Joshua Chamberlain : The Man and the Soldier

by Longacre, Edward G.

• ISBN13: 9781580970211
• ISBN10: 1580970214
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Combined Books

Summary

Joshua Chamberlain's exploits on Little Round Top have gained worldwide fame since the release of the filmGettysburg.Several books on Joshua Chamberlain have appeared in recent years, but most have been either hero-worship or have relied too heavily on his own account of his actions.Edward Longacre has joined the front ranks of American Civil War historians withThe Cavalry at Gettysburg, General John Buford,andCuster and his Wolverines.Now he provides the first biography of Joshua Chamberlain that places his Civil War career in the full context of his life before and after the war, explores all aspects of his character, and draws on independent, and occasionally contradictory, eyewitness accounts of his battlefield actions. Previously unknown aspects of Chamberlain's experiences before the war and at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and Appomattox are presented to a wider audience here for the first time. Edward Longacre's meticulous research suggests that Chamberlain's own accounts of some of his actions can no longer be taken entirely at face value and that his character had a darker side, but the various flaws and failings of Chamberlain the real man as recounted here serve in the end to emphasize rather than diminish the remarkable nature of his accomplishments.

Author Biography

Edward G. Longacre is the author of numerous biographies of Civil War generals. He is a recipient of the prestigious Fletcher Pratt Award for Civil War writing. He lives in Newport News, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	9	(2)
Preface	11	(4)
Favored Son	15	(16)
Ardent Suitor	31	(12)
Restless Scholar	43	(16)
Novice Warrior	59	(16)
Combat Veteran	75	(22)
Unhappy Spectator	97	(16)
Beloved Colonel	113	(16)
Dogged Defender	129	(20)
Walking Wounded	149	(22)
Perfect Target	171	(24)
Returning Hero	195	(18)
Battered Victor	213	(16)
Generous Enemy	229	(20)
Fighting Civilian	249	(20)
Waning Star	269	(44)
Afterword A Psychological Portrait	295	(18)
Joshua Chamberlain
Notes	313	(54)
Bibliography	367	(18)
Index	385