Joshua Chamberlain's Medal of Honor (found and donated to museum)

[Badger]

I thought this was an interesting linked article that a member emailed to us ...

Medal of honor belonging to Civil War General Joshua Chamberlain is discovered at church sale | Mail Online

The medal of honor presented to Joshua Chamberlain for his role in the Battle of Gettysburg has been returned to the Civil War General's hometown after being found at a church sale.

The medal, awarded in 1893, three decades after the historic battle, was returned to the Brunswick museum housed in the General's former home by an anonymous person who found it in a book.

Its return is timely, arriving back in Maine in time for the 150th anniversary of the famous civil war battle.

When Pejepscot Historical Society first received an anonymous package containing the medal, staff were skeptical that it was the original, according to the Times Record.

After being examined by experts from the Smithsonian and the Army, it was revealed as the General's medal, which had been presented to him by President Grover Cleveland for 'distinguished gallantry'.

Chamberlain fought in at least 24 battles during the Civil War, was wounded six times and had six horse shot from under him.

He is best remembered for the battle of Little Round Top, on the second day of Gettysburg, when he helped Union forces hold off a rebel attack.

The brass medal may have lost some of its shine, and its ribbons are slightly ragged, but its significance is not lost on the Maine town the General called his home.

'Our gratitude to the donor who discovered this treasure, and knew its importance to us and to the state of Maine, knows no bounds,' Jennifer Blanchard, of the historical society, told CBS News.

After the General's death in 1914, it was passed down through his family, until his granddaughter - and last living relative - Rosamund Allen died in 2000.

Distinguished: General Joshua Chamberlain fought in at least 24 battles and survived being shot six times

Her estate was donated to Duxbury Church, which is how it came to be unwittingly sold in the pages of a book during a sale.

Ms Blanchard said: 'There is photographic evidence that Chamberlain was very proud of the medal, that he wore it quite often.'

It was returned just before the town celebrated its annual Chamberlain day in the summer, but the museum decided to keep its discovery a secret until it had been confirmed as the original medal.

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[oscars]

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is currently the darling of the US Army War College for obvious reasons. He embodies all that is good in the the citizen soldier. He had three distinctive careers, college professor (Bowdoin College) , general and governor of Maine. His service with the 20th Maine was exemplary in that was handed many troops with severe morale and discipline problems. He succeeded in forming a fine, loyal fighting force that saved the Battle of Little Round Top. His later writings concerning the role of women in society and his thoughts on their limitations at the time are interesting even in today's thoughts. A truly remarkable individual!

[browningautorifle]

Back in the 80's I read the history of the 20th Maine and all of the exploits through the entire war. At one point Chamberlain was shot through the hips and carried mortally wounded from the field. The next day he started his recovery...boy was that a surprise...he'd been everywhere and done everything by the end of the war. He was moving the troops along a road after the cease fire and there was a lightning storm. Lightning struck, and ran along the line of musket barrels killing several of the veterans. Missed him by that much...one of a hundred close calls.