You might wonder why a woman whose entire career has been focused primarily on one thing, marketing and branding, would write about a Civil War Union officer from Maine. But having just read the powerful historic novel “The Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975, I am moved to share some thoughts.
This book is a brutal, jagged, tearing look at the most brutal conflict any Americans ever fought in; the Battle of Gettysburg. Of course, we all now know that it was the first war to be widely photographed on the battlefield and that after those photos started circulating, the once charming pastime of of well dressed and well bred spectators going out to casually view the battles subsided rapidly. The idea of war as entertainment had turned under the stark illumination of the photograph.
And in the middle of the bloodiest of all engagements this scholarly gentlman, a professor from Bowdoin College, led his troops through a stunning feat of survival. No professional soldier, Chamberlain found himself the most unlikely of all leaders, no one more suprised than he. At one point he had the daunting challenge of trying to convince over 100 Maine men the army had declared to be prisoners for attempting to dessert, to be pressed into service at Gettysburg. These men all believed their enlistment was up and wanted nothing more to do with fighting far from home for an army that would not allow them to return to their beloved Maine.
But a plain speaking Joshua Chamberlain did in fact, inspire all but six of those men to stay and fight for the Union. He didn’t force anyone, or threaten, or connive, though these souls had been told earlier that if they didn’t fight they’d be shot! He stated simply that their lot was a sorry one, pledged to do all he could to take up their cause when the time was right, and enrolled them in the wisdom of supporting Army of the Potomac in the immenent conflagration. It wasn’t force or trickery or certain reward that saved the day. It was a man speaking authentically about choices. Many of the men who consented died in the next few days at Gettysburg, but many survived, in no small measure, due to the gallant good words of Joshua Chamberlain.
You’d be hard pressed to find people today that would willingly follow a college professor into battle based on a future promise to attempt to right a wrong. People aren’t as trusting, or noble, or black and white. Everything is somehow greyer now. Words rarely have the power to move and inspire as his did that day, though there are more words being spoken and written than ever before. But is anyone listening? Truly listening? I have long championed frank speech, authenticity, and a lack of “selling people” in order to get a desired result.
Chamberlain was a marketer in many ways, the very best kind. He made a case for why those downtrodden angry men who felt forgotten and betrayed, could cast their lot with him. He didn’t speak down to the troops, he didn’t pander or over promise. He simply said what needed to be said, and in so doing, gained the respect and trust of nearly every man in the regiment. There were inspiring leaders on both sides of the war to be sure, but Chamberlain’s certain grasp on effective communications was noteworthy for all that it wasn’t as much as for what it was.



