Sword Sunday #25: The Lion's Sword

What carried the sword past the rise of the musket and to the doorstep of the age of repeating firearms was not the fine craft of its design, or razor's edge of its blade, or the strength of the steel it as forged from. Rather, its value as a weapon of the elite carried it long past the day's of pike, spear, and shield. To this day, officers and senior enlisted in the armed forces of the world have included a sword, or saber as part of their formal dress uniform. For some, it is homage to their own history with the weapon, for others, it is an custom ultimately imported from Europe or Asia. The last sword carried into combat was done so by the officers of the Imperial Japanese army during world war II. 

But one moment in the age of rifles stands out as perhaps one of the last great battled where the sword truly helped turn the tide of the battle. 

The year, was 1867, the height of the American Civil war. The date was July 2nd, and the place was a small town deep into the heart of Pennsylvania, called Gettysburg. 

After a hard fought first day of fighting between union and confederate troops in Gettysburg itself, the town fell to the confederacy, and the hills to the south would be the contested ground for the remainder of the day. The Army of Northern Virginia was able to quickly bring almost 50,000 of its 75,000 some odd troops to the front line by mid morning while the Army of the Patomic was racing its 105,000 men up from the south east as fast as it could. The situation let General Lee bring overwhelming force down on the leading union tools before they could be reinforced, and a second day of victory was widely seen as possible, if not likely for the confederacy. 

A Newly promoted Colonel Joshua L Chamberlain was a college profession before the war, and resigned his position as a tenured professor at Bowdoin College in order join the Union army, and like all officers, his blue wool uniform included an infantry sword, and 6 shot cap-and-ball pistol. He was assigned as the executive officer of the 20th Infantry regiment of the state of Maine ("20th Maine" for short). He had survived the disastrous union defeat at Fredericksburg, and after the death of the original regimental commander, he was promoted to Colonel as the Union army raced north to intercept the Confederate invasion of the union heartland. 

Example of a Union Officer's sword

The 20th Maine arrived late in the morning on July the 2nd, and the union troops already on the field were being pushed back and dealt heavy losses by the confederate troops advancing on them. Trying desperately to consolidate the Union line as troops fell back, a new line of battle was drawn along Cemetery ridge, the southern end of the line was a small hill, aptly named "little round top". 

The 20th Maine, roughly 400 strong at the start of battle, was put at the extreme end of the union line, and told that any retreat, collapse, or fallback would open up the rest of the deployed army, possibly leading to a bloodbath. The weight of the battle was, and not inaccurately, now sitting on Colonel Chamberlain's shoulders. 

The 20th would see action almost immediately after being placed on the hill. 15th Alabama Infantry regiment advanced up the hill, 644 men strong, marched up the slope to Little round top ready to dislodge the Union troops and overrun the Union line. 

Little Round Top (left) and Big Round Top,
photographed from Plum Run Valley in 1909

The resulting fighting saw the two units trading shots as close as ten yards apart, and at several points in the battle the combat broke down to hand to hand fighting, Each new assault would see the press of the confederates move further and further to the Union's left, trying to get around, and behind them. The companies at the far end paid a heavy toll hold their position, and at several points captains were noted as taking the place of a fallen man because their pistols were more needed then their orders in that moment. 

Little Round Top
Photo taken less than a year after the battle

During this fighting, Chamberlain was slightly injured when a musket round hit the scabbard of his sword and grazed his leg, The crushed scabbard is widely considered to have saved his life in retrospect, but also served as testimony to how 'in the thick of it' the man was with regards to the combat. 

When Chamberlain realized that the next wave would completely flank his troops, he ordered his line thinned, stretched out almost to twice its current length, and then half of that would fold back at a right angle, like a door swung open. Despite the fact that his firepower was now spread desperately thin, and covering twice as much ground, the next confederate charge ran headlong into a prepared union line that was facing them head on as they tried their flanking maneuver. Suffering heavy causalities, the confederates they fell back, but regrouped quickly. The next wave devolved into savage hand to hand fighting, with the line union position threatening to break multiple times. Only after minutes of carnage did the men of the 15th Alabama retreat, leaving fewer than 250 union troops left standing or kneeling among the dead or wounded.

As the next charge started up the hill, the critical situation became desperate. The men of the 20th were no longer low on ammunition, they were out. The last charge had seen most of the regiment fire their last shots, and what few men still had ammo only had one round. Some had already resorted to pulling enemy muskets off of the dead and fighting with those. 

With retreat not an option, help not coming, and absolutely no ability left to stand and trade shots with the confederate troops already on their way, Chamberlain was left with one choice, and knew as he gave it that it could well be a death sentence for him and his whole regiment. 

 "At that crisis, I ordered the bayonet." he would later recount. "The word was enough." 

Instantly, the men of the regiment pulled their bayonets from their rifles and locked them in place. There is dome debate as to if Chamberlain's order was heard by all, if only a few heard it, and the rest followed the lead of the men they could see. But all are in agreement that Chamberlain initiated the actions that lead to the charge down little Round top. Men unable to shoot sprinted headlong towards their enemy, determined to close the range and take the fight to point blank range before their opposites could fire on them. 

The 15th Alabama was halfway up the hill when the union charge came down on them. Caught completely unready, and exhausted by their own multiple and bloody treks up the slope, the regiment disintegrated under the attack. 

In the ensuing melee, Colonel Chamberlain found himself face to face with a confederate officer  armed with a pistol. Chamberlain's own weapon was empty by then. Reports vary as to if the Confederate officer fired his weapon, or if it jammed, but its clear that he intended to kill Chamberlain, and pulled the trigger. In either event, he failed, and Chamberlain leveled his sword at the man, silently offering his a surrender. 

Of the 644 men of the 15th Alabama, 301 would be able to return to the Confederate army muster later that day. For the 20th main, the regiment had paid a devastating price in holding the ridge, with over half of their original number dead or wounded on the hill. 

The story of Chamberlain's defense of little round top was quickly extolled among the north, and he was deemed "The Lion of Little Round Top" by the army brass and the press. Later, he would be awarded the Medal of Honor, and would be included as part of the honor guard that would accept General Lee's Surrender as Appomattox 

Reports Contemporary to the events note that most officers, including Chamberlain made amble use of their swords during the battle, not so much as weapons, but as visual aids, calling quick attention to gestures and directions where no one could likely hear anything said through the roar of gunfire and men. 

The pistol captured by Chamberlain is currently on display in the Civil War exhibit of the Maine State Museum. 

There is no hard and fast evidence as to what, precisely happened to Chamberlain's sword, and in all of the remarkable, and at times tragic turns his life took, there are plenty of opportunities for such a thing to be placed, or misplaced. 

Chamberlain would go on to return to teachings, and would then serves as the Governor of main for three terms. He died in 1914,  only months before the outbreak of world war I. His death was ruled a result of injuries he had received when grievously injured at the Siege of Petersburg. 

He is traditionally considered the last causality of the US Civil war. 

Today, most depictions of Chamberlain regarding the battle show his officer's sword on his person, or in his hand.

Wherever that weapon is today, it is undoubtedly the sword of the Lion.

His Lordship Ivo Blackhawk
Kingdom of Ansteorra
"Long Live the King!"