Chapter 12: Colonel Chamberlain

Congrats to ngrey651, a reader who knows their Civil War history! Ngrey was the first reviewer to guess that this chapter introduces Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, commander of the 20th Maine Regiment of Volunteers. Uldaren Bardaniel gets an honorable mention too, not just for knowing that it was Chamberlain I alluded to, but for the great knowledge of Chamberlain he showed in his review. So read on, and please give me your reviews. I'm enjoying the opportunity to show the readers of this humble fic what the Civil War was really like, and in doing so, perhaps honor the men who fought in the war between the states.

Dib walked alongside General Hancock down the line of Union troops marching in formation toward the ridge where they had left Tak. The men in the ranks looked tired, as if they had been marching for days. Dib felt a small bit of relief seeing all the soldiers coming toward town. At the side of the column rode a man on a white horse. He held his head high in a regal manner, and as he reached General Hancock, he saluted smartly with his riding crop.

"General Hancock, sir." He said proudly. "Good morning sir. Where shall I position my brigade?" Hancock saluted the man.

"Colonel Vincent. I'm glad to see you and your men finally. I would like your brigade to be my left flank."

"Yes sir. I will position my regiments accordingly." Vincent said nobly.

"This is private Dib, my personal messenger. I will send him with you. Place him in the regiment at the left flank of your line. He is to keep me informed in case of any problems on the flank." He said the latter while looking at Dib. Dib nodded to the general.

"Very well, sir." Vincent replied.

"Get into position as soon as possible." Hancock said. "It is believed that the enemy will try an attack on our left."

"Understood sir." Vincent said, saluting.

"Dib, you understand your orders?" Hancock asked. "You're on the far left. It's important that you keep me informed in case of any important developments there."

"Yes sir." Dib replied. Hancock looked at him expectantly. "Oh." Dib said. He saluted. "Sir." Hancock saluted him back.

"You'll make a fine soldier yet." He said with a smile. "Now off with you. Go with Colonel Vincent. He will place you where needed. Do be careful, son."

"I will, general sir." Dib replied. Careful was an understatement. He would do anything in his power to stay as far away from danger as he could. Colonel Vincent signaled an officer, who rode up, and held out his hand. Dib took the man's hand, and soon he was riding away, along the long line of troops. Before he knew it, a bugler was trumpeting, and ahead of him, Colonel Vincent was talking to an officer walking a horse at the front of a column of soldiers. As the officer that bore him drew closer, Dib could hear their conversation.

"Follow me, Colonel Chamberlain, I will place your regiment." Vincent said to the officer. "And we must be quick. I believe there will be a fight today."

"Understood, sir." The man Chamberlain replied.

"Today, we shall show the world how college professors soldier." Vincent said with a smile.

"College professors?" Dib asked the officer on whose horse he sat. "I thought they were colonels." The officer chuckled.

"Colonel Vincent is a professor from Harvard." He told Dib. "And Colonel Chamberlain there is a professor from Maine."

"Wow." Dib said. He could hardly imagine teachers fighting in a war. His dad was a professor, but Dib couldn't picture him fighting anyone, let alone leading troops. Miss Bitters was so scary she could probably frighten an army into surrender. He looked at the two men. College professors leading an army…

"Then follow me." Vincent said. He and his staff, including Dib took the lead of the long line of Union soldiers, and started along the ridge. Dib looked for Tak as they passed the spot where they had parted earlier, but she and General Meade were nowhere to be seen. He rode along the ridge until the path took them up a hill. Dib could no longer see the field, for trees stood thick on either side of the road now, and the path grew steeper. It seemed as if they were moving to the top of a small mountain.

After a few minutes, the group stopped, and the column of troops halted behind them. Vincent climbed down off of his horse and walked further up the path with Chamberlain. The officer helped Dib down, and he followed the colonels along the trail. They stopped where the trail ended in the woods. Below, the forested hill sloped downward. Dib tried to make out any recognizable features, but he could only see about 100 feet down through the thick foliage.

"Colonel," Vincent said to Chamberlain. "Here I place your regiment. The 83rd is to your right, but you are to be the far left of my line. I am the far left of Hancock's line, and Hancock is the left flank of the Union army."

"I understand." Chamberlain said, gazing out into the trees.

"You are the end of the Union line, and if attacked, you must not allow the enemy to take this position. If they do, we could all be flanked. You must hold."

"Yes sir." Chamberlain said calmly. "Hold this position."

"Very well." Vincent said in a self-confident tone. "And I leave you with this boy, General Hancock's messenger. He is ordered to report from this position any important information." Chamberlain looked at Dib and nodded. "Hopefully, you'll live to see my lectures and I yours." With that, Vincent saluted and left the scene. Chamberlain looked over the area studiously for a few moments.

"Captain Spear!" The colonel called. A bearded man approached. "Set the colors over there by that boulder. Dress the line from the 83rd to that point, and get the boys to dig in, and stack the rocks to create some protection."

"Yes sir!" Captain Spear saluted. He turned and hurried off. Men soon began to form up in a line at the slope. Chamberlain turned to Dib.

"And you…um…what is your name?" He asked.

"Dib…uh…Private Dib."

"Okay, Dib. You stay with me, okay? If I need to send you to General Hancock or Colonel Vincent, I need you close, understand?"

"Okay, sir." Dib said. Chamberlain sighed. He took off his cap and wiped his brow. He was a younger man, about 30, with a full sandy colored handlebar moustache and wavy hair of the same color. He had the look and air of an educated man, but not of an army officer.

"Colonel Chamberlain?" Dib asked.

"Yes Dib?" Chamberlain replied as if in a hurry. He kept looking down the slope as if expecting an attack at any moment.

"A man back there said you were a professor…" Chamberlain nodded and looked back into the trees.

"I am. I teach religion and philosophy at Bowdoin College in Maine." The colonel replied.

"Then why are you fighting in this war?" Dib asked. "I mean…if I can ask, sir?" Chamberlain pursed his lips and thought for a moment.

"Well. You see, this…this is a war unlike any the world has ever seen. We're fighting not to conquer, and not to destroy, but to unify, and to save. To save a country, to save a race. You understand?" Dib thought about this. He nodded. "I'm here because I believe in justice. In peace. And it is because of that. Because we are fighting to restore peace, to end slavery, to save a nation…we have to win."

"This is a war to bring peace …" Dib muttered to himself. He looked at Chamberlain. "It's a war…like for morality…a war for harmony..." Chamberlain nodded thoughtfully.

"A war of ideas." He said.

"Wow." Dib whispered.

"No man should be another man's property. No man should be thought of higher or lower than another but by his deeds." Chamberlain said in thought. The meditations of the two were cut short by the return of Captain Spear.

"Sir, the men are positioned, and I believe you were right. There's talk that the Rebs may be coming this way."

"How is our ammunition?" Chamberlain asked.

"We're good Colonel." Spear replied. "You really think they'll hit us here?"

"We're the flank. It's very probable that if they attack, it will be right here on this spot." Spear looked around and nodded. Another man, younger than Spear came up. He had thick brown sideburns that formed into a moustache. Dib wondered if everyone in this century had outlandish facial hair, or if it was just this army.

"Lawrence…Colonel, sir." He said, saluting. "The right flank is against the 83rd. We're set with plenty of ammo."

"Good." Chamberlain replied. "Now Tom, when the firing starts, you keep your distance from me. It would be a hard day for mother." The man nodded. The two officers ran back to their positions.

"He's…your brother?" Dib asked.

"Yes." Chamberlain replied. "At least we're in the same regiment. We can watch out for one another." Dib suddenly felt something stir in him. This was no ordinary army, and this was no ordinary war. There were so many friends and loved ones. On both sides. And they were all fighting for ideas. And he was part of it now, like it or not. He felt a monumental weight of duty to do something.

"I wish we had more men." Chamberlain said lowly. Dib could tell that Chamberlain didn't want anyone else but the two of them to hear it. "We're below half strength now…" Dib looked down the hill. The dark maw of the woods now looked very menacing. He felt a terrifying isolation, a sense of looming danger. He looked back to the colonel, the intelligent, dashing, idealist in an officer's coat. Dib now understood the gravity of the situation, and the resolve of men like Chamberlain.

"I want a gun, sir." Dib said, almost forcing the words out.

"You?" Chamberlain asked.

"Yeah. Like you said colonel, you need more men and…I just don't want to stand around and…stuff. I want a gun too." Chamberlain shook his head in affirmation and exhaled.

"Just wait then, Dib." He said. "You'll have one before this day is done." Dib was beginning to question whether that was good or bad, when far off to the right, the sound of gunfire tore through the woods.

"They're coming in at an angle!" Chamberlain barked. Officers clustered around Colonel Chamberlain. "Wait until they pass by the 83rd, then fire in volley."

"Yes sir!" The officers called, running back to their positions, shouting out orders. Dib felt cold, scared. He clenched his teeth, and tried to swallow his fear. The Rebs were coming, and so was the battle.

Can you feel the battle coming? The second day at Gettysburg really gets less renown than the first, but as you will see, the second day of bloody combat was important in its own right. And it made a hero of a professor from Maine. How? Read on and see. Well, until next chapter, please send your reviews and your comments.