Jeff Daniels should of got the Academy Award for portraying Joshua Lawence Chamberlin. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlin was a real man. He was steadfast and determined.
Great presentation. Very well done. One suggestion - please repeat the questions of the audience. We cannot hear the question because the one asking it doesn't have a microphone.
I have a framed photograph of Chamberlain in my living room. When people asked me "Who is that?" I tell them "That is the greatest American that ever lived."
“Dutch” in this context refers to the English slang/mispronunciation of Deustch or German. Hence, Pennsylvania “Dutch” country is where people from Germany settled.
I've seen the Medal of Honor that his daughter put in a book which she donated to sone kind of church rummage sale in Brunswick! I couldn't believe it! A great man with an unfair end overall. Thank you for this first-rate presentation!
I have worked at the Chamberlain Museum, Brunswick, Maine for about 23 years, currently the site manager, in Brunswick. While it is a long story, the medal was found in the back of a book (from a box of books) that had been donated to a church in Duxbury, Massachusetts by Chamberlain's granddaughter Rosamond Allen ; she was the last living Chamberlain descendant passing away in 2000. Many items were donated by Ms. Allen to various locations in Maine, it is likely that the medal was placed in the book, for some unknown reason by someone in the past and forgotten. The church was reported to be the family church attended by Chamberlain's daughter and Rosamond (granddaughter), it is quite a story. I was one of the first individuals to hold the medal once it was received by us. The medal found was the original 1893 Medal of Honor, with the 1904/5 version (also referred to in this presentation) at Bowdoin College.
@@tva7263 when I first learned about the MOH being found, I remember the presenter pointing out that the last surviving members of the family were very serious-minded pacifists and that this may have been why it was disgarded/lost track of. Do you think there's truth to that? Thanks very much for your time!
@@m.proximus1930 Rosamond did express pacifism, to what level I would not say but she knew her grandfather (Joshua Chamberlain) and spoke fondly of him. She donated his Gettysburg Sword to the Bangor Historical Society, his Civil War Saddle, and other material to the Brunswick museum, for this reason, I doubt she would have disregarded the Medal of Honor. The Chamberlains had a way of misplacing things, a Tiffany Bracelet, that Chamberlain had custom designed for his wife on their 10th anniversary was found in their house, in a strange location, after Chamberlain died. The question would be who put the Medal of Honor in the book, it may or may not have been Joshua, but having grandparents pass away and cleaning out the house after they died, valuable things tended to be stored in strange places. No thanks needed, my pleasure
There were many many instances where the two sides were evenly matched and just in time. The Union got the breaks mostly. Chamberlain had just enough ammo. Just enough.
Very nice presentation. Aroostook , Maine largest county, is pronounced ah-roost-tik. I'm sure I mispronounced things when I lived in Oregon, but I'm a Mainer, there's no such thing as an R sound.
Thank you for this, great video. I don't know if this will ever be seen, but I'm curious about that flag behind you.. Could you maybe give some background on it I'm wondering why it looks that way and what year it is from? I am a Canadian so I don't know much history on the American flags.. haha
You can tell the Confederates were really patriots after all: they held all their battles in national parks so that nothing private would get damaged. You can't get any more patriotic than that, can you?
Dutch is Deutchse (not sure about the spelling) the name of the Germans in their own language. Calling them the flying Dutchmen just means Germans (english lacks specificty in many ways). In the same way...the pennsylvania 'Dutch' aren't from the Netherlands. They're German. Kinda something a historian should know.
The myth of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and Little Round top.. First of all the fighting at Little Round top was not even mentioned in Meade's after action report. And only comes to light months later when Meade is hauled before Congress for his berating of Dan Sickles during the 2nd days fighting.. Only then is the high ground North of Round Top mentioned. As this was where Meade intended for Sickles to anchor his left flank. When Warren discovered the left flank open because of Sickles advanced position he was not looking at just "little round top" but the left flank of the Army of the Potomac as a whole.. The first thing Strong Vincent does when he arrives on seen is not to position troops on the south side of the hill but to anchor his right flank with the Union left then he worked south stretching his brigade as far as it went telling Chamberlain that he was " for that moment in time" the far left of the Army. Only because of Dan Sickles political fight to regain his reputation does any of the action on little round top see the light of day. There is nothing really outstanding about what Chamberlain did that day, that wasn't going on in other places on the field. As far as Meade was concerned Warren discovered the problem Vincent plugged the hole, It worked, move on.
You sound salty. If this battle of little round top was a myth, or indeed such a minor affair, as you suggest, then why would they choose Chamberlain to accept the laying down of arms by the confederacy? Good PR? The Chamberlain family has never been known for great PR...
@@SeanWinters Great PR is what Joshua Chamberlain had... After the war Chamberlain undertook an extensive speaking tour making himself into a celebrity. He also published 2 articles.. Upon hearing of the articles Brigadier General Ellis Spear At the time of Gettysburg a Major in the 20th Maine. Clamed Chamberlain had the same infirmary today as he had in college the inability to tell the truth. I believe Chamberlain was one of those that came to love war. And no matter what part he played large or small it was never enough for his ego and vanity. This piece from The Gettysburg College Journal explains it well. I do not wish to defame Chamberlain, I only to put Chamberlain and The Battle of Gettysburg in the proper perspectives "Some Personal Coloring" Examining the falsehoods of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain at Gettysburg.. By; Hans G. Myers
The reason Meade didn’t mention it is because he probably didn’t know it wasn’t a major battle and it was a little overrated but they did fight extremely well and Chamberlain definitely deserved the medal of honour for that .
I appreciate what you are trying to do, but the lack of mention by Mead is not what makes, or breaks, the battle. That said, there is a lot going on and many Chamberlain-like stories, such as Culp's Hill also fought on July 2nd which deserves equal time with Little Round Top as well, not to mention many others. The reference to the two articles, I am assuming, are the articles [1913] on Gettysburg and Fredericksburg, written by Chamberlain, and published in magazines owned by William Randolph Hearst. Chamberlain personally wrote the magazine editors asking for inserted material to be removed, later Chamberlain complained about one of the articles that it was, "much curtailed and changed by the insertion of 'connective tissue' by the editor." In a second letter responding to an admirer, who complimented him on one of the articles, Chamberlain responded, "The Hearst Editors mutilated and 'corrected' my 'Gettysburg' so that I have not tried to get copies of their magazine in which it appeared." [see A Broken Bound, Thomas Desjardins - he also touches on Ellis Spear. (Hearst's reputation is far from clean) [It is ironic that the articles Chamberlain complained about are the foundation stone to many of the accounts written about Chamberlain from the late 50s to late '90s; they even still get cited today.] The Hearst magazine articles were written near the end of Chamberlain's life when his health was in a state of decline, the speaker mentioned Chamberlain not attending Gettysburg 50th reunion in July of 1913 for health reasons. Chamberlain did help organize the Maine portion of the Gettysburg 50th and was down there in the spring, but unable to attend later; Chamberlain passed away in February of 1914. Spear, who is often cited against Chamberlain, had his own truth issues later in life. A local paper published a letter by Spear praising Chamberlain for his actions at Little Round Top, see Portland Daily Press July 24, 1863 [page 1]. There are other contradictions by Spear which for the sake of time I will not cover, one concerns Chamberlain's Petersburg, wound. Much of Spear's criticism occurred, just before and after Chamberlain's death. (Again see Desjardins for one source). Spear was on very good terms with Chamberlain well into the early 1900s, even writing on Chamberlain's behalf for a Customs House position in Portland he was seeking and later received (1900). Concerning Appomattox, which likely had little, if anything to do with Gettysburg, but instead with his record as a whole. Grant does not speak about Appomattox and Chamberlain in his autobiography, but he does on Chamberlain's promotion. The PR Chamberlain was getting was from General Warren and especially General Griffin, both West Pointers, thought highly of him and the OR backs this up. Ultimately. I agree that historians tend to magnify certain parts of history more than others, there is a huge amount yet untold and should be told. On Little Round Top and the 20th Maine, not enough is spoken about the 2nd Maine mutineers. I am not sure the 20th would have held their position without them. Chamberlain would recommend Andrew Tozier, a member of the 2nd Maine who was put on the color guard at Round Top, for a Medal of Honor - which he received, and in later life, when Tozier fell on hard times and was arrested for robbery, Chamberlain went to bat for him, picking him up from the Maine state prison. Chamberlain than brought him (and his family) back to his house until Tozier could get back on his feet. 20th & 21st Century authors have as much if not more to do with creating the modern myth than Chamberlain. Second, Chamberlain certainly is not a demigod and his contributions need to be kept in context, but he is worthy of noting for what he did do, including Gettysburg.
i wish somebody had made the commentator stand still he bounces all around the lecture stand where i assume the mikes were located snd because of his constant motion the audio goes up and goes down very annoying!
Jeff Daniels should of got the Academy Award for portraying Joshua Lawence Chamberlin. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlin was a real man. He was steadfast and determined.
The man who made the difference. His name will forever remain in the anals of Civil war history. His contribution stands.
Anals
So much respect for this warrior
He made up a military maneuver in the thick of battle. Clear quick thinking leader.
Wonderful presentation, thank you!
As always a brilliant talk. Thank you.
He was always a hero in New England.
Great presentation. Very well done.
One suggestion - please repeat the questions of the audience. We cannot hear the question because the one asking it doesn't have a microphone.
Great presentation
Excellent talk and coverage of Chamberlain
I have a framed photograph of Chamberlain in my living room. When people asked me "Who is that?" I tell them "That is the greatest American that ever lived."
Married into this family and all this was unknown to me , but now I know. Collette chamberlain. Good Good wife.
“Dutch” in this context refers to the English slang/mispronunciation of Deustch or German. Hence, Pennsylvania “Dutch” country is where people from Germany settled.
I've seen the Medal of Honor that his daughter put in a book which she donated to sone kind of church rummage sale in Brunswick! I couldn't believe it! A great man with an unfair end overall.
Thank you for this first-rate presentation!
I have worked at the Chamberlain Museum, Brunswick, Maine for about 23 years, currently the site manager, in Brunswick. While it is a long story, the medal was found in the back of a book (from a box of books) that had been donated to a church in Duxbury, Massachusetts by Chamberlain's granddaughter Rosamond Allen ; she was the last living Chamberlain descendant passing away in 2000.
Many items were donated by Ms. Allen to various locations in Maine, it is likely that the medal was placed in the book, for some unknown reason by someone in the past and forgotten. The church was reported to be the family church attended by Chamberlain's daughter and Rosamond (granddaughter), it is quite a story. I was one of the first individuals to hold the medal once it was received by us.
The medal found was the original 1893 Medal of Honor, with the 1904/5 version (also referred to in this presentation) at Bowdoin College.
@@tva7263 when I first learned about the MOH being found, I remember the presenter pointing out that the last surviving members of the family were very serious-minded pacifists and that this may have been why it was disgarded/lost track of. Do you think there's truth to that? Thanks very much for your time!
@@m.proximus1930 Rosamond did express pacifism, to what level I would not say but she knew her grandfather (Joshua Chamberlain) and spoke fondly of him. She donated his Gettysburg Sword to the Bangor Historical Society, his Civil War Saddle, and other material to the Brunswick museum, for this reason, I doubt she would have disregarded the Medal of Honor.
The Chamberlains had a way of misplacing things, a Tiffany Bracelet, that Chamberlain had custom designed for his wife on their 10th anniversary was found in their house, in a strange location, after Chamberlain died. The question would be who put the Medal of Honor in the book, it may or may not have been Joshua, but having grandparents pass away and cleaning out the house after they died, valuable things tended to be stored in strange places.
No thanks needed, my pleasure
very good presentation. I am looking for more information on the sacrifice of the 4th Maine regiment during the sickle retreat at devils den.
There were many many instances where the two sides were evenly matched and just in time. The Union got the breaks mostly.
Chamberlain had just enough ammo. Just enough.
Very nice presentation. Aroostook , Maine largest county, is pronounced ah-roost-tik. I'm sure I mispronounced things when I lived in Oregon, but I'm a Mainer, there's no such thing as an R sound.
Thank you for this, great video. I don't know if this will ever be seen, but I'm curious about that flag behind you.. Could you maybe give some background on it I'm wondering why it looks that way and what year it is from? I am a Canadian so I don't know much history on the American flags.. haha
Got my middle name after Chamberlain
Chamberlain apparently made 73 lectures.
How many books did he write?
I think he actually published seven during his lifetime: www.goodreads.com/author/list/149660.Joshua_Lawrence_Chamberlain
You can tell the Confederates were really patriots after all: they held all their battles in national parks so that nothing private would get damaged. You can't get any more patriotic than that, can you?
Dutch is Deutchse (not sure about the spelling) the name of the Germans in their own language. Calling them the flying Dutchmen just means Germans (english lacks specificty in many ways). In the same way...the pennsylvania 'Dutch' aren't from the Netherlands. They're German. Kinda something a historian should know.
The serious hip wound was at cold harbor, not Petersburg.
His hip wound was in June 1864 nearly a year after Gettysburg. He was in Petersburg on the 18th. Cold Harbor was fought before he was shot.
I couldn't believe the same guy played dumb and dumber and Gettysburg
Bayoneeeeeeetttssss
The myth of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and Little Round top.. First of all the fighting at Little Round top was not even mentioned in Meade's after action report. And only comes to light months later when Meade is hauled before Congress for his berating of Dan Sickles during the 2nd days fighting.. Only then is the high ground North of Round Top mentioned. As this was where Meade intended for Sickles to anchor his left flank. When Warren discovered the left flank open because of Sickles advanced position he was not looking at just "little round top" but the left flank of the Army of the Potomac as a whole.. The first thing Strong Vincent does when he arrives on seen is not to position troops on the south side of the hill but to anchor his right flank with the Union left then he worked south stretching his brigade as far as it went telling Chamberlain that he was " for that moment in time" the far left of the Army. Only because of Dan Sickles political fight to regain his reputation does any of the action on little round top see the light of day. There is nothing really outstanding about what Chamberlain did that day, that wasn't going on in other places on the field. As far as Meade was concerned Warren discovered the problem Vincent plugged the hole, It worked, move on.
You sound salty. If this battle of little round top was a myth, or indeed such a minor affair, as you suggest, then why would they choose Chamberlain to accept the laying down of arms by the confederacy? Good PR? The Chamberlain family has never been known for great PR...
@@SeanWinters Great PR is what Joshua Chamberlain had... After the war Chamberlain undertook an extensive speaking tour making himself into a celebrity. He also published 2 articles.. Upon hearing of the articles Brigadier General Ellis Spear At the time of Gettysburg a Major in the 20th Maine. Clamed Chamberlain had the same infirmary today as he had in college the inability to tell the truth. I believe Chamberlain was one of those that came to love war. And no matter what part he played large or small it was never enough for his ego and vanity. This piece from The Gettysburg College Journal explains it well. I do not wish to defame Chamberlain, I only to put Chamberlain and The Battle of Gettysburg in the proper perspectives
"Some Personal Coloring" Examining the falsehoods of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain at Gettysburg.. By; Hans G. Myers
The reason Meade didn’t mention it is because he probably didn’t know it wasn’t a major battle and it was a little overrated but they did fight extremely well and Chamberlain definitely deserved the medal of honour for that .
@Dav Spoken like a true arm chair quarterback. Chamberlain is full of bullets for nuts like you. Sigh
I appreciate what you are trying to do, but the lack of mention by Mead is not what makes, or breaks, the battle. That said, there is a lot going on and many Chamberlain-like stories, such as Culp's Hill also fought on July 2nd which deserves equal time with Little Round Top as well, not to mention many others.
The reference to the two articles, I am assuming, are the articles [1913] on Gettysburg and Fredericksburg, written by Chamberlain, and published in magazines owned by William Randolph Hearst.
Chamberlain personally wrote the magazine editors asking for inserted material to be removed, later Chamberlain complained about one of the articles that it was, "much curtailed and changed by the insertion of 'connective tissue' by the editor."
In a second letter responding to an admirer, who complimented him on one of the articles, Chamberlain responded, "The Hearst Editors mutilated and 'corrected' my 'Gettysburg' so that I have not tried to get copies of their magazine in which it appeared." [see A Broken Bound, Thomas Desjardins - he also touches on Ellis Spear. (Hearst's reputation is far from clean)
[It is ironic that the articles Chamberlain complained about are the foundation stone to many of the accounts written about Chamberlain from the late 50s to late '90s; they even still get cited today.]
The Hearst magazine articles were written near the end of Chamberlain's life when his health was in a state of decline, the speaker mentioned Chamberlain not attending Gettysburg 50th reunion in July of 1913 for health reasons. Chamberlain did help organize the Maine portion of the Gettysburg 50th and was down there in the spring, but unable to attend later; Chamberlain passed away in February of 1914.
Spear, who is often cited against Chamberlain, had his own truth issues later in life.
A local paper published a letter by Spear praising Chamberlain for his actions at Little Round Top, see Portland Daily Press July 24, 1863 [page 1].
There are other contradictions by Spear which for the sake of time I will not cover, one concerns Chamberlain's Petersburg, wound.
Much of Spear's criticism occurred, just before and after Chamberlain's death. (Again see Desjardins for one source).
Spear was on very good terms with Chamberlain well into the early 1900s, even writing on Chamberlain's behalf for a Customs House position in Portland he was seeking and later received (1900).
Concerning Appomattox, which likely had little, if anything to do with Gettysburg, but instead with his record as a whole. Grant does not speak about Appomattox and Chamberlain in his autobiography, but he does on Chamberlain's promotion.
The PR Chamberlain was getting was from General Warren and especially General Griffin, both West Pointers, thought highly of him and the OR backs this up.
Ultimately. I agree that historians tend to magnify certain parts of history more than others, there is a huge amount yet untold and should be told.
On Little Round Top and the 20th Maine, not enough is spoken about the 2nd Maine mutineers. I am not sure the 20th would have held their position without them.
Chamberlain would recommend Andrew Tozier, a member of the 2nd Maine who was put on the color guard at Round Top, for a Medal of Honor - which he received, and in later life, when Tozier fell on hard times and was arrested for robbery, Chamberlain went to bat for him, picking him up from the Maine state prison.
Chamberlain than brought him (and his family) back to his house until Tozier could get back on his feet.
20th & 21st Century authors have as much if not more to do with creating the modern myth than Chamberlain. Second, Chamberlain certainly is not a demigod and his contributions need to be kept in context, but he is worthy of noting for what he did do, including Gettysburg.
i wish somebody had made the commentator stand still he bounces all around the lecture stand where i assume the mikes were located snd because of his constant motion the audio goes up and goes down very annoying!