The Career and Orthopaedic Injuries of Joshua L. Chamberlain. The Hero of Little Roundtop

Joshua L. Chamberlain, a professor of religion and oratory at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the 20th Maine Volunteer Regiment in August 1862. He commanded the 20th Maine Volunteer Regiment in the historic defense of Little Roundtop against overwhelming odds and circumstances during the pivotal battle of Gettysburg. In June 1864 while leading a charge at the battle of Petersburg, he sustained what was thought to be a mortal wound when he was struck by a minié ball that entered just below and anterior to his right greater trochanter, injuring vessels, the urinary bladder and urethra, and fracturing his pelvis. Surgery was done in the field hospital, and after 5 months of recuperation, Chamberlain returned to lead his troops in combat. After the war he was elected Governor of Maine for four terms and subsequently served as President of his alma mater, Bowdoin College, for 12 years. Despite the fact that he had chronic lower abdominal pain, wound drainage, and a persistent urethral fistula, he lived a very productive life for 50 years after he was wounded at Petersburg. Included in the current paper are commentaries on the state of the art of surgery during the Civil War.