Why Brewer’s Joshua Chamberlain was a true American hero

The heroics of Joshua Chamberlain during the Civil War — particularly during the Battle of Gettysburg, the war’s turning point — have long been depicted in story and song.

The state ballad, “The Ballad of the 20th Maine,” recounts the stirring tale. He was famously portrayed by actor Jeff Daniels in the film “Gettysburg.” He’s a character in multiple novels, from historical fiction to sci-fi. Rick Riordan even made him a demi-god in his “Percy Jackson” series of fantasy novels.

Luckily for us, the truth is better than fiction. Here are five facts about Joshua Chamberlain, the famous son of Brewer and the Lion of the Round Top, that prove what a legend he truly was.

‘Bayonets!’

As Chamberlain, in the movie “Gettysburg” Jeff Daniels famously commands the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment to initiate a charge against the Confederates with the order “Bayonets!” While the scene was surely structured for cinematic intensity, it is true that Chamberlain did indeed order the bayonet charge on the battlefield that day, saving the entire line of Union soldiers as the 20th Maine wheeled its way around to protect them.

Did he specifically yell “Bayonets!” while on Little Round Top on those fateful days in July 1863? We’ll never know, but whatever he said, it rallied the boys from Maine to protect the line and, in turn, change the course of the war — and American history.

The sword of the union

Not only did Chamberlain initiate the bayonet charge that helped the Union win at Gettysburg, according to war historians he also captured 101 Confederate soldiers and nearly lost his life to several of them in the process. A bullet hit his sword scabbard and injured his leg, and he was nearly shot in the face by a Confederate soldier — who Chamberlain then quickly captured, holding his sword to the soldier’s throat. That very sword is in the collection of the Bangor Historical Society to this day.

Return to battle

After Gettysburg, Chamberlain went on medical leave due to a lingering illness prior to the battle — the man not only fought Confederates, he was also battling malaria and dysentery, as if we needed more reasons to believe he was a badass. After recovering, he was promoted to brigadier commander and led the 1st Brigade, First Division, V Corps in the Second Battle of Petersburg. In that battle, he was shot in the groin, but held himself up by his sword in order to keep morale high, despite calls for retreat.

The injury was so bad surgeons thought Chamberlain would not survive, but “Bloody Chamberlain” fought through and lived to return to battle, serving during the Quaker Road skirmish in March 1865, where he was shot once again. Chamberlain was injured a total of six times over the course of his service during the war.

Victory at Appomattox

Less than two weeks after the Quaker Road skirmish, the wounded Chamberlain was informed he would preside over the parade of Confederates as they marched to the Appomattox court house where General Robert E. Lee would formally surrender to the Union and end the Civil War. Chamberlain famously directed his men to attention to show respect to the surrendering soldiers, a move that offended some Union supporters, but that others believed was in keeping with his honorable conduct on the battlefield. In any case, the war was over, with one of its greatest heroes as witness.

After the war

Chamberlain came out of the war with the rank of Brigadier General, and returned to Maine. He served as governor of Maine for four years between 1866 and 1870, and then served as president of Bowdoin College, his alma mater, for 12 years between 1871 and 1883. He suffered from many health problems due to his war wounds for the rest of his life, though that would not stop him in 1898 at age 70 from volunteering to serve during the Spanish American War, which the U.S. Army denied. He was highly active with the Grand Army of the Republic, the Civil War veterans organization that was a precursor to the American Legion.

Chamberlain died in 1913 at age 85, and was considered the last Civil War veteran to die from his war injuries. His Medal of Honor is held at the Joshua Chamberlain Museum in Brunswick, and many places in Maine are named for him, including the village of Chamberlain in Lincoln County, and, when it opened in 1954, the main bridge that connects the cities of Bangor and Brewer — Chamberlain’s hometown.