Old Glory Baseball League Forum
______________2008 - 2018______________
20th Maine 
Gettysburg and Little Round Top
The most notable battle was the regiment's decisive role on July 2, 1863, in the Battle of Gettysburg, where it was stationed on Little Round Top at the extreme left of the Union line. When the regiment came under heavy attack from the Confederate 15th Alabama regiment, part of the division led by Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood, the 20th Maine completely ran out of ammunition after three to four hours of continued fighting; it responded to the sight of rebel infantry forming again for yet another push at them by charging downhill with fixed bayonets, surprising and scattering the Confederates, thus ending the attack on the hill. The 20th Maine and the adjacent 83rd Pennsylvania together captured over 400 men from the 47th and 15th Alabama regiments.
Recent research has found claims by Lt. Holman S. Melcher that he initiated the charge, although Col. Chamberlain has been credited by most historians for ordering the desperate attack. This action is depicted in the novels "The Killer Angels", and "Courage on Little Round Top", and subsequently an important scene in the movie "Gettysburg".
