the thesis was a study of joshua lawrence chamberlain who, as i noted, commanded the 20th main in its desperate defense of little round top. where chamberlain won a congressional med yaffle honor. -- medal of honor. we retraced the attack route, principle my the 15th alabama, that had attacked chamberlain's regimen at little round top. and when we reached the place where the 20th main fought, marked with the monument that chamberlain himself had dedicated a quarter century after battle, my student could no longer hold back her tears. and neither could the rest of us. all of us had read about chamberlain in the novel "the killer angels" which assigned in my course. my own voice choked up as i described the action there of the late afternoon and early evening of july 2. emotions too power follow explain overtook us. the ghosts were surely present. the sight where the 20th main fought has become the most heavily visited spot on the battlefield, i'm told, by the national park service people. but that was not always so. during my first two trips to the battlefield in 1958 and 1966, i knew