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Thread: 150 years ago

  1. #1
    RaisorZone Raisor's Avatar
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    150 years ago

    Today marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle if Little Round-Top during the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

    Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and his 20th Maine Regiment of Volunteers kept the Army of the Potomac's left flank from collapsing, thus saving the Army, and the nation.

    The approx 150 men of the 20th Maine held off a couple of brigades worth of men from John Bell Hood's Division of James Longstreet's First Corp.

    He was ordered to hold to the last man by his Brigade commander Col Vincent.

    After six or seven assaults pretty much every Maine soldier was wounded or dead. They were also out of ammunition. Chamberlain knowing they would not be able to withstand another attack, and being unable to fall back, ordered his men to fix bayonets. When the next attack started he ordered his remaining men to charge, while swinging down hill like an open gate.

    This took Hill's men completely by surprised and they surrendered by the bucket full. Union men were holding prisoners with empty muskets.

    Chamberlain would eventually be awarded the Medal of Honor. By the end if the war he had been wounded six or seven times, including through the pelvis ( which he would eventually die from 50 or so years later). After one of his wounds, which was thought to be fatal (and in fact his obituary was printed in the paper) US Grant promoted him to Brig. General.
    At the end of the war, out of all the division commanders in the Army, he was chosen to receive the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia.

    After the war he was elected Govenor of Maine four times. He also served as president of Bowdion College, where he taught every class at one time or the other except for mathematics.


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  3. #2
    Sprinkles are for winners dougdirt's Avatar
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    Re: 150 years ago

    That takes some awfully big ones to commit to.

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    RaisorZone Raisor's Avatar
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    Re: 150 years ago

    Chamberlain never went to West Point. He was a college Professor before the war. He had received some flack from his his school about encouraging students to volunteer for the Army. He was offered a sabbatical to go to Europe for a year or two. Instead he went to Brunswick and volunteered for the army. The Govenor offered him command of the 20th, but he refused, knowing he didn't have the experience. Instead, he accepted the ltcol position so he could train under a regular officer.

    His family was furious, but Chamberlain's total hatred of slavery and his longing to be a soldier sealed the deal.

  5. #4
    RaisorZone Raisor's Avatar
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    Re: 150 years ago

    Pickett's charge was 150 years ago today, Gettysburg day 3.

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    breath westofyou's Avatar
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    Re: 150 years ago

    There's a new book on the market by a Gettysburg College professor, supposed to be very good. It was reviewed in last weeks NYTimes

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    A Pleasure to Burn Joseph's Avatar
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    Re: 150 years ago

    What a show off.

    I love the civil war, can't read enough about it.

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    We Need Our Myths reds1869's Avatar
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    Re: 150 years ago

    The Disunion series in the New York Times has been excellent. Highly recommended reading for those interested in the Civil War.

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  10. #8
    RaisorZone Raisor's Avatar
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    Re: 150 years ago

    150 years ago the New York draft riots began.

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    Maple SERP savafan's Avatar
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    Re: 150 years ago

    I was at Gettysburg for the 150th anniversary. Hit all the major battle milestones for each day. Chamberlain is my personal hero. Standing at Little Round Top 150 years to the day was very special for me.
    My dad got to enjoy 3 Reds World Championships by the time he was my age. So far, I've only gotten to enjoy one. Step it up Redlegs!

  12. #10
    RaisorZone Raisor's Avatar
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    Re: 150 years ago

    Quote Originally Posted by savafan View Post
    I was at Gettysburg for the 150th anniversary. Hit all the major battle milestones for each day. Chamberlain is my personal hero. Standing at Little Round Top 150 years to the day was very special for me.
    I'm really jealous.

  13. #11
    We Need Our Myths reds1869's Avatar
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    Re: 150 years ago

    Quote Originally Posted by savafan View Post
    I was at Gettysburg for the 150th anniversary. Hit all the major battle milestones for each day. Chamberlain is my personal hero. Standing at Little Round Top 150 years to the day was very special for me.
    Awesome, I'm envious.

  14. #12
    Member cumberlandreds's Avatar
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    Re: 150 years ago

    When I was working for the Feceral government I had some dealings with a guy who was Chamberlains great-great grandson. He was very proud of that fact and had lots of pictures and other Civil War stuff in his office.
    Reds Fan Since 1971

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    RaisorZone Raisor's Avatar
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    Re: 150 years ago

    150 years ago yesterday, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers unsuccessfully attacked Confederate Fort Wagner.

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    Re: 150 years ago

    Things seem so far away but actually, when I was born the Civil War had ended only 88 years earlier and my great grandfather, a Civil War Union veteran, had died only ten years before my birth. He was a guard at Camp Chase, a filthy pesthole in Columbus that would have been as notorious as Andersonville had the south won the war (funny how the winning side glosses over their own POW horror stories) . He started a family late because he had been a soldier so didn't meet his wife until after the war was over. My grandfather was born the first year of the National League, 1876. My father was born in 1929, a late life "surprise", so my path back to the civil war personally is very short. It was fascinating reading this thread.

  17. #15
    Member NorCal Reds Fan's Avatar
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    Re: 150 years ago

    Quote Originally Posted by RedlegJake View Post
    Things seem so far away but actually, when I was born the Civil War had ended only 88 years earlier and my great grandfather, a Civil War Union veteran, had died only ten years before my birth. He was a guard at Camp Chase, a filthy pesthole in Columbus that would have been as notorious as Andersonville had the south won the war (funny how the winning side glosses over their own POW horror stories) . He started a family late because he had been a soldier so didn't meet his wife until after the war was over. My grandfather was born the first year of the National League, 1876. My father was born in 1929, a late life "surprise", so my path back to the civil war personally is very short. It was fascinating reading this thread.
    You're right, it really is fascinating to look at it from that perspective and realize it really wasn't that long ago. It still amazes me to this day when my grandma (87-yo) talks about when she was a little girl/teenager with older family members who were Civil War veterans and they would tell stories about the war.

    And recently we learned that in our family, which came from OK and TX, had 3relatives accused of being Union spies who were lynched during the Great Gainesville (TX) Hanging of 1862...online we even were able to read testimony from one during their "trial".


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