Posted on 07/03/2012 3:28:07 PM PDT by BigReb555
Do you know who Gen. Robert Edward Lee, Major Gen. George Edward Pickett and Major Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain were?
(Excerpt) Read more at canadafreepress.com ...
With all the TV Shows, Public Television specials and Hollywood movies, wouldn’t it be nice to see a weekly show that focused on the historic times in our nation’s history?
Do you know who Gen. Robert Edward Lee, Major Gen. George Edward Pickett and Major Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain were? Are children still taught about these men and all those who met on that hallowed ground of the War Between the States battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania? Some call the Gettysburg Battlefield the most haunted place in America because so many thousands died on that fateful-hot summer month of July 1863. There were more casualties there than any other battle of the War Between the States.
And did you know that….
Richard “Dick” Poplar a Black Confederate rode with the 13th Virginia cavalry. He was captured during the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg. Poplar then served 5 months at Fort Delaware and 14 months in Point Lookout Prison and refused to sign the Oath of Loyalty that would have freed him in the first month of his captivity. He proudly told his captors that he was a Jefferson Davis man. He survived this infamous prison by practicing his trade as a baker. Upon his death Poplar was given a full military funeral and was eulogized as a Son of the South.
It has been nearly a century since….
America celebrated her 137th birthday and from June 29 to July 4, 1913, 53,407 Confederate and Union Veterans of the War Between the States came to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for a 50th Anniversary Reunion and encampment commemorating that fateful battle of 1863. Veterans came from 47 of the 48 states of the Union and the Chief Surgeon said of the event, quote “Never before in the world’s history had so great a number of men advanced in years been assembled under field conditions” unquote.
It was the largest combined reunion of War Between the States Veterans.
“Comrades and friends, these splendid statues of marble and granite and bronze shall finally crumble to dust, and in the ages to come, will perhaps be forgotten, but the spirit that has called this great assembly of our people together, on this field, shall live forever.” -----Dr. Nathaniel D. Cox at 1913 Gettysburg Reunion The youngest Veteran was reported to be 61 and the oldest was 112 years young.
The United States and Confederate flags flew side by side at the Gettysburg soldier’s reunion of honored men who had been enemies on the field of battle.
The State of Pennsylvania hosted the 1913 reunion at the insisting of state Governor John K. Tener. Tener also encouraged other states to arrange rail transportation for the participants. Down South in Dixie, the United Daughters of the Confederacy helped raise money for the transportation and uniforms for their Confederate Veterans.
The soldiers of Blue and Gray, Black and White, came with heads held high and full of war stories. It is written that the hosts did not count on Black Confederates attending the meeting and had no place to put them but the White Confederates made room for their Southern brothers. Black Union veterans also attended this event.
It is written that nearly 700,000 meals were served that included fried chicken, roast pork sandwiches, ice cream and Georgia watermelon. The temperature soared to 100 degrees and many thousands of veterans were treated for heat exhaustion and several hundred more were hospitalized. The United States Army was also present in support and it’s written that the old men loved the attention. The Boy Scouts, whose organization was just a few years old at the time, were also there to help.
A highlight of the reunion was the Confederate Veterans walk on the path of Gen. George Pickett’s charge that was greeted, this time, by a handshake from the Union Veterans.
President Woodrow Wilson said about these men, “These venerable men crowding here to this famous field have set us a great example of devotion and utter sacrifice. They were willing to die that the people might live. But their task is done. Their day in turned into evening. They look to us to perfect what they established. Their work is handed to us, to be done in another way but not in another spirit. Our day is not over; it is upon us in full tide.”
The War Between the States Sesquicentennial, 150th Anniversary, runs 2011 through 2015. The Georgia Division Sons of Confederate Veterans joins the nation in remembering this historic time in our nation’s history. See information at: http://www.150wbts.org/
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain..20th Maine!
1st Minnesota Infantry - July 2, 1863
Yes, thanks to Ken Burns, the Shaaras, and the two decent things Ted Turner ever did (and can anyone talk him into finishing it?).
School didn’t do jack squat but tell me that there was a Civil War that freed the slaves.
I remember all three
Especially Chamberlain....whose regiment was profiled in The Killer Angels....in Military History while in college we studied Gettysburg and was really moved by Chamberlain and his men.
Though I believe Chamberlain was just a Colonel at the time
Oh...forgot to mention...
You would never see a current professor at a Liberal Arts college lead a regiment to war....more likely that professor is whining on behalf of the enemy
That is what makes Chamberlain truly remarkable.
Some of those names sound vaguely familiar.
One of my ancestors was born in Texas during The Republic. He fought in the Civil War and was captured. He was sent to New York to prison, when released he walked back to Texas.
Other of my ancestors were burned out of Alabama during Reconstruction because they resisted the Carpet Baggers and Scalawags. The survivors went GTT (Gone to Texas)
Remember that Sam Houston refused to take Texas to the Civil War. He went to OK to live with the Indians.
The Civil War was the US’s greatest tragedy. For both North & South.
It amazes me today how this subject is treated here on FR. History does not record the abuses after that War, only the sense of overcoming that lead us into “Reconstruction”. Not since that time have we seen such dark times as we now face.
This troubles me greatly.
Yes, Chamberlain was elected Col. by his volunteer regiment, and had to learn military tactics from a handbook along the way.
BTW, there is a phenomenal painting, I think called “Ghosts of Gettysburg?” or “Chamberlain at Gettysburg” about the reunion, showing an aged Chamberlain looking over Little Round Top as a ghostly battle takes place. I think Chamberlain died shortly after that reunion.
George in his own right was an Army vet...a full-bird Colonel when he retired from the service. He'd joined back when segregation in the military was still law. He first started with the Triple Nickel paratroopers unit, but when their hopes for seeing action dwindled, he left the unit and transferred to an infantry unit. Ended up in Italy in WWII. In Korea, he saw action at Heartbreak Ridge. He never talked much about his service time. He was more interested in heralding his grandfather's being one of the first to enlist in the famous 54th, and it's last surviving member.
One of the stories George related to me was that his grandfather had attended the last Gettysburg Reunion. At one point during the reunion, the Union and Confederate vets lined up on opposing sides at the site of Pickett's Charge, marched across the fields, and met at the stone wall. Along the way, Eli Biddle was wondering if the Confederate vet he would meet would be willing to shake his hand. He took a wait and see attitude, and was pleased to find that the CSA vet he was paired off with held his hand out and vigorously shook Eli's hand, then said to Eli: "All those years ago, we were shooting at each other, and you know...I'm glad we missed."
There is less gallant, forgiving detachment and more bad feeling and vindictiveness about this war now than there was in 1913—when the men who tried to kill each other in the field were still living.
That's because the PC concern about "hate" and "the legacy of slavery" is entirely insincere. It is just part of the shop-worn, Communist-scripted war against all our institutions.
It is time for Northern and Southern patriots to unite (as they are doing in the TEA Party) to overcome and destroy every last institution of the Left and its culture, and keep only enough of its tedious, mind-numbing books to serve as a warning to future generations.
We will pray tomorrow for the souls of our country's noble warriors. May we once again deserve to be their heirs.
That’s true. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain did not become a Brigadier General until almost a year later. At the end of the war, he was a Brevet Major General.
chamberlain was selected by grant to take the confederate surrender at appomatax. he annoyed many dc pols (yes they were vile creatures back then too) by having his troops salute the rebs as they marched in and stacked arms. confederate general john b. gordon, on horsebsck, responded with a salute of his own to chamberlain and the yanks.
most southern soldiers never held a grudge against federal soldiers, just the carpetbaggers and northern scum that came south after the war to loot and blunder. of course, in the current posos we have a southern carbetbagger going north,
Longstreet was right about that charge at the center on the third day.
General Lee should have listened to his “Old War Horse”.
Gods and Generals showed the Confederates as human, even likeable. That was unforgivable in some circles.
Bvt. Maj. Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
32nd Governor of Maine
In office
January 2, 1867 – January 4, 1871
Preceded by Samuel Cony
Succeeded by Sidney Perham
Personal details
Born Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain
(1828-09-08)September 8, 1828
Brewer, Maine
Died February 24, 1914(1914-02-24) (aged 85)
Portland, Maine
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Fanny Chamberlain
Children Grace Dupee (Chamberlain) Allen (b. 1856), Infant Son (unnamed) (d. 1857), Harold Wyllys Chamberlain (b. 1858), Emily Stelle Chamberlain (d. 1860), Gertrude Loraine Chamberlain (d. 1865)
Residence Brunswick, Maine (His house is preserved as a historical landmark to this day.)
Alma mater Bowdoin College
Profession Educator, Military
Religion Congregationalist
Military service
Nickname(s) Lion of the Round Top
Allegiance United States of America
Union
Service/branch United States Army
Union Army
Years of service 1862–66
Rank Brevet Major General
Brigadier General
Commands 20th Maine Infantry
3rd Brigade, 1st Division, V Corps
1st Brigade, 1st Division, V Corps
1st Division, V Corps
Battles/wars American Civil War
Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Gettysburg
Second Battle of Petersburg
Battle of White Oak Road
Battle of Five Forks
Appomattox Campaign
Awards Congressional Medal of Honor
Son of Maine
My 2nd great grandfather Hiram Winn-50th NY engineers- as at that reunion. I found a newspaper article about him and a bunch of other veterans heading to the reunion. Another great uncle George Amner Bosworth-76th NYSV Co.H-was killed on July 1,1863 @ Gettysburg.
Must read “Killer Angels!”
One of my favorite quotes, “a good solder most love the Army. A good officer must not be afraid to destroy the thing he loves!”
Let’s not forget the dedication of the “Eternal Flame” at Gettysburg in 1936. There were 1,500 veterans of the “War of Northern aggression” in attendance. The last veteran died in 1954!
God Bless Robert E. Lee!
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