Conceived in liberty

by Mark Perry

In narrating the lives of Joshua Chamberlain and William Oates, Mark Perry's Conceived in Liberty opens a window on seventy years of American history, at the center of which is the July 1863 Battle of Little Round Top. This legendary contest decided the Battle of Gettysburg, opened a door to the Northern victory in the Civil War, and sent Chamberlain and Oates on paths to national prominence. Drawing on a vast mine of documents, including letters, wartime journals, and political speeches, Perry brings their fascinating, uncannily parallel stories to life. Joshua Chamberlain, the son of a Maine farmer, first made his name as an academic at Bowdoin College, then as a brilliant military commander, before establishing a remarkably successful career in politics, including several terms as the governor of Maine. William Oates, an Alabama frontiersman of humble origins, was also a farmer's son, and his valiant service during the war became the platform upon which he built a career as a lawyer