By Joshua L. Chamberlain, Class of 1852

Annotations by Thomas A. Desjardin and David K. Thomson '08; foreword by U.S. Senator Angus S. King, Jr. H‘07; edited by Richard Lindemann

Published in Commemoration of the Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's early memoir is published in its entirety here for the first time.  In his own words, he recounts his childhood—playing with his siblings, hunting and haying, Sunday socials—coming of age at Bowdoin College and the Bangor Theological Seminary, forming his own family with his wife, Fanny, and closing with his departure from Brunswick, Maine, to combat Southern secession and preserve the Union. 

- From the back cover. 

"I consider myself a modest student of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain but never knew him so well until reading the pages that follow.  What a revelation—for here are the origins of his extraordinary character, insights into his amazing intellect, and a vivid demonstration of his command of elegant prose...."

- U.S. Senator Angus S. King, Jr.