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The Tenacious 20th Maine
July 2, 1863 - The Second Day
"At that crisis, I ordered the bayonet. The word was enough. It ran like fire along the line, from man to man, and rose into a shout...."
-- Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain, U.S.A., Commander, 20th Maine Volunteers
Late on the second day, the 358 men of the 20th Maine Volunteers found themselves anchoring the southern end of the Union line. If they could not stop the Confederate tide here on the southern slopes of Little Round Top, the Federal line might be unhinged.
For more than an hour, waves of Alabamians repeatedly stormed this hillside from below, but were repulsed each time. So deadly was the struggle that "blood stood in puddles on the rocks." When the New Englanders' ammunition was nearly spent, Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain ordered a desperate bayonet charge that drove the Alabamians back for good, thus securing the Union left flank.
The short walk in front of you leads to the secluded 20th Maine monument. It rests on ground Chamberlain was ordered to hold "at all hazards."
Union infantry of the 20th Maine took advantage of natural defenses here to repulse superior numbers of attacking Confederates. Painting by Keith Rocco.
Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain, a professor before the war, led the charge here that secured the Union left flank. For gallantry he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Later, he officiated the surrender of Lee's army at Appomattox and was elected Governor of Maine.
Col. William C. Oates who commanded the 15th Alabama which lost 343 men and 19 officers - nearly half their strength - in an attempt to dislodge the 20th Maine. His beloved brother, John, was hit by six bullets, and fell mortally wounded here. Oates recalled, "The dead literally covered the ground." |