Shaara introduces Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, commander of the 20th Maine Regiment. He is suffering from heatstroke after marching 80 miles in four days. Also introduced are his younger brother Tom, who is his aide, and Buster Kilrain.
Tom adores his older brother and struggles to remember to refer to him as a commanding officer when in front of the men. Kilrain is a career army man and former sergeant who was demoted to private after striking an officer in a drunken fight. Kilrain is the best soldier in the outfit due to his years of experience and, in spite of being demoted, he is Chamberlain’s most trusted advisor. He is like a father to Chamberlain, and there is a deep affection between the two men.
At the start of the chapter, a captain from the 118th Pennsylvania delivers 120 mutineers to Chamberlain, with orders to shoot any man who won’t fight. The mutineers mistakenly signed up for three-year enlistments when the rest of old 2nd Maine regiment only signed up for two years. Since the rest of the regiment has gone home, they want to be discharged rather than fight another year with any other regiment.
They have been starved, driven to exhaustion, and otherwise badly treated. The captain delivering them is disdainful of all Maine men, including Chamberlain who is a superior officer. Chamberlain confronts him with silent power that demands respect, and the captain, catching himself, snaps to attention and salutes Chamberlain. Chamberlain’s handling of the Pennsylvania man is not lost on the mutineers, who have been watching the interchange closely.
When the unit is ordered to move out a short time later, Chamberlain speaks to the mutineers, letting the words come from his heart. He won’t shoot them, knowing they have already done their share of fighting, and so he talks instead about his reasons for being there — the right of each man to become something on his own, his right to dignity and freedom. Chamberlain asks for their help and promises to look into their cause after the upcoming battle. As they march toward Gettysburg, Chamberlain is amazed and gratified to learn that 114 of the 120 men have decided to join his regiment.
