 Well, Adelbert Ames, a West Point veteran, also a Mainer, was in charge of the 20th Maine, just 26 years old. The men hated him. They thought he should be the first casualty of the Confederates because he was strong-willed, disciplinarian. But Chamberlain took the discipline well. He understood that this man knew far more than he did, and he wanted to learn everything he could from Adelbert Ames. The war is going very badly for the Union.