Colonel Joushua Chamberlain
The Civil War battle of Gettysburg has been called the "High Tide of the Confederacy." Mr. Shaara places the reader in the shoes of the major characters of the battle, those whose actions influenced the outcome the most. This report is about one such character, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. The incident he was a part of happened on the second day of the battle. On that second day, General Lee sent a major part of his army to attack the troops on the steep sided hill, Little Round Top, on the Union right. For the first time in the war his men were attacking the enemy on "the high ground." Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and his regiment, the 20th Maine, were placed on the side of Little Round Top that faced south towards the larger hill, Round Top. His men were not even facing the direction that the Confederate attack was expected from. They were facing the narrow gap between the hills. Colonel Chamberlain was not a professional soldier. He was a "citizen soldier." He had been a professor at a small college in the state of Maine before volunteering to serve his country. He was in the war doing his duty as an American. He was not to know that on this day, he would make h
When the 15th Alabama came pouring through that gap they were within easy pistol shot of the enemy. For some of us lucky few, we can even say we were there, even if it was 133 years later. Chamberlain and his men were only about 100 feet from the bottom of the hill, maybe less. After the assault on the west face of Little Round Top began by the Confederate army, it didn't take long for the 20th Maine to come under attack by the 15th Alabama. Eventually, their ammunition was used up. Chamberlain was surprised to find that the 20th Maine was in a position at the bottom of Little Round Top. Chamberlain knew that he could not retreat. His actions were to help cause General Lee to abandon his invasion of the north. Once in position on Little Round Top, it didn't take long for Colonel Chamberlain to realized that if the Confederates could fight their way through that narrow gap, past his troops, they would be in the rear of the main Union army. You have to admire Chamberlain by overcoming his inexperience in war tactics to push back General Lee's army at Little Round Top. Wave after wave of Confederate soldiers attacked and were driven back down the hill and back through the gap. Chamberlain's men looked to him in desperation. The 20th Maine was not at full strength that day.
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Acceptance Essays
