Joshua Chamberlain's Medal of Honor discovered at a church sale

[Linda Anderson]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...-sale.html

[RJNorton]

Thanks, Linda. Wonderful story. I loved Jeff Daniels' portrayal of that role in the movie Gettysburg.

[LincolnMan]

Amazing that items like that are still being found- you just never know.

[L Verge]

I was surprised last month at the talk on Gettysburg Revisited that Dr. Gottfried made at Surratt House to hear him say that he thought Chamberlain gets more credit in history for his actions at Gettysburg than deserved. He mentioned another officer who he felt did as much or more than Chamberlain in that crucial move (was it around Little Round Top?), but I cannot remember who that officer was.

I readily admit to not knowing about or appreciating military strategy and whose right flank out-flanked whose left flank, so I have no intention of reading the battle statistics for Gettysburg in order to find out who that officer was. Who is our Gettysburg expert on this forum?

[HerbS]

Laurie,I think that the other officer was-Col.Patrick O'Rorke-NY-140th.He led a charge and was killed at "Little Round Top".He was noted for saying,"Down this way-Boys".It is "good luck"to rub his nose on his monument at Gettysburg.Because he died,some thought that he didn't get as much credit as he should have.He was born in Ireland and came to Rochester,NY as a young boy.There is a new bridge in his name,that goes over The Genesee River.

[Craig Hipkins]

He also could have been referring to Major Ellis Spear who was Chamberlain's second in command. It was Spear who advised Chamberlain to refuse the flank which he accomplished by spreading a thin line of the Regiment's left wing to oppose an attack by the 15th Alabama.

Craig

[L Verge]

It might well have been Spear because I think the last name of the person started with an "S." O'Rorke sounds like an interesting fellow also. My heart goes out to everyone who participated in that blood bath and so many others during those horrible four years.