In the Hands of Providence
Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Deserve[s] a place on every Civil War bookshelf.--New York Times Book Review
"[Trulock] brings her subject alive and escorts him through a brilliant career. One can easily say that the definitive work on Joshua Chamberlain has now been done.--James Robertson, Richmond Times-Dispatch
"An example of history as it should be written. The author combines exhaustive research with an engaging prose style to produce a compelling narrative which will interest scholars and Civil War buffs alike.--Journal of Military History
"A solid biography. . . . It does full justice to an astonishing life.--Library Journal
This remarkable biography traces the life and times of Joshua L. Chamberlain, the professor-turned-soldier who led the Twentieth Maine Regiment to glory at Gettysburg, earned a battlefield promotion to brigadier general from Ulysses S. Grant at Petersburg, and was wounded six times during the course of the Civil War. Chosen to accept the formal Confederate surrender at Appomattox, Chamberlain endeared himself to succeeding generations with his unforgettable salutation of Robert E. Lee's vanquished army. After the war, he went on to serve four terms as governor of his home state of Maine and later became president of Bowdoin College. He wrote prolifically about the war, including The Passing of the Armies, a classic account of the final campaign of the Army of the Potomac.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1861 Joshua Chamberlain was an obscure college professor. In 1863 he led the 20th Maine regiment ?/I've lc since I`m not sure regiment is the official title, referred to only as 20th Maine.gs in the defense of Little Round Top at Gettysburg. In 1865 he commanded a division in the Army of the Potomac with such skill that he was chosen to conduct the surrender ceremonies for since it was surrenner OF southern army the Army of Northern Virginia. Freelance writer Trulock presents a definitive biography of this distinguished citizen and Union officer. Chamberlain emerges from Trulock's pages as an unusually brave man who could think quickly and rationally under extreme stress. He was not a ``born soldier,'' but he eventually became a master of war. Neither his presidency of Bowdoin College nor his four terms as governor of Maine seem to have defined him as did a few minutes at Gettysburg and a few hours in Virginia. In this, Chamberlain was an archetype of the generation that dismembered, then reknit, a country. He died at age 86 in 1914.