| To a writer there are numerous people who are absolutely indispensable in the research and writing of a book. |
| Julia Colvin Oehmig, Curator of the Pejepscot Historical Society in Brunswick, Maine, nurtured this project along from its inception. From talking initially to the Board of Trustees of the Pejepscot Historical Society to lobby for my permission to use their vast archives, to the final historical editing of the manuscript, Julia worked out of a deep love for history and a sincere appreciation and remarkable knowledge of the life of Joshua L. Chamberlain. She guided me through the Society's files, paved the way to other collections and pertinent individuals, and provided crucial historical details for key parts of this book. I cannot thank her enough. Many thanks also to Mark Cutler at the Pejepscot Historical Society. |
| Rosamond Allen, of St. Petersburg, Florida, granddaughter of Joshua L. Chamberlain, through Mrs. Jacquelyn M. Beard gave me permission to publish the vast number of personal letters of Chamberlain, without which the fabric of this book would have been greatly diminished. Chamberlain was a man as well as a soldier, and his letters to his wife, sister, parents, brothers, and children exhibit that fact in this book, thanks to Miss Allen. |
| Others in Maine contributed to the production of this work by easing my path through the often labyrinthine search through various repositories. |
| Susan Ravdin, Assistant Curator, Special Collections, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, was incredibly helpful, first in permitting access to the original Chamberlain documents preserved in the college's collection, and second by allowing me to use photographs of Chamberlain as a Bowdoin professor and of the Medal of Honor won by Chamberlain at Gettysburg, now resting in their collection. |
| Tom Desjardin, of Lewiston, Maine, and the University of Maine, Orono, got wind of my writing a book on Chamberlain and went out of |
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