Joshua Chamberlain Signature Signed Gettysburg Civil War Bowdoin Rare Vintage

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Joshua Chamberlain Signature Signed Gettysburg Civil War Bowdoin Rare Vintage :
$600.00

This sale features a signed document by Joshua chamberlain.The document attests that a Frank Kimball (Class of 1876) passed the necessary requirements for sophomore year and that he can commence junior year. Please ask questions.

The Battlefield-Academic Career of Joshua L. Chamberlain

Birth and Background of Parents
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was born September 8, 1828, in Brewer, Maine, the oldest of five children. His father, also named Joshua, was a Brewer farmer who took a leading citizen’s part in civil and military affairs, holding at one time office of county commissioner and serving as lieutenant-colonel commanding the militia regiment at the time of Maine’s \"Aroostook War\" with New Brunswick. His mother, Sarah, was quite different. Filled with energy, she kept all about her busy with activity with her children. She resolved early in his life that the young Joshua should devote himself to the Lord’s work. That her husband was equally determined on a military career for their oldest son did not disturb her. ( See photo at right of Union Brigadier General Joshua Chamberlain from Brady Collection, National Archives.)

Early Life
Growing up on a 100-acre farm, the young Chamberlain learned that few things are so difficult that they cannot be mastered. He learned to shoot, sing, and play the string bass, in which he became an accomplished player. His father sent him to a military academy in nearby Ellsworth. Joshua did very well in military drill, Latin, and the required modern language, French.

Career Decision
Nearing the end of his teens, no decision had been made concerning a possible career. The social and spiritual significance of the Congregational Church in Brewer began to possess him. He agreed to become a minister of the gospel as a missionary to some country. To reach this goal, he had to earn a college education. The college in Maine which produced many aspirants to the Congregational ministry at that time was Bowdoin College in Brunswick. In 1848 he was admitted.

A successful student, Joshua received second prize ($5) for English composition at the end of his senior year. Joshua graduated in 1852. He entered the Bangor Theological Seminary that year and was graduated in 1855.

Professor at Bowdoin
While studying at the seminary, he presented an oration at Bowdoin. The faculty and administration were impressed and invited Chamberlain for the academic year, 1855-56, to become an instructor in logic and natural theology. Stowe had taught these same subjects in 1852. Joshua accepted the position and celebrated by marrying Fanny Adams on December 7, 1855. His wife was also a member of the Congregational Church.

Growing Uneasy
By 1862, several students from Bowdoin were serving with the Union forces. For Chamberlain, the conviction mounted that he must commit himself to this struggle in which he saw the very citadel of civilization threatened, a respect for the laws of man and God. Friends were bothered at the possibility of his leaving. Besides, if he were going to be an officer, he had no qualifying experience, no military training except for what he received at the academy years before. In its concern, the college gave him a two-year leave of absence in August 1862 to travel and study in Europe. He at first accepted, but then gave in to his conscience. He went to Augusta to see Governor Israel Washburn. Chamberlain was offered the rank of lieutenant-colonel, a subordinate position but one in which he could master the art of command in war.
Military Career
Chamberlain was assigned to the 20th Maine Infantry, mustered into Federal service on August 29, 1862. Its first action was at Antietam, September 17. Until the end of the war, April 9, 1865, Chamberlain took part in 24 battles and was wounded six times. His climb to fame as a military leader took place at Gettysburg, July 1-4, 1863. Chosen to hold the ground of the extreme left of the Union Army on Little Round Top, Chamberlain led his troops in a deadly counterattack which allowed enough time for additional troops from other units to arrive. For this action, Chamberlain was award the Congressional Medal of Honor.

On June 18, 1864, Chamberlain was severely wounded at Petersburg. Believed to be near death, he was promoted to brigadier general. Following a recovery lasting until November, Chamberlain returned to active duty on the 19th, only to be wounded again on March 29, 1865, at the Battle of Five Forks. Chamberlain was chosen from all of the officers in the army to receive the formal surrender of Lee’s army at Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1965. This honor moved him greatly, perhaps more than anything else in his whirlwind military career of three years.

Chamberlain was assigned to the 20th Maine Infantry, mustered into Federal service on August 29, 1862. Its first action was at Antietam, September 17. Until the end of the war, April 9, 1865, Chamberlain took part in 24 battles and was wounded six times. His climb to fame as a military leader took place at Gettysburg, July 1-4, 1863. Chosen to hold the ground of the extreme left of the Union Army on Little Round Top, Chamberlain led his troops in a deadly counterattack which allowed enough time for additional troops from other units to arrive. For this action, Chamberlain was award the Congressional Medal of Honor.

On June 18, 1864, Chamberlain was severely wounded at Petersburg. Believed to be near death, he was promoted to brigadier general. Following a recovery lasting until November, Chamberlain returned to active duty on the 19th, only to be wounded again on March 29, 1865, at the Battle of Five Forks. Chamberlain was chosen from all of the officers in the army to receive the formal surrender of Lee’s army at Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1965. This honor moved him greatly, perhaps more than anything else in his whirlwind military career of three years.

Return to Bowdoin
Due to his physical condition, a permanent army career was impossible. Chamberlain returned to his teaching post during the 1865-66 academic year. Becoming restless he was soon drawn to the political stage. In November of that year, he was elected governor and served until 1871.

President of Bowdoin College
In the spring of 1871, he was approached by the Board of Trustees about becoming president. This opportunity presented Chamberlain with the possibility of putting into effect a number of educational ideas long fermenting in his mind. In the fall of that year, he became the sixth president of Bowdoin. He had in mind three areas of reform: a loosening of discipline; curriculum revision with greater emphasis on science, and the introduction of military drill.

The students did not take well to his last idea. In the spring of 1874, a \"revolt\" took place in which the sophomore class signed a pledge, \"We refuse to ever again to drill at this college.\" This action doomed Chamberlain’s military program. In June, the Board voted that it become optional. By 1878, even Chamberlain admitted failure to this plan and the others he had envisioned. In 1880 and 1881, the Boards discontinued the scientific and engineering programs he had started. In spite of these failures, Chamberlain left his mark on the curriculum and must be remembered as being ahead of his time. In 1883 he resigned but continued to lecture on public law and political economy until 1885.

Later Life
Never able to completely recover from his wounds, Chamberlain was in pain for the remainder of his life. After serving as president, he was appointed by the Hayes administration a commissioner of education representing the United States in Paris at the Universal Exposition; was president of three companies; and became surveyor of customs for the port of Portland, Maine. He died February 24, 1914.