In Memoriam RockN
Position of the 20th Maine
On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg the Confederate army sought to flank the Union position on Culp's Hill,gain the high ground and reign down artillery fire on the Union troops. Holding the rightmost position on Little Round Top, one of the peaks of Culp's Hill was the 20th Maine, led by Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. They were told to hold Little Round Top "at all costs." They were under attack by the 15th Alabama.
Near the beginning of the battle Chamberlain was missing his B company and had to assume they were killed or captured. As his men fended off enemy charges Chamberlain found that his men were exhausted and nearly out of ammunition. Desperate, he ordered half his men to hold their position and half to fix bayonets and charge their enemies. The startled Alabamians , many of whom were wounded or surrendered, beat a retreat to what they thought was good cover, only to find Chamberlain's B company, who had been bogged down. The Confederate troops were decimated (they were also exhausted and low on ammo). Little Round Top held and the Union troops won the day.
Chamberlain later won the Medal of Honor. After the war he served as president of Bowdoin College and four terms as governor of Maine.
The day we visited Little Round Top was the 155th anniversary of that action. Weather conditions were identical to those the soldiers faced - it was blazing hot. In 1863 soldiers on both sides wore heavy woolen uniforms and carried about 30 pounds (app. 13.5 Kg) of gear.
Position of the 20th Maine
On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg the Confederate army sought to flank the Union position on Culp's Hill,gain the high ground and reign down artillery fire on the Union troops. Holding the rightmost position on Little Round Top, one of the peaks of Culp's Hill was the 20th Maine, led by Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. They were told to hold Little Round Top "at all costs." They were under attack by the 15th Alabama.
Near the beginning of the battle Chamberlain was missing his B company and had to assume they were killed or captured. As his men fended off enemy charges Chamberlain found that his men were exhausted and nearly out of ammunition. Desperate, he ordered half his men to hold their position and half to fix bayonets and charge their enemies. The startled Alabamians , many of whom were wounded or surrendered, beat a retreat to what they thought was good cover, only to find Chamberlain's B company, who had been bogged down. The Confederate troops were decimated (they were also exhausted and low on ammo). Little Round Top held and the Union troops won the day.
Chamberlain later won the Medal of Honor. After the war he served as president of Bowdoin College and four terms as governor of Maine.
The day we visited Little Round Top was the 155th anniversary of that action. Weather conditions were identical to those the soldiers faced - it was blazing hot. In 1863 soldiers on both sides wore heavy woolen uniforms and carried about 30 pounds (app. 13.5 Kg) of gear.