Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Civil War Generals: General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain - Brunswick, ME

Interesting Places I've Photographed
Brigadier General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
Brunswick, ME
Topic: Civil War Generals

GPS: N43° 54.615; W069° 57.803
Quick Description: 

The Brigadier General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain statue is located at Bowdoin College, opposite his home in Brunswick. He successfully defended Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg on June 2, 1963.

Long Description:

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was born in Brewer, Maine, on September 8, 1828 and died in Portland, Maine, on February 24, 1914. He was a Professor at Bowdoin College who volunteered for service in the Union Army during the Civil War. Despite his lack of previous military background, he became a highly decorated Union officer and reached the permanent rank of brigadier general and the temporary rank of brevet major general.

General Chamberlain is most famous for his for his gallantry at the battle of Gettysburg. On July 2, 1863, he commanded the 20th Maine Regiment, which held the extreme left flank on Little Round Top, a position that had to be held at all cost. To defend his position he initiated and led a successful bayonet charge for which he was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. At Appomattox Court House, Virginia, he commanded the Union troops at the surrender ceremony of Robert E. Lee's Army that ended the Civil War.

After the war, he served as the 32nd Governor of Maine and returned to the faculty of Bowdoin College, where he became president of the college.

The statue depicts a standing figure of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain dressed in his Union uniform and wearing high top boots. His left arm is at his side and he holding a broad brimmed hat by the crown against his left thigh. His right arm is raised to waist level and his fingers are outstretched. The granite pedestal is inscribed:

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
1828 - 1914

The bronze statue was dedicated on May 31, 2003. It was sculpted by Joseph Query and cast at the Modern Art Foundry. The landscape architect for the project was Richardson Associates. An accompanying plaque lists the persons that were responsible for the memorial statue and the surrounding grounds.

No comments:

Post a Comment