Chamberlain's Compromise

[Gettysburg Greg]

When Joshua Chamberlain attended the dedication of the monument to the 20th Maine on Little Round Top in 1889, he immediately pointed out the stone wall fronting the position of the regiment was not there when his men fought off repeated attacks by Oates' Alabamians on the evening of July 2nd, 1863. He insisted that the men from Maine stood and fought in the open with no breastworks to protect them. He was so perturbed that he demanded the stone wall be removed. The bickering between Chamberlain and the War Department continued until a compromise was reached by both sides when they agreed to place a sign next to the wall clearly stating that the wall was not constructed until after the 20th Maine had left this position. Today, you can see Chamberlain's sign along Sykes Avenue where the path leads back to the 20th's monument-as you see in the photo.

 

[Yankeedave]

I guess the obvious is a stonewall diminishes his story.

 

[GABoy]

Additionally, I would ask.....why would a stone wall have been there when Chamberlain's men reached that spot on July 2? Had there already been a wall there then it truly would have been fortuitous, I think, that a stone wall would be in place at the spot you need to defend, and I don't believe Colonel Chamberlain's troops would have had time to erect even a crude wall. If I am to believe what I read, it would seem as though the 20th Maine met with attacks almost immediately after reaching their position on LRT. If I am to believe what I have read.

 

[Wallyfish]

Love that sign. Chamberland got his way on two post battle issues on Little around Top. One is that no stonewall sign.

The other surrounded the placement of the 15th Alabama monument on LRT. William Oates and JLC opposed each other once again in 1904 as they argued the placement location of the 15th Al monument. Oates wanted to place the monument at his recollection of the furthest advance location of the 15th Al. JLC countered that the 15th Al didn't make it that far. An agreement never happened which resulted in no LRT monument for the 15th Al.

So JLC got his wall sign and killed the 15th Al monument forever altering LRT.

I do wish they would of successfully resolved that dispute. I have long thought that the 19th Indiana/24th Michigan and the nearby 26 North Carolina monuments on Merideth Avenue make a poignant memorial to the fierce fighting at Gettysburg. Typically opposing monuments are not found close to each other.

Nice recap of the Oates Chamberland monument dispute.
http://15thalabamaavi.tripod.com/id10.html

 

[Bee]

@PeterT , did we miss this detail??? (a quick consultation with my auxiliary brain)

 

[PeterT]

@PeterT , did we miss this detail??? (a quick consultation with my auxiliary brain)

I think we saw the sign but I didn't take a photo. We saw it at the time we saw the 20th Maine monument and the July 2nd flank markers. Just a bit earlier we had walked Big Round Top and saw the 20th Maine July 3rd flank markers.

 

[Bee]

I think we saw the sign but I didn't take a photo. We saw it at the time we saw the 20th Maine monument and the July 2nd flank markers. Just a bit earlier we had walked Big Round Top and saw the 20th Maine July 3rd flank markers.

Ah, YES, I specifically remember both the 20th Maine monument AND the flank markers. I am going to suppose that because I did not know the back story on the wall, it did not stick. A lot of things did not stick.

 

[PeterT]

Ah, YES, I specifically remember both the 20th Maine monument AND the flank markers. I am going to suppose that because I did not know the back story on the wall, it did not stick. A lot of things did not stick.

The 20th Maine monument

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

I realize it's futile at this point but Oate's monument should be allowed, finally. It's grandfathered. If there is any question on placement after 150 years, it will just have to remain that way. Accuracy hasn't held up other monuments, one notable example being 8 miles from where the regiment fought.

 

[Yankeedave]

I realize it's futile at this point but Oate's monument should be allowed, finally. It's grandfathered. If there is any question on placement after 150 years, it will just have to remain that way. Accuracy hasn't held up other monuments, one notable example being 8 miles from where the regiment fought.

Do tell.

 

[7th Texas Mounted Rifles]

Do tell.

That would be a reference to the 6th US Cav, and the Battle of Fairfield.

 

[Yankeedave]

That would be a reference to the 6th US Cav, and the Battle of Fairfield.

One monument per unit?