Chamberlain was a college professor at Bowdoin College before the U.S. Civil War. When the faculty refused him permission for a leave of absense so that he could enlist he took a sabbatical and enlisted anyway.
He played a Key role in the Battle of Gettysburg as depicted in Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novel about Gettysburg, The Killer Angels, and the movie based on that novel, Gettysburg (in which Chamberlain was played by actor Jeff Daniels, who repeated that role in the Gods and Generals prequel).
Chamberlain was later seriously wounded in the war and was propted to General but survived and went on to become governor of Maine and President of Bowdoin College where he was proud to say that he eventually taught every
