Civil War Service
Chamberlain's great-grandfathers were soldiers in the American Revolutionary War and his grandfather had served during the War of 1812. His father also had served during the abortive Aroostook War of 1839. His brother Joshua was also in the army.
In 1862, Chamberlain joined the Union Army. His motives were mixed—personal, patriotic, and religious.
He was soon placed in the newly formed 20th Maine Infantry along with his brother Joshua, who was made lieutenant colonel of the regiment.
The 20th Maine regiment marched to the Battle of Antietam, but did not participate in the fighting. They fought at the Battle of Fredericksburg, suffering light casualties in the assaults on Marye's Heights, but they were forced to spend a miserable night on the freezing battlefield among the many wounded and dead from other regiments. They missed the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863 due to an outbreak of smallpox in their ranks, which kept them on guard duty in the rear. In June 1863, Joshua was promoted to colonel of the regiment, after the promotion of its first colonel, Adelbert Ames, to brigade command. Thomas Chamberlain was involved in most of the other battles in which the 20th Maine fought, most notably the Battle of Gettysburg.
Read more about this topic: Thomas Chamberlain
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