December 2017 Vol XXXIII, No 4

Thurs December 14

Tom Desjardin: Myth of the Chamberlain‐Spear Controversy, and Other Stories

Since the publication of a poorly written book in 1994, there has been a belief in the Civil War community that Ellis Spear and Joshua Chamberlain, the two most prominent officers in the 20th Maine, had a falling out and a bitter disagreement over, among other things, the regiment's charge at Gettysburg. This is often described in the context of whether it was Chamberlain or Lt. Holman Melcher who led the famous charge. Tom will discuss the elements of this myth and how it came to be so prominently featured in Civil War literature.

Tom will also discuss some of the extensive research he has been doing for his next book, currently titled Forged in Fire: A History of the 20th Maine Regiment in the Civil War. The book will encompass everything from the organization and training of the regiment through its war experiences and explore the post‐war effects of their service. The book does not yet have an estimated publication date.

Tom Desjardin holds a Ph.D. in U.S. History and has written several books on the Civil War with an emphasis on Gettysburg. During the 1990s he served

Ellis Spear Joshua Chamberlain

Holman Melcher as the archivist and historian at Gettysburg National Military Park. He later taught Civil War history at Bowdoin College in Maine where Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin and Gettysburg hero Joshua Chamberlain was a student, professor and president. Experienced in both television and film, Desjardin served as the historical advisor to actor Jeff Daniels for his role as Chamberlain in the films Gettysburg and Gods and Generals. He and his work have been featured on the History Channel, A&E, Discovery, PBS and C‐SPAN. He is a former Commissioner of Education in Maine and currently serves as the director of the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

JLC CWRT meetings are the second Thursday of each month:

7:00 pm Morrell Room Curtis Memorial Library 23 Pleasant St, Brunswick ME

Weather Cancellations: Channels 6, 8, 13 If the Library closes due to a storm, the meeting will be cancelled. Members will receive an email notification of cancellation from the CWRT Secretary.

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News from Headquarters From the President – Dan Cunningham

We have a lot to be optimistic about as we approach Christmas. Our bank balance is at the highest level that it’s been in several years. Bill Attick has lined up some excellent speakers for the rest of the 2017/2018 season and we continue to have strong turnouts at our monthly meetings. I would like to thank every one of our Board and Committee members for doing an outstanding job over the last year and a half to revitalize the Round Table. I would also like to thank each of you for being members and attending our meetings. Without your support the Joshua L. Chamberlain Round Table would not exist. Let’s hope for good weather for our December meeting, as Tom Desjardin always has an interesting talk. In the meantime, stay safe, and I wish you a Merry Christmas!

JLC CWRT Board of Trustees – 2017/18 President: Dan Cunningham (729‐9520) Vice President: Gardner Shaw (703‐472‐8618) Treasurer: Paul Lariviere (724‐2414) Secretary: Steve Garrett (956‐8729, cell 607‐9713) [email protected] Program Coordinator: Bill Attick (726‐4685) Members: Steve Bunker, Lucy Cunningham, Carol Manchester, Ken McAfee

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From the Editor – Lucy Cunningham

Many thanks to member Phil Schlegel, who wrote an excellent article on Civil War Badges for our Field Report section this month. He promises another interesting article soon!

This newsletter is by, and for you, our members. It’s a way to share our Civil War interests and hobbies with each other, and to get to know each other better, as well as a way to communicate about the activities of the Round Table.

Do you have a memory you’d like to share with your fellow members? Perhaps it’s about a feeling you experienced while visiting a battlefield, or a description of how you began to research your family’s Civil War genealogy.

Let me know, and I’ll be happy to help you get started!

Treasurer’s Update – Paul Lariviere Quick Stats – Nov: Meeting: Nov 9, 2017 Speaker: James Dufresne ‐ Appomattox Attendance: 40 Book Raffle tickets sold: 54 In‐Kind Donations: 1 book Book prizes distributed: 10

INCOME: NET Income for Oct: $135.00 Memberships $195.00 $49.00 Book Raffle revenue NET Income this Fiscal Year: $11.00 Cash Donations $731.99 $195.00 TOTAL Cash Income for Nov YEAR‐TO‐DATE Bank Balance, Nov 30, 2017: $4,827.38 EXPENSES: (None)

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Adopt‐A‐Speaker – Dinner Host Program In conjunction with its Adopt‐A‐Speaker setup, the JLC CWRT maintains a Dinner Host program. With this arrangement, members who donate to the Adopt‐A‐Speaker program at the “General” level have the opportunity to have dinner with a visiting speaker at Richard’s Restaurant in Brunswick. Under this program, the CWRT pays for dinner for the speaker, and the host pays for his/her own dinner.

See the last page of the newsletter to enroll in the Adopt‐A‐Speaker program. Please contact Paul Lariviere (Treasurer) to make arrangements to host a specific speaker, at least one week before the program.

Dec 14 Tom Desjardin Myth of the Chamberlain‐Spear Controversy and other Stories Jan 11 Frank Goodyear (at Bowdoin Museum of Art) Discussion of Rare Image of Lincoln Inauguration And other Artifacts of the Civil War Feb 8 Mike Bell The Iron Brigade Mar 8 Steve Bunker Civil War in the West Apr 12 Ned Smith Two Maine Regiments: 22nd Maine Infantry and 2nd Maine Cavalry May 10 Elizabeth Hallaet Mourning Customs during the Civil War Era Jun 14 Will Greene Battle of the Crater, Petersburg

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Field Report Historical Perspectives from our Members

Civil War Campaign Badges: A Brief Introduction by Philip J. Schlegel

The array of individual decorations, campaign, and service medals commonly associated with service in the United States military is largely a twentieth century phenomenon. Although Congress authorized the Medal of Honor early in the Civil War, the United States government would not authorize campaign medals until 1905.

The end of the Civil War saw the rise of numerous veterans’ organizations, many of Fig. 1. Grand Army of the Republic badge which developed distinctive membership badges. attributed to Joshua L. Chamberlain. (Photo by These badges are commonly seen in post‐war the author. GAR badge from the collections of photographs of Civil War veterans, including the Pejepscot Historical Society.) those of Joshua Chamberlain. Perhaps the most familiar post‐war society is the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), one of many such organizations that Chamberlain actively embraced. Countless photos reveal that the GAR badge [Fig. 1] was highly prized by Civil War veterans.

The War Department first authorized the issue and wear of campaign badges for Army personnel in January 1905, but it was not until January 1907 that authorization for a campaign badge for Civil War service was published. (1) The use of the term “badge” was deliberate: chosen in response to a determination that only Congress could establish a “medal,” but the President could authorize a “badge” for wear on the uniform. That distinction faded over time, but whether identified as a Fig. 2. Army Civil War campaign badge with “campaign badge” or “campaign medal,” this first‐style ribbon. (Photo by author. Badge method of recognizing service in a military courtesy of Paul M. Zebiak.) campaign has endured to the present day. (2)

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The Army Civil War campaign badge incorporated two ribbon styles. The first ribbon [Fig. 2] incorporates bands of red, white, and blue separated by a thin white center line. The thin white center line was intended to “distinguish this particular ribbon from others like the Loyal Legion, the wearing of which is authorized by the War Department.” In 1913 the Army adopted the Navy’s ribbon [Fig. 3] being equal vertical segments of blue and gray. The change in ribbon design was the result of standardization efforts by Fig. 3. Army Civil War campaign badge with a Joint Army and Navy Board. (3) second‐style ribbon. (Photo by author.)

The obverse of the medallion depicts a bust of Lincoln surrounded by the phrase “WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE WITH CHARITY FOR ALL,” a well‐ known passage from Lincoln’s second inaugural address. The reverse identifies the name and inclusive dates of the campaign, surrounded by an oak branch on the left and an olive branch on the right, joined with a bow. The Army Civil War campaign badge was initially struck at the Philadelphia Mint, but other manufacturers would appear well into the twentieth century.

On June 27, 1908, the Navy Department promulgated special orders for the authorization, documentation, and wear of campaign badges to sailors and marines. (4) The Navy Department’s Civil War campaign badge [Fig. 4] was initially produced by the renowned Philadelphia jeweler Bailey, Banks and Biddle. As with the Army version, other manufacturers appeared later.

The obverse of the medallion depicts the March 1862 naval battle between the Monitor and the Fig. 4. Navy Civil War campaign badge. (Photo Virginia (formerly Merrimack), with the name and by author. Badge courtesy of Paul M. Zebiak.) inclusive dates of the campaign. On the reverse, “UNITED STATES NAVY” appears along the top curvature of the disk. Centered is an artistic rendering of an eagle, wings displayed, alit upon a fouled anchor, situated above the words “FOR SERVICE.” The lower curvature incorporates an oak branch on the left and an olive branch on the right, joined by a bow. The Marine Corps version of the badge replicates the Navy version except that “UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS” appears along the top curvature of the reverse. [Fig. 5.]

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The matter of eligibility evolved over time, particularly with respect to veterans. The Navy Department was quick to expand eligibility to Navy and Marine Corps veterans who could, by application, establish eligibility and purchase their badges directly from Bailey, Banks and Biddle. The War Department was initially reluctant to expand eligibility to all Army veterans but, in December 1913, finalized an “arrangement” with the Philadelphia Mint that permitted Army veterans who, also by application, were certified as eligible to purchase the badge. (5)

Since over four decades had passed between the end of the war and the authorization of the Civil War campaign badge, it Fig. 5. Modern strike of the is not surprising that relatively few badges were issued. For a Marine Corps Civil War researcher, some recipients can be identified from War and campaign badge. (Photo by Navy Department records held at the National Archives and author.) Records Administration. Some recipient names can be matched with badge rim numbers found on early issues, but documenting those connections can be challenging.

It does not appear that Joshua Chamberlain received an Army Civil War campaign badge. The War Department’s December 1913 “arrangement” allowing Army veterans to purchase the badge was finalized only two months before Chamberlain died. It seems that for Chamberlain, like many thousands of Civil War veterans, the belated authorizations simply came too late.

In the years and decades that followed the creation of the Civil War campaign badge the number of eligible soldiers, sailors, and marines dwindled quickly. There were new statutes and regulations pertaining to administrative details; there were also new contracts to keep the badges in the supply chain but, inevitably, the Civil War veterans were fading into history. At the same time, new campaign and service medals were emerging, the symbolism of each being carefully depicted, with each component skillfully crafted. Yet, the early campaign badges had established the standard, visibly commemorating military service.

(1) General Orders, No. 4, January 11, 1905, General Orders, No. 5, January 12, 1905, General Orders, No. 12, January 21, 1907; all in Entry 44, Orders and Circulars, 1797- 1910; Record Group 94, Records of the Office of the Adjutant General; Archives I, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.

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(2) “Civil War Campaign Medal,” Campaign and Service Medals, Decorations and Medals; United States Army Institute of Heraldry; accessed November 4, 2017, http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/.

(3) “Description of campaign medals and ribbons designed for the War Department by F. D. Millet,” n.d. [1905?], Historic files, United States Army Institute of Heraldry, Fort Belvoir, VA. Chief, Quartermaster Corps to Chief of Staff [2nd Ind.], January 21, 1914; Entry 25, Adjutant General’s Office, Document Files, Document File 962064; Record Group 94, Records of the Office of the Adjutant General; Archives I, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.

(4) Special Order, No. 81 and Special Order, No. 82, June 27, 1908; U. S. Navy Department, Special Orders, 1905 Series, Covering 1905-1908 (place of publication or publisher not identified). This volume is physically located at the Nimitz Library, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.

(5) War Department, War Department Annual Reports, 1914 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1914), 1:192, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435057109522;view=1up;seq=208. “Civil War Campaign Medal,” Campaign and Service Medals, Decorations and Medals; United States Army Institute of Heraldry; accessed November 4, 2017, http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/. N. R. Usher to Bureau of Navigation, January 4, 1909; Entry 25; RG 94; Archives I (see n. 3).

Philip J. Schlegel is a member of the Joshua L. Chamberlain Civil War Round Table.

Christmas in Camp. (Drawing by Edwin Forbes. Library of Congress,)

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Civil War & History Book Club – Mon, Dec 18 The Round Table has sponsored a book club for many years. Anyone and everyone is invited to join and participate in our discussions, debates, and treats. We know you will enjoy the reads and the lively discussion.

We meet the third Monday of each month at 7 PM at People Plus, 35 Union Street in Brunswick – or dates determined by the book club. We have selected the following books and dates:

Dec 18 – Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria‐Hungary – 1914‐1918 – Alexander Watson

Jan 22 – The Rise of U.S. Grant – Col. Arthur L. Conger

Feb 12 – Jefferson Davis, American – William J. Cooper, Jr.

Mar 12 – Miss Lizzie’s War: The Double Life of a Southern Belle Spy, Elizabeth Van Lew – Rosemary Agonito

Apr 16 – The First Heroes: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raid, America’s First WWII Victory – Craig Nelson

May 14 – Company Aytch or a Side Show of the Big Show: A Memoir of the Civil War – Sam Watkins U.S. Colored Troops – Battle of Jun 18 – Fields of Honor: Pivotal Battles of the Civil War – Edwin C. Chaffin’s Farm – Sept 29, 1864. Bearss

All are welcome – please join us! – Steve Garrett

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Bookshelf – A Few Good Reads

Ella Lonn. Desertion During the Civil War. University of Nebraska Press; Bison Books Edition with Introduction by William Blair. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1998 (Reprint from American Historical Association. Gloucester, Mass., 1928 original)

This is a book that all Civil War historians, professionals and amateurs, ought to read. Written when many Civil War veterans were still with us, it addresses a less than proud part of the war’s history. But it is a story that needed to be told, backed with many references and footnotes.

The primary source Ms. Lonn used was the official war records, which she reads with genuine professional criticism and study. The records show that 14% of Union soldiers and 11% of Confederate soldiers deserted. The real story is why. This is the only book length study of the causes and consequences of desertion from both armies.

Ms. Lonn’s work is structured in two parts: Part One ‐ Desertion in the Confederacy, and Part Two ‐ Desertion in the Northern Army. Her work includes Appendixes documenting desertion by state and the numbers returned to the armies. Urban areas for the north had the greatest deserters per thousand (NY 89.06 of every 1000) and rural states like Maine the least. 2730 Maine men deserted out of approximately 73,000 that served, or approximately 0.3 of every thousand.

The reasons for desertion are similar with both armies. Poor food, shelter, clothing, non‐existent or irregular pay counted in both armies. Poor leadership and failure to deal with desertion as unacceptable for soldiers. How did the soldier get money to his family? Both had support for desertion within the home front. Unionists in the south and Copperheads in the north. And why fight a rich man’s war when he could buy his way out, or was exempted by slave ownership?

Ms. Lonn presents a thorough review of all the tangled factors, north and south. This may be an old book, but it is well worth your time to expand your understanding of what factors won battles that generals and chessboard movement of troops had nothing to do with.

– Steven Garrett

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Duty Roster JLC CWRT Membership committee thanks the following members. (The Editor apologizes for not being able to publish the Roster in the November issue.)

New Member: William P. Doyle

Renewals: Ulrike Baumann Paul & Elaine Brown Stephen Chandler Walter Chop Joseph Donahue James & Cynthia Dufresne John & Christina Kuchinski Charleen Lambert Paul & Kay Lariviere Robert Lytle Mark & Jessica Mahnke Mark McCollett Bret Meck Daniel Michel Capt. Charles Mull Wendy & William Palmer Philip & Linda Schlegel Diane Monroe & Ned Smith “The battle of Gettysburg. View from the summit of Little Round Top. The advance of John Spinner Genl. Longstreet’s Corps on the Union position (5th Corps) on Little Round Top, Robert Strout Thursday evening and Friday afternoon.” Forbes’ own notes at the bottom of the Richard Thompson sketch (which you can read better by enlarging this image) describe it as “Sketch of the fight for […] the Rocky Hill on the left of General Meade’s position.” This is a

more reasonable vantage point for Forbes to have during actual fighting, and this Adopt‐a‐Speaker Donors: sketch is a composite of what Forbes was able to see on July 2nd, and what his notes Daniel Michel ‐ Lieutenant suggest he witnessed of Union batteries on Little Round Top that participated in the Capt. Charles Mull ‐ Captain Union defense of Pickett’s Charge on July 3rd. (Battlefield sketch by Edwin Forbes. John Spinner ‐ Captain Library of Congress.) For additional Forbes sketches from Gettysburg Daily, see: https://www.gettysburgdaily.com/the‐gettysburg‐sketches‐of‐edwin‐forbes/

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Index – Dec 2017 * Speaker 1 Tom Desjardin: Myth of the Chamberlain‐Spear Controversy * News from Headquarters 3 President’s Note 4 Editor’s Note 4 Treasurer’s Update 5 Adopt‐A‐Speaker dates – Dinner Host Program

* Reports from the Field 6 Philip J. Schlegel – Civil War Campaign Badges 10 Civil War & History Book Club 11 Bookshelf – A Few Good Reads – Review: Emma Lonn, Desertion During the Civil War 12 Duty Roster – Member/Donor List

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MEMBERSHIP & ADOPT‐A‐SPEAKER

Name______E‐mail address (required for Newsletter)______Phone______Address______City/State/Zip______Date______Please Print clearly MEMBERSHIP ___ New Member ___ Renewal ___ Individual $25 ___ Family $35 ___ Student $15

___ Additional Donation for JLC CWRT ______TOTAL Membership

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ADOPT‐A‐SPEAKER ___ General $50 (Generals – see page 3 for Speaker Host program) ___ Colonel $40 ___ Major $30 ___ Captain $20 ___ Lieutenant $10 ______TOTAL Adopt‐A‐Speaker

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______GRAND TOTAL: Membership & Adopt‐A‐Speaker. Make payment:

Chamberlain CWRT PO Box 1046 Brunswick ME 04011‐1046 (Or present payment to Treasurer at meeting)

For more information, please contact [email protected]

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