Collection Summary
Joshua Lawrence
Chamberlain Papers
1775-1913
(bulk 1828-1913)
1775-1913
(bulk 1828-1913)
MSS15503
Chamberlain, Joshua
Lawrence, 1828-1914.
1,000
items
11 containers
4.4 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Union Army officer,
educator, and governor of Maine. Correspondence, biographical notes, record
books, military reports, speeches, accounts of engagements of the Army of the
Potomac, and other material mostly concerning the Civil War.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Brown, John Marshall, 1838-1907--Correspondence.
Burrage, Henry S. (Henry Sweetser), 1837-1926--Correspondence.
Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence, 1828-1914.
Connor, Selden, 1839- --Correspondence.
Hamlin, Charles, 1837-1911--Correspondence.
Howard, O. O. (Oliver Otis), 1830-1909--Correspondence.
McClellan, Carswell, 1835-1892--Correspondence.
Sargent, Horace Binney, 1821-1908--Correspondence.
Seward, William H. (William Henry), 1801-1872--Correspondence.
Warren, G. K. (Gouverneur Kemble), 1830-1882--Correspondence.
Woodman, Cyrus, 1814-1889--Correspondence.
Organizations
United States. Army of the Potomac.
United States. Army. Corps, 5th (1862-1865)
United States. Army. Maine Infantry Regiment, 20th (1862-1865). Company G.
Subjects
Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863.
Places
Maine--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Maine--Militia.
Pennsylvania--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Form/Genre
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns.
Occupations
Army officers.
Educators.
Governors--Maine.
Provenance
The papers of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Union Army officer,
educator, and governor of Maine, were given to the Library of Congress by
Rosamond Allen and Eleanor W. Allen, 1938-1956.
Processing History
The Chamberlain Papers were processed prior to 1950 and revised and
expanded, 1968-1973. The finding aid was revised in 2010.
Other Repositories
A collection of Alice Rains Trulock's research materials for her book,
In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American
Civil War
(Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992), is
located at the Pejepscot Historical Society, Brunswick, Maine. These research
materials include photocopies of documents from several repositories, including
the Manuscript Division.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Joshua Lawrence
Chamberlain is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17,
U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain are open to research.
Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to
visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to
retrieve these items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain Papers,
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1828, Sept. 8
Born, Brewer, Maine
1852
Graduated, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
1852
1855
Student, Bangor Theological Seminary, Bangor, Maine
1855
Married Fannie Adams
1855
1862
Taught, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
1862
Appointed lieutenant colonel, 20th Maine Regiment
1863
Appointed colonel, 20th Maine Regiment
Fought at Battle of Gettysburg and awarded Congressional
Medal of Honor for his defense of Little Round Top
1864
Promoted by Ulysses S. Grant to brigadier general of
volunteers
1867
1871
Governor of Maine
1871
1883
President, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
1893
Awarded Medal of Honor for actions at Battle of
Gettysburg
1914, Feb. 24
Died, Portland, Maine
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (1828-1914) span the years
1775-1913, with the bulk from 1828 to 1913. The collection consists of
correspondence, biographical notes, record books, military reports, speeches,
accounts of engagements of the Army of the Potomac, and other material mostly
concerning the Civil War. Included are reports of Company G, 20th Maine
Volunteers, and Chamberlain's account of the battle of Gettysburg. There are
letters relating to the state militia in Maine, military reunions, and data for
a history of the 5th United States Army Corps in which Chamberlain served as a
colonel of the 20th Maine Regiment.
Prominent correspondents include John Marshall Brown, Henry S.
Burrage, Selden Connor, Charles Hamlin, O. O. Howard, Carswell McClellan,
Horace Binney Sargent, William Henry Seward, Gouverneur Kemble Warren, and
Cyrus Woodman.
Arrangement of the Papers
The collection is organized by type of material and includes an
addition.
Container List
Container
Contents
1
General correspondence
1
5
Feb. 1848-2 Feb. 1873
5
Feb. 1848-2 Feb. 1873
2
15
Apr. 1873-2 July 1882
15
Apr. 1873-2 July 1882
3
6
July 1882-6 May 1913, undated
6
July 1882-6 May 1913, undated
4
Miscellany
4
Sermon in Philadelphia, Pa.,
1775
1775
4
Prewar and Bowdoin College,
Brunswick, Maine, papers
4
Celebrations
Society of the Potomac, 20th Maine Regiment
Association
Society of the Potomac, 20th Maine Regiment
Association
4
Batchelder correspondence
4
Papers as governor of Maine
4
Transition papers,
Jan. 1880
Jan. 1880
4
Political pieces
4
Letters to his wife
4
Letter to his mother
4
Grant, Ulysses S., and J. E. Rice
4
Reminiscences to Chamberlain
4
Army and Navy Escutcheon Co. (F.
H. Dyer)
4
Miscellaneous postwar
correspondence
5
Miscellaneous war correspondence
5
Civil War correspondence,
original military orders, and mustering out papers
5
Battles, engagements, and
skirmishes, regimental records
5
Regimental records
(2
folders)
6
Regimental records by state
(2
folders)
6
Regimental records, personnel
statistics, and officers? obituary announcements
6
Officers' obituary announcements
7
List of officers
7
Personnel statistics
(2
folders)
7
Photographs
7
Maps
8
Regimental index
8
Reports of operations
8
Dispatches
(3
folders)
9
Centennial celebration scrapbook
9
Quartermaster's log and
Chamberlain's scrapbook of press clippings,
1890s
1890s
9
Press clippings
9
Largely 1870s and 1880s
Largely 1870s and 1880s
9
Largely 1910s
Largely 1910s
10
Printed materials by Chamberlain
10
Unbound printed matter, largely
annotated
10
Printed matter concerning
Chamberlain
11
Addition
11
General correspondence,
1860-1901
1860-1901
(2
folders)
11
Writings
11
George W. Addams, Paul Parley's
Trip to France
11
Horace B. Chamberlain, poem
11
Tracings, sketches, and printed
matter
11
Correspondence,
1858-1889
1858-1889
11
Correspondence and returns
relating to Company G, 20th Maine