Little Round Top
Col Joshua L. Chamberlain was the commander of an infantry unit during the Civil War. As the Union Army established its position on the high ground at Gettysburg, on 2 July 1863, one of Meade’s engineers had noticed that the Union flank was exposed. The terrain of Little Round Top to the south, on the far left flank of the Union line, would have given the enemy a significant tactical advantage. They hastily ordered Chamberlain to occupy the flank with his unit, the 20th Maine. His orders were clear: He could not give an inch of ground, or it would have a disastrous effect.
Chamberlain and his 385 men arrived on Little Round Top just minutes before the Confederate Army attacked with 650 Rebel soldiers. The attacks were vicious because the Confederate Army knew the strategic importance of the flank and the terrain. Three Rebel charges taxed the 20th Maine to its limit. “Chamberlain first stretched his line to the point where his men were in a single-file line.” Apparently that wasn’t enough, so he “formed an angle to the main line in an attempt to prevent the Confederate flanking maneuver. Despite heavy losses, the 20th Maine held through [a total of three] charges by the 15th Alabama and other Confederate regiments for a total of ninety minutes” (Reference 1).
The attacks left Chamberlain’s unit in tatters. They had expended all their ammunition, and more than a third of the men were wounded or dead. Chamberlain had no reinforcements, no resupply, and no option to retreat. He absolutely had to hold his position.
As he considered these things, he heard a fourth Rebel yell, the sound of the Confederates beginning another charge at the bottom of the hill. Whether it was a stroke of genius or desperation, Chamberlain ordered his men to “Fix bayonets!” Then he ordered a great right wheel maneuver, a sweeping charge down the hill. History records that this was a pivotal moment in the battle. The 20th Maine repelled the attack, and as a result of the charge, many Confederate soldiers surrendered to soldiers from the 20th Maine who didn’t even have ammunition in their muskets or pistols.
Two things immediately come to mind when I consider the actions of the 20th Maine. First, their situation was far worse than we can even imagine, and the things we face right here, right now, pale in comparison. Their facts were brutal. The churn they faced was existential. Their lives were at stake. The Union Army and their cause probably hung in the balance.
As we look at this example from the past, I believe the most important thing we can observe is their courage. Chamberlain would receive the Medal of Honor for his courage and leadership on Little Round Top. He would also nominate his color sergeant, Tozier, for the Medal of Honor too.
But I think if we look more closely, we can see several things that make up that courage — I think we can glean several key lessons from Little Round Top that will prepare us to face the demands of reality just as Chamberlain and the 20th Maine did. These lessons help us frame reality in the present and help us see our situation as it is today.
We will never have everything we need to fight the battle we are in.
The 20th Maine was out of ammunition, and they had no reinforcements.
We will fall back on our ability to execute the fundamentals.
Chamberlain ordered a bayonet charge and a basic infantry maneuver, a right wheel maneuver.
We need the whole team, integrated together, each person filling a gap in the line, doing their unique part.
The soldier at the end of the far end of the line had to walk faster than the soldier at the center of the line, and the color bearer attracted more attention from the enemy due to his position and visibility. It was not equal nor fair. It was a team effort in which each person contributed uniquely to a shared objective.
It didn’t happen at Little Round Top first, but it did happen at Little Round Top first.
I wonder how many times they had fixed bayonets and how many times they had conducted drill practice. I’m certain they did not conduct these maneuvers on terrain that matched Little Round Top exactly. They didn’t have virtual reality or even simulators. In essence, they trained in one way and operated in another.
I believe we must consider these lessons today.
