JOSHUA L. CHAMBERLAIN (1828-1914). Best known for his gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg, leading a bayonet charge for which he was Awarded the Medal of Honor as hero of Little Round Top, Gettysburg; later Professor and Governor of Maine.
March 27, 1869-Dated, Printed Broadside Proclamation, Signed in type JOSHUA L. CHAMBERLAIN, appointing a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, issued as the Governor of Maine. Augusta, Maine, printed by State Printers, Augusta, Me., Very Fine.

This scarce Broadside Proclamation, as issued with the advice of the Executive Council, appoints Thursday, April 15, 1869, as a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer for the citizens of Maine, and calling upon them to "turn aside from our common cares, and meditate upon the concernments of our truer life, and conscious of our weakness and confessing our sins, so humble ourselves before God, that He may be pleased to accept our penitence and bless our toils and trials, to our present and eternal good."

Given at the Council Chamber in Augusta and signed in type by Chamberlain as Governor, with Franklin M. Drew, Secretary of State, countersigning below. This Broadside is handsomely printed within a fully decorative floral and foliate typographic border and features a fine engraving of the Maine state arms at the head. A penciled date "1869" appears in the upper left corner in a later hand. Broadsides from Chamberlain’s Gubernatorial administration are seldom encountered. This clean well printed example measures 8.5 x 11 inches having some expected light handling and is entirely legible.
Chamberlain, one of the most celebrated figures of the Civil War, commanded the 20th Maine Infantry at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, where his defense of Little Round Top became legendary; he received the Confederate surrender at Appomattox in April 1865, and was elected Governor of Maine four consecutive times beginning in 1866.