BRUNSWICK

A complete and annotated memoir of his early years, penned much later in life by Joshua Chamberlain, recently was released by the special collections division of Bowdoin College.

“Blessed Boyhood”: The ‘Early Memoir’ of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain,” is edited by Richard Lindemann, director of the college’s George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections and Archives.

“Chamberlain was encouraged in his old age to write this early memoir of his life by a publisher,” Lindemann said, “but the work has never seen its way into print in its entirety until now.”

The memoir includes annotations by Bowdoin alumnus David Thomson and American historian Thomas Desjardin, as well as a foreword by U.S. Sen. Angus King, IMaine.

“I consider myself a modest student of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain but never knew him so well until reading the pages that follow,” King writes in the foreword.

“What a revelation — for here are the origins of his extraordinary character, insights into his amazing intellect, and a vivid demonstration of his command of elegant prose.”

Chamberlain writes of the joys and struggles of his early life before heading off to fight for the Union.

The account spans from his childhood to his student years at Bowdoin — where he overcame stammering, among other accomplishments — to his teaching career and family.

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