Entertainment by Exaggeration

The Review of My Confession: Recollections of a Rogue by Samuel Chamberlain

This article is not something I intended to write. I was researching the Glanton Gang for another post and had to read this book in that pursuit. I was only a few pages in when I decided to write about this book and the author’s creative narrative. In this autobiography, Samuel Chamberlain is the object of desire for every woman he meets, a fighter of unbeatable stature, and a man who constantly escapes danger. I don’t know how Hollywood has not made a series of movies about this man’s life. 

Before getting into the book, I want to provide a bit of background on Samuel Chamberlain. Chamberlain was born in New England before leaving home at 16 to move to Illinois.[1] He joined the army and served in the Mexican-American War. After the war, Chamberlain left the military and floated around. He took part in the border disputes between Texas and Mexico when he spent time with the Glanton Gang. He was married after leaving the Glanton Gang. He joined the Union Army at the start of the Civil War, where he rose to the rank of Brigadier General.[2] He was apparently also shot six times. 

None of the information above can tell you truly how amazing Samuel Chamberlain was. Well, at least according to Samuel Chamberlain. Chamberlain decided the world needed to know about his escapades, so he began writing his book, My Confession: Recollections of a Rogue. I could not be more grateful that he made this decision. This book provided me with a lot of entertainment. Also, if you haven’t realized by now, this won’t be a typical book review. I will not be verifying the information provided. I am giving you the reactions I had to the book. 

Chamberlain starts strong by describing a fight he won with a ruffian who insulted and attacked him. Not only did Chamberlain win the fight, he did so in front of a Deacon and his daughters. The Deacon smiled at Chamberlain, and the girls gave him admiring glances. Clearly, all three loved this rough-and-tumble fighter. Further down on the page, he is given a lecture by the minister for going home with a girl in which the minister’s son was interested. If you’re wondering if this sets a tone for the book, the very next page has him only losing a fight when he is outnumbered and a girl professing her love while nursing him back to health. 

These are early examples of a process followed multiple times in this book. The process is simple and has the following steps:

1. Chamberlain meets a beautiful woman
2. Beautiful woman and Chamberlain fall instantly in love
3. Chamberlain cannot stay with the woman, so he leaves her
4. Rinse and Repeat

At one point, the 19-year-old daughter of a Senator falls in love with the 16-year-old Chamberlain. She is distraught at the idea he won’t go home with her. It is a tragic love seen played over and over. If you’re curious, this does apply to married women as well. Chamberlain describes multiple married women who were in love with him. He tells one tale of saving a woman from drowning. She fell in love with him, but sadly, this led to the husband and others hunting him down with guns. Another tragic loss of love. 

To be fair, I was not at any of these events, and maybe they happened as Chamberlain described. Chamberlain may be one of the most prolific bachelors in American history. However, I’ve met enough storytellers that this does give the feel of something highly embellished. I don’t doubt he had several women in his life, but I do doubt everything was as he described. 

It wasn’t just with women where Chamberlain appears to have excelled at life. In fact, as a teenager, he saved a Seminary full of students. First, he helped them leave the building and organized the people into a makeshift firefighting squad. His efforts helped put out the blaze. Of course, Chamberlain became friendly with several girls who viewed this incident. Chamberlain also describes winning multiple fights. However, there is no more fantastic fight than when he killed a drunk man in a knife fight. The fight, of course, was in defense of a woman. Chamberlain: fighter of fire and men. 

I also cannot count the number of times someone captured Chamberlain and escaped. The most fantastical involves his escape from a group of “villainous-looking cutthroats.” First, he manages to punch their toughest fighter, steal a knife, knock over a table, and run through a door. The cutthroats recaptured him, but because the leader was so impressed, he offered Chamberlain a chance to escape. All he needed to do was beat their most formidable fighter in a knife fight. Little did the cutthroat leader know that Chamberlain was the best at all contests. Chamberlain won his freedom. 

That is not to say that all of Chamberlain’s words stretch a reader’s ability to believe. Chamberlain appears much more grounded when discussing events where he plays a minor role at best. He tells the sad story of his Uncle lying to an enslaved man who had escaped the South. His Uncle promises to bring him farther North and secure his freedom, only to take him to his former master. It is a sad and depressing tale that seems to upset Chamberlain greatly. 

His description of the Mexican-American war does not appear overly embellished, but he limits his discussion of the issue. Chamberlain ends the book with his time spent with the Glanton Gang. Truthfully, Chamberlain seems appalled by the actions of Glanton. He at no point describes Glanton’s actions in a positive light. He even tells the story of leaving the gang with several others before Glanton’s Death. I’m not sure this is revisionist to protect himself, but I see no reason to doubt Chamberlain on his distaste. He never makes himself the hero trying to save Glanton’s victims. Instead, he just seems to hate it all. The Glanton Gang’s actions will be the subject of a later article, but to quickly summarize, they were scalp hunters committing horrible atrocities in the Texas-Mexico border disputes. Cormac McCarthy used Chamberlain’s description of Glanton for Blood Meridian. 

Chamberlain’s book cuts off abruptly after he escapes the Glanton Gang. I don’t know the reason for the abrupt ending with no follow-up, but I did see a suggestion that Civil War injuries prevented further writing. I wish he could have continued. I was excited to hear how every woman in America fell in love with him. 

---

[1] Since this is a book review, all information is taken from the book My Confession: Recollections of a Rogue by Samuel Chamberlain. The only exception is confirming his position as a Brigadier General, which is cited below.

[2] John H. Eicher, and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2002), 742.