On July 2, 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg, Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and his regiment, the 20th Maine, was posted on the extreme left of the Federal line at Little Round Top—just in time to face Confederate General John B. Hood’s attack on the Union left flank. After fending off five attacks by Confederate troops from the 15th and 47th Alabama, most of the soldiers from Maine were down to one or two rounds. Unknown to the Union troops, the Southern troops had lost a water detail and were nearly exhausted. Chamberlain quickly realized that he could not retreat, for that would concede the Union left to the Rebels. He could not stay where he was, for they would be overrun by one more attack. Chamberlain and moved half of his soldiers back until the two lines met at a right angle at a large boulder. Realizing he couldn’t stay where he was and he couldn’t retreat, Chamberlain decided to attack.
Under tremendous fire in the midst of the battle, Col. Chamberlain exercised unusual calm and assembled his unit commanders. He explained that the regiment’s left wing would swing around “like a barn door” until it was even with the right wing then both groups would charge down the hill. Chamberlain gave the order to “fix bayonets” LT Holman Melcher of F Company leaped forward and led the left wing around. When the left and right wing became even, Col. Chamberlain jumped off a boulder and led the charge down the hill. The exhausted and shattered Alabama troops broke and ran, leaving the Union left flank secure.
While it is easy to get into hyperbole about the results of the actions a Little Round Top on July 2, 1863, we should not underestimate what may have happened for the entire battle of Gettysburg and the future of the United States if Southern forces had seized this high ground and turned the Union left flank. A common thought is that Robert E. Lee had already lost the battle of Gettysburg on July 2, and Pickett’s Charge on July 3 was a final act in the drama
Our nation is free because of the unparalleled courage of intrepid men like Col. Joshua Chamberlain. The blessings of liberty are never handed to a free people; they must be purchased at the cost of tremendous sacrifice and loss of life. Our freedom is a precious treasure handed down to us. This Veterans’ Day, Christians best honor the brave warriors who have given us this gift by using our religious liberty to its greatest extent to share the Gospel to every person we can.
