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Passing Through the Fire: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain in the Civil War (Emerging Civil War Series) Kindle Edition

by Brian F. Swartz (Author), Thomas J. Desjardin (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 68 ratings

Part of: Emerging Civil War (54 books)

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This Civil War biography “draw[s] upon fresh material . . . to offer some important new insights. . . . An outstanding addition.” (NYMAS Book Review)

As the brigade he commanded attacked a Confederate battery on a hill outside Petersburg in July 1864, a bursting shell blew Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain from the saddle and wounded his horse. After the enemy battery skedaddled, the brigade took the hill and dug in, and up came supporting Union guns. Chamberlain figured the day’s fighting ended. Then an unidentified senior officer ordered his brigade to charge and capture the heavily defended main Confederate line. Chamberlain protested the order, then complied, taking his men forward—until a bullet slammed through his groin and left him mortally wounded. Miraculously surviving a battlefield surgery, he returned home to convalesce. Struggling with pain and multiple surgeries, Chamberlain debated leaving the army or returning to the fight. His decision affected upcoming battles, his family, and the rest of his life. Passing Through the Fire: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain in the Civil War chronicles Chamberlain’s swift transition from college professor and family man to regimental and brigade commander. Drawing on Chamberlain’s extensive memoirs and writings and multiple period sources, historian Brian F. Swartz follows Chamberlain across Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia while examining the determined warrior who let nothing prevent him from helping save the United States.

“Swartz writes eloquently and well. This book is suitable for students and for those readers with little prior background in the Civil War as well as for readers with a strong interest in the subject.” —Midwest Book Review

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Swartz writes eloquently and well. This book is suitable for students and for those readers with little prior background in the Civil War as well as for readers with a strong interest in the subject.”
Midwest Book Review

“…historian Swartz, himself a Maine native, has drawn upon fresh material, including rare and obscure letters, reports, and memoirs, to offer some important new insights. An outstanding addition to the literature on Chamberlain, Passing Through the Fire is a worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in the Civil War.”
NYMAS Book Review

About the Author

Raised on Chamberlain Street in Brewer, Maine, Brian F. Swartz has worked as a newspaper reporter, editor, and photographer for 34 years and has published several books. He writes the Maine at War blog post, published weekly at www.maineatwar.bangordailynews.com, and lives with his wife, Susan, and their cat Getty (short for “Gettysburg”) in Hampden, Maine.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09C2HS7C7
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Savas Beatie (August 10, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 10, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 138146 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 176 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #758,720 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #144 in Civil War Campaigns & Battlefields History of the U.S.
- #254 in Biographies of the Army
- #1,237 in American Civil War Biographies (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 68 ratings

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John B. Sinclair

Another Excellent Savas, Beatie and Emerging Civil War Book

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2021

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Savas, Beatie and Emerging Civil War have done an outstanding service to the Civil War community and the general public with their Emerging Civil War series. These relatively short paperback books offer a terrific introduction to various Civil War topics. Along with excellent maps and period and contemporary photographs, they offer an easy guide path for anyone to enter a particular subject and decide whether to dig deeper. Don’t be fooled. Just because they are somewhat summary in nature, don’t think they ignore recent research or contributions to the literature. They are a great jumping off point for newbies to explore Civil War literature further or for opinionated veterans (such as me) of Civil War books to refresh their memory or reconsider their views.

As someone who has read much about Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and visited his home and cemetery in Maine, I am impressed with this book. It gets to the essence of Chamberlain and covers the major points of his involvement in the Civil War (some of which may have intersected with my great, great grandfather). Tom Desjardin, a noted 20th Maine and Chamberlain author, provides an insightful foreword to the book. Ryan Quint contributes an interesting appendix about Chamberlain’s fame – deserved or not. Ashley Towle provides a poignant appendix about Chamberlain’s tender yet sometimes turbulent marriage with his wife. A bonus is a nice appendix on places in Maine related to Chamberlain that one might like to visit.

The author demonstrates Chamberlain’s unquestioned bravery on the battlefield and his devotion to the Union. It does not shy away from the controversy about whether he overly promoted himself and his accomplishments (which needed no promotion). It does so, however, in an even-handed and fair way.

The book also provides an excellent biography with all the leading Civil War books relating to Chamberlain offered up to readers on a platter.

Another excellent contribution to Civil War literature.

5 people found this helpful

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Gary

Honest review of Joshua Chamberlain

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2021

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"Passing Through the Fire" is a honest review of Joshua Chamberlain. It details why Chamberlain's heroics on Little Round Top may be over done. At the same time Chamberlin is still an American patriot that everyone should learn about and honor. This is another good book in the Emerging Civil War series that is well worth reading.

One person found this helpful

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Christopher J. Army

Nice book about JLC's Civil War time experiences!

Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2021

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“Passing through the Fire” by Brian Swartz is another contribution from Savas Beatie’s Emerging Civil War series. Swartz digs deeper into the wartime experiences of Joshua L. Chamberlain, the commander of the 20th Maine Regiment.
Readers may be familiar with some of the story – especially if they have read Michael Shaara’s “The Killer Angels” or seen the 1993 Ted Turner/Ron Maxwell film Gettysburg. The movie features the story of Chamberlain, expertly portrayed by Jeff Daniels, and his involvement in helping to protect the Federal left on July 2, 1863. Swartz, however, brings us into the story before that and much later too. In fact, pretty much most of the war.
Swartz uses photos and some maps to assist in the storytelling and the Chamberlain enthusiast will be impressed as some have not been seen by the average Civil War student. Three appendices detail some Chamberlain-related sites to visit, the relationship between Joshua and his wife, and an editorial piece about “why Chamberlain?”
Other suggested reading, the photos, maps, and well-written narrative make this an enjoyable book on a subject of extreme interest to Civil War readers and non-Civil War enthusiasts alike.

5 people found this helpful

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Paul P.

A Detailed and Informative Read!

Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2021

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Not being a history or civil war buff, I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book, but I was amazed at how the author combined the wartime history with facts and information from Joshua Chamberlain’s personal life to tell the whole story of this great man. An excellent read, I would certainly recommend it!

One person found this helpful

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lordhoot

It doesn't add anything......

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2022

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This biography on Chamberlain proves to be somewhat generic in nature. I mean if you have read any other biography on Chamberlain, this book will not add to your knowledge. But this can be a pretty good introductory biography on Chamberlain. The book only covered Chamberlain's deeds during the Civil War. It doesn't give you any insight into the man or those who surround him. His post war life is superficially dealt with. Heck, the author doesn't even mention how or why Chamberlain was nominated and received the Medal of Honor or what he thought about it. He also doesn't say a thing about why his brother Tom had a falling out with him or the same with Major Ellis Spears, who was his friend during the war and became an enemy after. This book serves as an intro book on Chamberlain and nothing more.

2 people found this helpful

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Hawkeye

A fitting tribute to one of America’s great Heroes!

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2022

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Brian F. Swartz does this great American proud by his outstanding recent Emerging Civil War Series work. He provides a very comprehensive view into one of America’s unsung favorite sons. Full Bowdoin professor in rhetoric and oratory transformed into relentless warrior and Medal of Honor recipient is Joshua L. Chamberlain (JLC) of Brewer, Maine.

The work is very informative and an easy read with a table of contents, but no reference section or index. It is a chronological accounting of JLC United States Civil War activity. The reader may get bogged down reading the portion of the Petersburg Union assault (so did the Union Army). The book uses correspondence of the time and has many photographs of that time period and helpful maps of the various battles.

Any Civil War buff will enjoy this book especially if it is read while watching Turner’s “Gettysburg and Gods and Generals films.”

2 people found this helpful

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Rev. Ronald E. Libby

Great Information on JL Chamberlain

Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2021

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If you have an interest in the Civil War and its leadership this is a book must. If you have a map laid out of Gettysburg and the surrounding area you can track what you are reading. If you visit Maine take the time to checkout the locations listed in the back of the book. This book along with the book Maine at War will really spike your interest in the Civil War and how the author writes.

2 people found this helpful

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Benny Haggard

Great read

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2022

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Terrific book, very informative, very well paced

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