One of the most dramatic Union victories of the Civil War occurred on this date in 1863, and I’m proud to say that Mainers carried the day.
The 20th Maine Regiment's critically important defense of a Pennsylvania hill known as Little Round Top on July 2, 1863, was part of the larger Battle of Gettysburg on July 1-3.
By July 2, Union troops were positioned along Cemetery Ridge, with two hills, Big Round Top and Little Round Top, looking down on the left flank of the Army of the Potomac. The round tops were undefended when the 15th Alabama Regiment took control of Big Round Top and prepared to assault Little Round Top. Confederate control of Little Round Top would have made the Army of the Potomac vulnerable to a potentially fatal artillery barrage.
Realizing the severity of the threat, Union Gen. Gouverneur Warren hastily dispatched four regiments to Little Round Top, including the 20th Maine, which effectively became the extreme left flank of the Union Army. Col. Joshua Chamberlain of the 20th Maine was ordered to hold his position “at all hazards.”
“The Alabamians drove the Maine men from their positions five times,” Geoffrey C. Ward wrote in The Civil War. “Five times they fought their way back again."
The boys from Maine stood firm.
His regiment reeling under heavy casualties, the remaining men desperately short of ammunition, Chamberlain ordered the 20th Maine to fix bayonets. While part of the regiment held its position atop the hill, the left charged down into the Confederates and swung to the right, like a door on a hinge. Co. B of the 20th Maine, which Chamberlain had detached early on, fired into the retreating rebels.
Little Round Top held, and the following day, the Army of the Potomac won a decisive battle at Gettysburg.
Chamberlain, a college professor turned soldier, was wounded several times during the war. He was breveted a major general and received the Medal of Honor. He went on to serve four terms as governor of Maine and became president of his alma mater, Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where his home is now a museum.
The 20th Maine Regiment's critically important defense of a Pennsylvania hill known as Little Round Top on July 2, 1863, was part of the larger Battle of Gettysburg on July 1-3.
By July 2, Union troops were positioned along Cemetery Ridge, with two hills, Big Round Top and Little Round Top, looking down on the left flank of the Army of the Potomac. The round tops were undefended when the 15th Alabama Regiment took control of Big Round Top and prepared to assault Little Round Top. Confederate control of Little Round Top would have made the Army of the Potomac vulnerable to a potentially fatal artillery barrage.
“The Alabamians drove the Maine men from their positions five times,” Geoffrey C. Ward wrote in The Civil War. “Five times they fought their way back again."
The boys from Maine stood firm.
His regiment reeling under heavy casualties, the remaining men desperately short of ammunition, Chamberlain ordered the 20th Maine to fix bayonets. While part of the regiment held its position atop the hill, the left charged down into the Confederates and swung to the right, like a door on a hinge. Co. B of the 20th Maine, which Chamberlain had detached early on, fired into the retreating rebels.
Little Round Top held, and the following day, the Army of the Potomac won a decisive battle at Gettysburg.
Chamberlain, a college professor turned soldier, was wounded several times during the war. He was breveted a major general and received the Medal of Honor. He went on to serve four terms as governor of Maine and became president of his alma mater, Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where his home is now a museum.
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