Customer Reviews

The Twentieth Maine

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Pullen did a masterful job of researching the history of the 20th Maine. He backed his research with clear, concise, powerful writing. He follows the unit from its inception in Downeast Maine, all the way through its "mustering out", touching on all the high and low points in between. His ability to clearly describe event through the eyes of often illiterate country boys is hard to match. He gives details most other histories assume the reader knows, such as what an average day in the field might be like, or how the men learned the mundane but necessary skills of formation movement. He never skimps on the thrill or the horror of battle. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Civil War on a human scale. I have read this book many times, and will reread it many more, always finding fresh deatil.

This is one of the best regimental histories written about a Civil War outfit on either side. It is also a story of high valor and drama, of lost youth and heavy, heartbreaking losses. It is also the story of the maturing of a good man, Joshua Chamberlain, into a good soldier who does more than his assigned duty and ends the war with a general's stars, and more than one wound.

The regiment doesn't start with promise, however, and its first commander, Colonel Adelbert Ames, a hardened regular, is somewhat dismayed at his new command. However, hard work and professionalism pay off, and the 20th Maine does evolve into 'a hell of a regiment.'

The payoff is at Gettysburg on the second day on the far left flank of the Army of the Potomac on a wooded hill known locally as Little Round Top. Now commanded by the Lieutenant Colonel, Joshua Chamberlain (Ames being deservedly promoted to Brigadier General and brigade command), the regiment becomes the focus of the southern effort to capture Little Round Top and flank the Union Army. If one man could lose the war in the afternoon, it was Chamberlain and his homespun regiment from Maine.

They rise to the challenge, at heavy loss to themselves, execute a bayonet charge down the hill after running out of ammunition, sweeping up 400 prisoners and saving the Union left flank. It is the stuff legends are made of.

This is only one episode in this superb volume, and this book belongs in every Civil War collection. It is written with wit, verve, and accuracy, and it stirs the soul that our country was fought for and saved by men such as these.

John J. Pullen is to be commended for writing a masterful and interesting account of the famed 20th Maine led by Colonel (later Maj. General) Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. From the founding of the regiment made up of fishermen, lumberjack and regular men of various towns in Maine, Pullen describes the unorganization and various other problems the regiment encountered when it was first formed.

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was made Lt. Colonel when he first arrived to join the regiment and soon afterwards the regiment was becoming disciplined and effective, also under the command of Col (later Gen) Aldebert Ames.

From the first battles the unit fought in to the carnage of Fredericksburg and thus to Chancellorsville and finally to the 2nd of July 1863, Pullen describes vividly the heroic stance the 20th Maine made against the brave attack of the 15 Alabama and 4th and 5th Texas under Col. William Oates. The suprizing bayonet charge by the 20th Maine, when all seemed lost was a daring and bold moved that quite possibly saved the Union line and thus ultimately won the Battle of Gettysburg. The heroic regiment also fought bravely for the rest of the war especially at Petersburg where Gen. Chamberlain was seriously wounded.

Pullen does an outstanding job describing the everyday life of the regiment and describing various soldiers and the routine that made life away from home very tough to bear, however this regiment is to be commended for their commitment to the Union, to the state of Maine and to their families most of all.

This book is HIGHLY recommended to all Civil War Readers and once you start reading it, it will be hard to put down.

What would it have been like to have been there, on campaign with Lincoln's Army? Anyone with even a casual interest in the ACW has asked that question - for the most part any available answer is most unsatisfying. We can walk the battlefields, read the histories, even re-enact with reconstructed materials, but we can never really feel what those soldiers felt. The closest we may ever come is Pullen's The Twentieth Maine. Pullen writes as a Mainer about Mainers, but he maintains his objectivity, despite the closeness of the subject matter. Drawing extensively from primary sources, as well as his own experiences with infantry in Europe during WWII, Pullen draws us into the regiment made famous by its "end-of-the-line" stand on Little Round Top while serving under COL Chamberlain on the second day at Gettysburg. Pullen's strength is his ability to relate the men of the Twentieth Maine as individuals throughout their ordeal, each with their own hopes and fe! ars to be realized. Little Round Top was their first face-to-face, knock-down engagement and the results were beyond any realistic expectations. Chamberlain was a man constantly in the right place at the right time and so was the Twentieth Maine, several times saved from being fed into suicidal attacks and in the end honored with participation in the final surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse. This is without question one of the finest three or four unit histories of the ACW. A thoroughly enriching, rewarding experience for anyone with an interest in the ACW or the conduct of everyday men under far from everyday circumstances. Pullen reminds us that the true depth and breadth of the human spirit can only be guessed at, never really known.

A regimental history that really reflects the combat history of the Army of the Potomac from Antietam to Appomattox, this piece of Civil War literature is well worth your time.

Pullen puts you in the action so effectively that you really begin to wonder how regiments like the Twentieth Maine were able to perform so heroically for so long. Credited with single handedly saving the Union flank the second day at Gettysburg, the 20th Maine produces one of the finest battle field commanders of the war: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.

With a combat record second to none, these boys from Maine just may have saved the Union. It is because of their efforts that the United States owes such a deep sense of gratitude to the entire State of Maine.

I'm an avid student of the Civil War and this was a very enjoyable read. It mixes just enough of the non-military, playful elements in with the historical facts to keep it from getting too dry and it adds enough background so the significance of each action can be appreciated.
I was afraid this was going to be too centered on the justifiably famous Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain but that isn't the case -it discusses in detail the actions taken when Chamberlain was away wounded, serving on a Court Marshall in D.C, and when he was promoted to command other units [but requested command the 20th Maine at the very end!].
If you've seen the movie Gettysburg and some others, the book also clears up a number of glossed-over events, like who the "Colonel Rice" was who asked Chamberlain for a handshake after the charge down Little Round Top and why he was there.

This is a superbly readable look at one of the most storied units from the U.S. Civil War. Author John Pullen (1913?-2003) recounts the 20th Maine from its volunteer beginnings and famous defense at Gettysburg, to its many frightful battles in the last months of that horrid conflict. Readers get a feel for everyday life in the regiment, including tents, campfires, guard duty, lice, etc. We also learn of forced marches through woods, clearings, and swamplands, and the occasional horrific battles. The book focuses heavily on officer Joshua Chamberlain (hero of Little Round Top), but never strays far from the existence of ordinary enlisted men. The author's readable style is remarkably similar to that of Bruce Catton - who's superb Civil War histories (STILLNESS AT APPAMATOX, etc.) are also well worth your time. I'd have liked a couple more pages on home-front families, the unit's pre-1863 activities, maybe even the postwar lives of its veterans. Still, this book (published in 1961) provides a gripping look at one of the most storied units in U.S. military history.

The Twentieth Maine is great reading. You will not be dissapointed. Good detail and well written. A great book to add to your collection on the Cival War. Folks from Maine will get a glimpse of what our for fathers have done for our country. Great Buy.

From the first page, this history of the Twentieth grabs you. It is astounding how many battles this regiment was in, and the author minced no words about the horror of them (especially the medical "techniques")... lots of insights into Chamberlain and the other officers. This book was for a friend, because I wouldn't give mine up!

Thoroughly enjoyed this book in every way. I am a 'recreational' reader of history, Civil War in particular. Based on firsthand accounts, this book is written more as a story than as precise fact after fact. I could hardly put it down from start to finish. Anyone who enjoys historical accounts with *any* interest in the Civil War will love this book.

Highly recommend!