An authentic Maine legend> Biography makes Chamberlain a man for all ages

“His Proper Post: A Biography of Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain” by Sis Deans, Belle Grove Publishing Co., Kearney, N.J., 1996; 154 pages, $17.95.

If you have a teen-ager or a grandchild or even a neighborhood kid who you think might somehow be saved from the crass brutality of the electronic age, hide the computer keyboard, unplug the television set, and rearrange the video games with a fencing maul. There is a book out there which will tell the youngster that Joshua L. Chamberlain was more than some old guy who got lucky and had a bridge named after him.

He is an authentic Maine legend as well as being an American hero; someone who should be read about and whose writings should be read.

In 1994, Sis Deans’ young nephew visited the Chamberlain Museum in Brunswick, and that event sparked a search by the young man for a book on Chamberlain which was suitable for someone his age. Unable to find anything immediately at hand, Aunt Sis stepped forward, and this book is the result of that wish.

Most of us, it is hoped even some of the aforementioned teen-agers, know the good general for his deeds at the Battle of Gettysburg. Not only did he lead (colonels actually marched at the head of their troops in the Civil War) the 20th Maine to anchor the Union left on Little Round Top that fateful July 2, 1863, but there was enough grit in what was left of the regiment to be in the middle of the defense against Pickett’s charge the next day.

Not bad for a young colonel who had graduated from Bangor Theological Seminary and most recently had taught rhetoric and oratory at Bowdoin College.

Born in Brewer, Chamberlain decided at age 18 that he wanted to attend Bowdoin. His Latin was rusty and he needed to learn Greek in order to take the entrance examination. He built a room in his parents’ attic, hired tutors for the Latin and Greek, and spent nine months studying from 5 in the morning until 10 at night.

In February 1848, he set off for Bowdoin with one of his tutors in a horse-drawn sleigh. On the back of the sleigh was a large trunk containing his belongings. If he were able to pass the examination, he would stay at Bowdoin. If he failed, it would be a long drive home. Talk about pre-college stress. He passed.

Chamberlain’s father provided the family credo early and often as the boys were growing up. When asked how a task was to be accomplished, his father would answer, “Do it, that’s how.” Chamberlain spent his life following that advice, and it stood him well.

After the war, he briefly returned to Bowdoin before becoming the governor of Maine. Ending a successful stint as governor, Chamberlain was asked to become the president of Bowdoin.

Although his tenure as college president was not an unqualified success, history has judged him to be a man far ahead of his time in the educational realm. College historians agree that the modern Bowdoin College can trace its roots directly back to the Chamberlain years.

One particularly interesting event in Chamberlain’s life took place in the fall of 1879. It seems that none of the candidates for governor won a majority of the popular vote, and it was up to the Legislature to elect the new governor.

Politicians being what they are, things did not go smoothly. For 12 days, Augusta was an armed camp. On Jan. 5, 1880, the governor called out the state militia with Maj. Gen. Chamberlain in command. For 12 days, Chamberlain and his militia sat on a powder keg. Finally the Maine Supreme Judicial Court rendered a decision on who should be governor and the crisis was averted with no loss of life.

This book has a tremendous amount of well-written and -documented information. The footnotes and bibliography alone should give any student a high school career’s worth of research material. There are numerous photographs and, my favorites — maps.

The author also takes pains to include numerous quotations from Chamberlain’s own books. Never having read one before, I am hooked. The man could write beautifully in the somewhat flowery style of the day.

There are some small bones I must pick, however. Occasionally, the date of a happening would not be readily discernible in the text. When you are doing research, it is always helpful to have the date jump out at you in the first sentence.

Also, perhaps as a sop to the young, who seem to think that it is perfectly correct to call everyone by first names, the author refers to Chamberlain as “Joshua.” As a former member of the military, I found that particularly annoying. You just don’t go around referring to generals and colonels by their first names.

In this age of insane end-zone victory dances and the seemingly continuous “dissing” of opponents, Chamberlain’s receipt of the Confederate surrender at Appomattox stands out as a beacon of civility and brotherly love.

The Union troops were massed as the Confederates marched in front of them to stack their rifles and battle flags. No one who wasn’t there can know the breadth of despair that beat in Southern hearts that day. Suddenly, on Chamberlain’s order, the Union troops came to attention and saluted the vanquished foe.

This courageous move, initially criticized by some, was warmly remembered by Confederate soldiers to their deaths. As much as anything, that act makes Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain a man for all ages.