[zarf]

Chamberlain is simply one of the greatest Americans who ever lived. His accomplishments in war and in life are astounding.

He gets my vote as the most singularly underrated American citizen....ever.

[Van Jenerette]

"Joshua Chamberlain was responsible for one of the most poignant scenes of the Civil War[at Appomattox]. As the Confederate soldiers marched down the road to surrender their arms and colors, Chamberlain, on his own initiative, ordered his men to come to attention and "carry arms" as a show of respect. Chamberlain described what happened next:

The gallant John B. Gordon, at the head of the marching column, outdoes us in courtesy. He was riding with downcast eyes and more than pensive look; but at this clatter of arms he raises his eyes and instantly catching the significance, wheels his horse with that superb grace of which he is master, drops the point of his sword to his stirrup, gives a command, at which the great Confederate ensign following him is dipped and his decimated brigades, as they reach our right, respond to the 'carry'. All the while on our part not a sound of trumpet or drum, not a cheer, nor a word nor motion of man, but awful stillness as if it were the passing of the dead.

Chamberlain's salute to the Confederate soldiers was unpopular with many in the North, but he defended his action in his memoirs, The Passing of the Armies. Many years later, Gordon, in his own memoirs, called Chamberlain "one of the knightliest soldiers of the Federal Army."

Even those of us with ancestors who defended the South, have a great deal of respect for Chamberlin.

Deo Vindice

[MadeInOhio]

"He gets my vote as the most singularly underrated American citizen....ever."


That may have been true prior to publication of the "Killer Angels," but that book and the film "Gettysburg" clearly give Chamberlain his due.

[wkcoop]

It is no coincidence that Chamberlain was given the honor of accepting Lee's surrender; for he was the real hero of the Civil War.