Joshua Chamberlain, Narrated by Senator Angus King
Senator Angus King is an American lawyer and Independent politician best known for being the former Governor of Maine who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2013. Senator King explores the legacy of Joshua Chamberlain, the Mainer who helped the Union win the Battle of Gettysburg.
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Notes
Unless otherwise noted, all images used in this video are in the public domain.
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Civil War Photographs, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-B8184-3287.]
Tyler Vernick, Conor Brobston, and David J. Trowbridge. “The 20th Maine Monument, Gettysburg .”
Clio: Your Guide to History. March 29, 2020. https://theclio.com/entry/10113
Chamberlain Portrait (Brady’s National Photographic Portrait Galleries, Library of Congress, 1865)
Chamberlain Portrait (Bowdoin College Library, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, 1915)
Painting of the Twentieth Maine at Gettysburg (The National Guard)
“Joshua Chamberlain statue, Brunswick, ME” by Billy Hathorn, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Amazing action at Gettysburg. Yes, he did save the day and perhaps the nation. Thank you for including this great hero in 250/250!
Twenty years ago I visited the Special Collections room on the top floor of the Bowdoin College library where I saw several Chamberlain treasures displayed in a simple glass case. Three that I remember: His Congressional Medal of Honor- the first one ever awarded, if I recall correctly; a wide gold bracelet inscribed with the names and dates of the many Civil War battles where he fought and survived; and a letter to his wife in April 1865 giving his eyewitness account of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. I was shocked that these items were not in the National Archives. I’ve never been back to Maine, and I’ve often wondered if these historical treasures are still displayed so modestly, and with so little security.