Review of "Passing Through the Fire: Joshua Laurence Chamberlin in the Civil War," by Brian F. Swarz

 Review of

Passing Through the Fire: Joshua Laurence Chamberlin in the Civil War, by Brian F. Swarz, ISBN 9781611215618

Five out of five stars

Wartime actions of a committed hero

 Joshua Laurence Chamberlain led a very comfortable life when war broke out between the two American factions. He was a deeply religious professor at Bowdoin College, yet he resigned to join the Union army very early in the war.

 He was a man that loved the undissolved union and volunteered to serve in the Union army. Although he at first declined the higher promotion to Colonel, he accepted a position as a Lieutenant Colonel. In his own words, he wanted to earn the rank of colonel. Chamberlain was involved in many battles, from the early days of 1862 until the day the war ended in 1945. His actions at Gettysburg led to his receiving the Medal of Honor.

A good soldier, a patriot and a man that wanted to see the war through to its end, Swartz truly believed in divine power.  A long-term governor of Maine after the war, Swartz believed in the union and was willing to put his life on the line for it. He was wounded so severely that he was essentially given up for dead. He earned the Medal of Honor for his role in the Battle of Gettysburg and was also present when Lee surrendered to Grant.

 This book reads at times like a literal description of the battles and other times like an adventure story. Chamberlain was the kind of man and soldier that the Union needed at the time of crisis. His life story is well told here, his history is that of many of the major battles of the Army of the Potomac.

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