← The Wild West Extravaganza
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- [00:00]
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- [00:30]
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In early July 1863, just outside the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, US and Confederate forces would clash in what would become the single bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil. Over the next three days, there'd be well over 7,000 killed, with another 27,000 wounded. So basically, hell on earth. In the midst of all that carnage, immersed an unlikely hero by the name of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. And I say hero, but Chamberlain wasn't exactly your typical soldier. Matter of fact, he really wasn't a soldier at all. At least not by trade. Prior to the war, he had been a professor over a Maine's boat. In college, he spoke several languages, he taught, he attended lectures, studied theology. So really more of a soft spoken academic type than a fighting man. Still, though, he did have a very strong sense of civic duty. And when the time came, he took a leave of absence there at the college and enlisted in the US Army. Now, that was in August 1862. Skip ahead to the summer of 63 and he already attained the rank of colonel and had Command over the 20th Maine. He and his men were eventually attached to the army of the Potomac, but they didn't arrive at Gettysburg until July 2, which also happened to be the second day of the battle. Then, just as soon as they showed up, they were tasked with guarding the extreme left end of the entire Union line on a rocky outcrop now known as Little Round Top. See, by that time, the Union army had already strung itself along the high ground south of town in a line that's often described as resembling a fish hook. And that hill I mentioned a moment ago, Little Round Top, was way down at the very bottom, which, as fate would have it, was also one of the most vulnerable spots in the entire line. And since Chamberlain and his men were on the far left of that line, so went that hill, went the battle. Johnny Reb managed to slip around. There'd be nothing to stop him. They'd roll up the whole Union army from the flank, just one regiment after the next like a rug. And there wasn't Nothing past the 20th Maine to stop that from happening. No backup, no reserve unit, nothing. In other words, holding that hill was an absolute necessity. And, yeah, sure enough, it went long before soldiers from the 15th and the 47th Alabama started charging a charge that the men of the 20th were able to repel. Only problem is, it just kept happening. One charge after another straight at Chamberlain's position on little round Top. And with each charge, the 20th grew weaker. Chamberlain himself was fighting through a sickness. Then, as the battle raged on, he got shot in the thigh. Luckily, the ball was deflected by his scabbard, but he also took another hit to the right foot. Most of his soldiers were also wounded by that point, and they were quickly running out of ammunition. Elizon officers were even urging him to fall back. Meanwhile, the rebels just kept rod on a charging, just wave after wave. Finally, when things looked absolutely hopeless, that's when Chamberlain made the call to fix bayonets. Rather than just sit there and twiddle his thumbs and just absorb more damage, he and his men would charge down the hill, take the fight straight to the confederates. And it worked. Chamberlain led the charge himself. And not only did they stop the rebels, but they also managed to take a couple hundred prisoners. All of this with almost no ammunition, nothing but the cold steel of their bayonets, and a stubborn refusal to give in. Make no mistake about it, Chamberlain and the 20th Maine looked defeat straight in the face and declared, not fucking today. And like I said, it did work. They held the left flank, and in doing so, they helped keep the entire army from coming apart. Rebels never did get around them, and the hill stadium Union hands rot up through the rest of the battle. Now, today just so happens to be the 163rd anniversary of Chamberlain's charge, which is cool and all, but the real reason I decided to bring this up is mostly because this is one of those stories that I personally like to draw on if I find myself going through a rough patch. I think we all face situations where it can seem like we're going up almost against impossible odds. A struggle or a fight so difficult that you can't see your way out, and you almost just want to give up or surrender. But I think if we've learned anything from Chamberlain, is that sometimes, if you resolve to fight with everything you have in you and you refuse to give in, sometimes you win, even against seemingly impossible odds, and sometimes you lose. There's no guarantees, right? I mean, the men at the Alamo fought pretty damn hard, and they all perished. But then again, a little over a month later, Sam Houston's outnumbered Texians led a charge against Santa Ana, defeated his entire army in just 18 minutes. It's kind of like what Clint Eastwood said in the Outlaw Josie Wells. Things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it. Then you gotta get mean. I mean plum mad dog mean. Because if you lose your head and you give up, then you neither live nor win. And that's just the way it is. So there you have it. That's all I got for today. Thought I'd do a little short episode. And sorry for getting a little corny on yalls asses, but hey, you never know, maybe somebody needed to hear this. Or maybe I'm just talking to myself. Maybe I needed to hear it. I don't know about you, but I've personally let my own bayonet get dull and rusty for far too long. Guess what? I've been sharpening and polishing that over the last few days and right about now I'm about ready to stab the devil in the face with it. The Wild west is full of last stands. Men who fought to the death as well as men who scratched their way out of the bowels of hell just to live another day. Think about Hugh Glass, right? Right. He got mauled by that grizzly and he was left for dead. No rifle, no knife, no tools. And yet he refused to quit. He persevered and he lived. So if you're going through anything, maybe you just lost your job, maybe you got money problems, maybe the demons in your head are doing jumping jacks. Whatever it is, go ahead and fix those metaphorical bayonets. Don't retreat and don't surrender. Face your struggles head on. Fight as long as you still got blood pumping through your heart. If you win, you'll come out stronger than you ever thought possible. And if you lose, at least you gave it your best shot. By the way, some of you old school Bloody Beaver fans may be getting a little deja vu right now. And that's probably due to me originally recording this over six years ago, back when I first stopped drinking. And I know we're all fighting our own individual battles, but I would like to specifically dedicate today's episode to listener Jason. Unfortunately, Jason's been diagnosed with what I gather is a very aggressive form of cancer. The kind where they only give you like a 1% chance of making it. And yet, rather than give in or give up, Jason is fighting. He's already fixed his own bayonet and he's facing his diagnosis head on. No retreat, no surrender, just dogged, mean as hell determination. Now I don't know what's going to happen. But I can promise you this much. I find as much inspiration in people like Jason as I do with men like Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. And I don't want to put words in the man's mouth, but I know me personally, I. I'd rather be fighting the entire damn Confederate army than to face cancer. So for somebody to be going through that type of struggle and to still remain defiant, that's what I call a hero. So, Jason, I know this shit's getting rough, and I know it damn sure ain't easy. But it ain't over till it's over. Until then, I think you've probably got a little bit more fight left in you. I think we all have more fight left in us. And those bayonets are getting damn thirsty. All right, just one more thing and I'll let you go. I know last week I said we'd be discussing the siege on Reno Hill and the aftermath of Custer's last stand, but I just need a little bit more time. I've already completed the script. Now all I gotta do is just record and edit. I could have probably pulled an all nighter and maybe have gotten it out to you by Friday, but I figured it was better to wait until next week. This way I don't get into a rush and mess anything up. But yeah, we will definitely be back next week, rain or shine, talking about Reno and Benteen and all them other yahoos over on Little Bighorn. Till then, I hope you and yours have a very happy 4th of July. Don't go putting no fireworks up your butthole. And remember, things start getting tough, that's when it's time to get mean. Fix bayonets. Alright, until next time. Adios.
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