Little Round Top Thesis

Union leader Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain will always be remembered for his remarkable bravery on July 2, 1863, at Little Round Top in the Battle of Gettysburg. Without him, one of the most significant battles would be lost to the Confederates, making it harder for the Union to win the Civil War. After running out of ammunition, Chamberlain and his men made a last-minute move, “The regiment’s sudden, desperate bayonet charge blunted the Confederate assault on Little Round Top and has been credited with saving Major General George Gordon Meade’s Army of the Potomac, winning the Battle of Gettysburg and setting the South on a long, irreversible path to defeat.”(Brann) Thesis: Joshua Chamberlain changed the output of the war during the Battle of Gettysburg and will always be

This allowed him to enter the action in the Battle of Gettysburg. His job there was to protect the extreme left flank of the Army of the Potomac, positioned on Little Round Top. Chamberlain and his troops had to do whatever it took to hold their position because, “Colonel Strong Vincent looked to Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine regiment to defend Little Round Top ‘at every hazard’. It was vital for the Union army to not lose this hilltop position to prevent the Confederates from breaking through their lines.”(Chamberlain's Defense at Little Round Top) Chamberlain’s major fame soon began on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, on July 2nd, 1863. Longstreet was in charge of leading the Confederate assault against the left flank of the Union Army. Chamberlain and his 20th Maine regiment had to go against the 15th and 47th Alabama regiment, who had a disadvantage from walking 25 miles that day to get to the battlefield. Still with this disadvantage, Chamberlain’s men were hugely outnumbered by the 15th and 47th Alabama regiment and had to face one assault after