Hero+Essay+Seanfw10

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What is a hero? That's the question that many people ask and still can't find an answer to. I think a hero is someone who has put their life on the line to help others. Say someone’s house was on fire and there was someone trapped inside and a group of firefighters had to go in. They are putting their lives on the line to help that person inside that house. Have you ever heard of the Battle of Gettysburg? Well my person was a Colonel there and he helped the Union soldiers defend against the Confederate Invaders. My heroes name was Joshua L. Chamberlain. In this essay I will prove that Joshua L. Chamberlain was a hero because he put his life on the line to help his country.

Joshua L. Chamberlain was born in Brewer, Maine in 1828. His home is in Maine and he was a schoolteacher in his hometown. He volunteered to join the army and was in the same Regiment as his brother Thomas. He wanted to help his country because it was at war with itself. His actions were important because the part of the battle his regiment was in affected the outcome of the battle and this battle affected the war. []

The First action I will focus on is When Joshua Chamberlain was in the battle of Gettysburg and preparing for the defense of Little Round Top. This action meets my definition because he and his men had to defend little round top, which was the one of the most important positions to hold in order to keep the army from being flanked and destroyed by the Confederate army. Chamberlain and his company were at their camp and awaiting orders then they were told to form up and head to the top of the hill. They were told to entrench and defend little round top to the last and that they could not retreat or else the entire army would be flanked. He made sure that his regiment was well equipped and well supplied. This showed that he was a great leader to his men and that he was going to help them get through one of their toughest battles [] [] The Second action I will be focusing on is the engagement at little round top itself. This action meets my definition because he puts his life on the line to help his country. When the battle begins the 15th Alabama advances up the hill several times and they are beaten back each time. When they realize they are about to be flanked the farthest left half of the regiment reformed the line at an angle in order to beat back the confederate charge. As the Confederates prepared for one last charge Chamberlain's regiment had many wounded men and casualties. He then decided that they could not beat back the next wave so he had his entire regiment fix bayonets and charge knowing that they would have the advantage of going downhill. When they charged they caused the confederates to retreat and they took many prisoners. A quote from the movie Gettysburg that he said was "... if you look to our left you can see there is no one there. The union army stops here... We cannot retreat. We cannot withdraw..." . The impact he had on his soldiers was large because he showed them that they can win by sticking it out and don't give up and he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at little round top. [] [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Round_Top] []

The Confederate soldiers wouldn't have looked up to him as a hero. They wouldn't think he's a hero because they attacked him and his regiment at Gettysburg and they beat them back many times and eventually defeated them. They tried to stop him by flanking his regiment and destroying them. He avoided getting squished by setting up his regiment so that they were in angle shape and could cover both sides they were being attacked on. [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Round_Top] []

Joshua L. Chamberlain has left behind a legacy for us. It is the fact that if you are willing to put your life on the line you can help others greatly in life threatening situations. If you also don't give up when you are faced with a difficult challenge you can succeed. If he hasn't influenced anyone else he has influenced me. Joshua Chamberlain is someone to learn from. He was told to defend a hill and this was what he is mostly well known for. This could influence a soldier that just got drafted into the army. If he asked Joshua Chamberlain for advice he would probably tell him that you are helping others just by serving your country and putting you life on the line to ensure the safety of others. Another piece of advice he would give him is that if you follow orders and don't give up like he did at little round top you will be successful.