The Twentieth Maine: A Volunteer Regiment in the Civil War

It was at Little Round Top that the volunteer regiment, the Twentieth Maine, with Joshua Chamberlain in command, performed one of the miracles of the Civil War and saved the left flank of the Union battle line. Outnumbered two to one, their front doubled back to the shape of a horseshoe. And with ammunition gone, the men fixed bayonets, charged, and not only broke up the Confederate attack but took four hundred prisoners. At Appomattox, the Twentieth Maine was one of the regiments chosen to receive the surrender of General Lee's infantry, and Joshua Chamberlain, the Bowdoin professor who had become a general, was appointed to command the Union troops at the ceremony. Considered by Civil War historians to be one of the best regimental histories ever written, this beloved standard of American history tells how Chamberlain and his men fought at Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville on their way to the pivotal battle of Gettysburg, where their heroism earned them a place in the history books. Read more Continue reading Read less ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John J. Pullen was born in the town of Amity, Maine, which contributed several men to the Twentieth Maine regiment, and a few Civil War veterans were in the area during his childhood. One of his first memories was of seeing a scar on his grandfather's head from a wound he got at Appomattox while serving with the Eleventh Maine, and he feels that perhaps his interest in the Civil War began subconsciously in those early, formative years. He graduated from Colby College, Waterville, Maine, in 1935. He served in the US Army from 1941 to 1946, rising from private to captain in the field artillery. He saw action overseas with the Sixty-fifth and Ninth Infantry Divisions.



Barrett Whitener has been narrating audiobooks since 1992. His recordings have won several awards, including the prestigious Audie and seven Earphones Awards. AudioFile magazine has named him one of the Best Voices of the Century. He lives in Washington, DC.

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