★ ★  MOH Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
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Born: September 8, 1828

Birthplace: Brewer, Maine

Father: Joshua Chamberlain 1800 – 1880
(Buried: Oak Hill Cemetery, Brewer, Maine)​

Mother: Sarah Dupee Brastow 1803 – 1888
(Buried: Oak Hill Cemetery, Brewer, Maine)​

Wife: Frances Carolina “Fannie” Adams 1825 – 1905
(Buried: Pine Grove Cemetery, Brunswick, Maine)​

Married: 1855

Children:

Grace Dupee Chamberlain Allen 1856 – 1937​
(Buried: Pine Grove Cemetery, Brunswick, Maine)​
Harold Wyllys Chamberlain 1858 – 1928​
(Buried: Pine Grove Cemetery, Brunswick, Maine)
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Emily Chamberlain 1860 – 1860​
(Buried: Pine Grove Cemetery, Brunswick, Maine)​
Gertrude Loraine Chamberlain 1865 – 1865​
(Buried: Pine Grove Cemetery, Brunswick, Maine)​

Education:

Member of Peucinian Group while Student at Bowdoin College
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1852: Graduated from Bowdoin College​
Attended Bangor Theological Seminary​

Occupation before War:

Rhetoric Professor at Bowdoin College​
1861 -1862: Modern languages Professor at Bowdoin College​
Said to have known 10 different languages​

Civil War Career:

1862 – 1863: Lt. Colonel of 20th Maine Infantry Regiment​
1862: Participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia​
1863: 20th Maine missed Chancellorsville due to Smallpox​
1863: Colonel of 20th Maine Infantry Regiment
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1863: Suffered from Malaria and dysentery​
1863: Led the 20th Maine Infantry in a charge at Gettysburg
1863 – 1864: Colonel of Union Army Infantry Brigade​
1864: Brigade Commander Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia​
1864: Brigade Commander Battle of Spotsylvania Virginia​
1864: Brigade Commander Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia
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1864: Wounded in right hip and groin Siege of Petersburg, Virginia​
1864 – 1866: Brigadier General Union Army Volunteers​
1864: Hospitalized in Annapolis, Maryland​
1864 – 1865: Furloughed from Army due to health​
1865: Wounded in left arm and chest Skirmish on Quaker Road​
1865 – 1866: Brevet Major General Union Army Volunteers​
1865: Commander for Confederate Surrender at Appomattox​
1866: Mustered out of Service with Union Army on January 15th​

Occupation after War:

1867 – 1871: Governor of Maine​
Active Member Grand Army of the Republic​
1867 – 1871: Trustee of Bates College​
1871 – 1883: President of Bowdoin College​
1880: Summoned to be Commander of Maine State Militia​
Attorney in New York City, New York
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United States Surveyor of the Port of Portland, Maine​
1885: Held real estate dealings in Florida​
Businessman with College of Art in New York and hotels​
Worked on Railroad Building and public improvements​
1893: Recipient of the Medal of Honor for his role at Gettysburg​
1898: rejected by Army to serve in the Spanish – American War​
1905: Founding member Maine Institution for the Blind​
1913: Made his last visit to Gettysburg Battlefield​

Died: February 24, 1914
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Place of Death: Portland, Maine

Cause of Death: Wartime Wounds

Age at time of Death: 85 years old

Burial Place: Pine Grove Cemetery, Brunswick, Maine



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What an amazing figure in the story of America.
 
Happy birthday to a remarkable man! If anybody's interested, there's a song by The Ghost of Paul Revere called "The Ballad of the 20th Maine." It was recently named Maine's official state ballad, and it narrates the experience of the regiment from the point of view of Andrew Tozier-- and Chamberlain features prominently in it. Definitely give it a listen! I know I'll be putting it on to commemorate an amazing life.

 
One of the "storys" about Chamberlain is about how he was offered the colonelcy of a regiment in 1862 but declined because he preferred to "start a little lower and learn the business" which is why he made Lt. Col. instead of Colonel. He didn't become Colonel until May of 1863.
 
He was immediately promoted, on the spot by Grant, to brigadier when he was wounded at the assault on Petersburg, he was then carried to the rear where he was expected to die from his wounds. The doctor was right, he did succumb to his wounds but that was 50 years later.
 
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