Thomas W. Hyde and Joshua Chamberlain

Brunswick, Maine is just 8 miles from Bath, and home to Bowdoin College, where Joshua L. Chamberlain was an alum, a professor (before the Civil War) and president (after the Civil War). He was governor of Maine Chamberlain, a professor when the war broke out, volunteered and was eventually commander of the 20th Maine. He is largely credited with holding the Union’s left flank on Little Round Top at Gettysburg, saving the battle and perhaps the war. He won the Medal of Honor and has been portrayed in books and films, raising his profile further. There is still plenty in Brunswick related to his life to still see today.

Thomas Hyde, another Civil War veteran, figures greatly in the history of Bath. I knew both men had Bowdoin connections, were Medal of Honor recipients, and mustered out in 1865 as Brigadier Generals. Hyde went on to found Bath Iron Works in Bath, Chamberlain was Governor of the State. What else did they have in common? Thanks to assists from staff at the National Park Service at Antietam National Battlefield (site of Hyde’s Medal of Honor actions) and Bowdoin College, I’ve added a bit more information.

I knew Hyde was a student at Bowdoin when Chamberlain was a professor. But had he taken his class? Would they have known each other there? In fact, yes! Hyde, as a sophomore, would have been a student in Professor Chamberlain’s rhetoric class (maybe German too, though unconfirmed). Also, the entire class of 1861 only had 60 students in it - it would have been likely Chamberlain would have had many interactions with Hyde, and with his classmates.

What did they do after the war? Both men returned to Maine, their whole worlds altered. Hyde was only 24 years old and just starting out in his career (eventually founding Bath Iron Works, still going strong today building destroyers for the US Navy) and Chamberlain at 36, resuming his. What was their relationship? The men met frequently on platforms, parade routes and as political brokers in the state. Although Chamberlain said Hyde was "like a son" to him, they followed very different paths, one as an academic and public servant, the other a successful industrialist. Ron White’s biography of Chamberlain, On Great Fields is a newer source about the Brunswick man - who will write one about Bath’s hero?

Civil War aficionados would do well to visit both places on a trip to Maine - just a 10 minute drive on Route 1 - and see for themselves. While in Bath, both our downtown walking tour and our neighborhood tour dig into Hyde’s life - our women’s history tour highlight’s the perspectives and story of his wife Annie Hayden Hyde. Hope to see you!

Photo Credit: Photo (above) taken of Thomas W. Hyde Family Papers, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine.