). Always a chivalrous man, Chamberlain had his men salute the defeated Confederates as they marched by, evidence of his admiration of their valor and of Grant's wish to encourage the rebel armies still in the field to accept the peace.

Grant chose Chamberlain to receive the formal surrender of weapons and colors (12 April 1865). Always a chivalrous man, Chamberlain had his men salute the defeated Confederates as they marched by, evidence of his admiration of their valor and of Grant's wish to encourage the rebel armies still in the field to accept the peace.

He did it without orders and took some heat in the press afterwards as I understand it. But his action did much to start the healing process and was in the spirit of Grant's terms. General Gordon on the Confederate side returned the salute and Gordon ordered his men to return the honors as they passed. He allowed his defeated foe to maintain their honor and its still not forgotten.

One of the best summations of the life of General Chamberlain was written by Stan Clark of Gettysburg, PA, in the preface to the book ‘Bayonet Forward: My Civil War Remembrances, by Joshua Chamberlain’:

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain spent less than four of his eighty-five years in the service of the Army of the Potomac during the War Between the States. However, it is this short period of his life for which he is best known.

Little is said of his pre- and post-war accomplishments. But his contributions in civilian life were typically as important as those he spent in the war. He attended Bowdoin College and graduated in 1852 with honors in all departments. He continued his studies at the Theological Seminary at Bangor and served as supervisor of the Brewer Schools. Later he was appointed Professor of rhetoric, oratory and modern language at Bowdoin College. After the war, he launched his political career with a stunning landslide victory that catapulted him into four terms as governor of Maine. Following his profession in government, Chamberlain was named president of Bowdoin College. Still later, the President of the United States appointed him as Commissioner of Education to the World’s Exposition in Paris. In this capacity, he was awarded the French Medal of Honor. Returning home, he rose to become the president of a railroad construction company and was later appointed by President McKinley as surveyor of customs for the port of Portland. This was the position he held until his death in 1914. It is interesting to note that General Chamberlain has been and will undoubtedly continue to be venerated by writers and journalists.

After the war, his stirring orations were in great demand. He was often called upon to deliver the keynote address for a variety of occasions, but especially for gatherings of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. At these affairs, General Chamberlain reminisced about his most memorable and poignant experiences in the war …. They reveal his intense, often passionate feelings for his country, the stirring accounts of his wartime experiences, and the love he shared for the men under him. He also showed compassion and sensitivity to the Confederate soldiers who had opposed him. The qualities and values he held were esteemed far above many of his contemporaries. These same virtues commanded tremendous respect from his men, making Chamberlain one of the finest officers ever to serve in the Army of the Potomac.

The general served in over twenty-eight engagements, representing battles considered to embrace the most ferocious fighting of the war, including: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Five Forks. He was wounded six times, and two of these were nearly fatal. He entered the war in August, 1862 as Lieutenant Colonel of the Twentieth Regiment of Maine Volunteers. By May, 1863, he had been promoted to full Colonel. Two months later, he led his regiment to fame and glory with his epic struggle to defend Little Round Top at Gettysburg. His heroic actions at this battle resulted in his being awarded the coveted Medal of Honor.

After becoming seriously ill at Rappahannock Station, he was forced to convalesce, yet returned to fight again, in May, 1864, in time to participate in the Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor and Petersburg campaigns. It was at Petersburg, in June, 1864, after being severely wounded, that Ulysses S. Grant promoted him, in the field, to Brigadier General. General Grant did not expect Chamberlain to live and wanted to pay homage to this subordinate and allow him to die at that rank. But, to everyone’s surprise, the tenacious fighter cheated death and returned to fight with General Sheridan on the battle for Quaker Road, where he was again wounded.

On March 29, 1865, Chamberlain was brevetted Major General, in time to take part in the bitter struggle on the White Oak Road. Here he received additional wounds on the battlefield, but stubbornly chose to remain with his beloved Fifth Corps to fight at Five Forks, where he distinguished himself once again.

Grant, in his admiration for Chamberlain, designated him to receive the first flag of surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, April 12, 1865. He was chosen to receive the formal surrender of arms and colors of the Confederate Army. At that time, he rendered one of the most memorable and gallant acts of the war by giving a final salute to the soldiers of the Confederacy as they laid down their arms. General Chamberlain closed the war in a most fitting manner, by leading the Grand Review of the Army of the Potomac down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington.

It is not surprising so many people are attracted to the great strength in the personality that made up this magnificent man. Nor is it any wonder that he is fast becoming one of America’s greatest loved folk heroes. There have been few men who have captured the hearts and imagination of America as has Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. It is to his memory that this compilation is dedicated, in the hopes that it will inspire in this and generations to come, a sense of patriotism and love of country that was ever present and exemplified in the life of this beloved General.

One of Chamberlain’s most passionate accounts (offered during his speech at the dedication of the Monument to his 20th Maine Regiment, October 3rd, 1889):

In great deeds something abides. On great fields something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear; but spirits linger, to consecrate ground for the vision-place of souls. And reverent men and women from afar, and generations that know us not and that we know not of, heart-drawn to see where and by whom great things were suffered and done for them, shall come to this deathless field to ponder and dream; and lo! The shadow of a mighty presence shall wrap them in its bosom, and the power of the vision pass into their souls …. This is the great reward of service. To live, far out and on in the lives of others …. To give life’s best for such high stake that it shall be found again unto life eternal.

How about a statue of a Wilt Chamberlain "in your face" slam dunk on Josh?