music and lyrics by jon schaffer “the “brother against brother” intro is specifically based on the brother like friendship of confederate general lewis a. armistead and union general winfield scott hancock. it was very common that friends and family were torn apart during the civil war. imagine having to face your best friend, brother, or cousin on a battlefield. imagine trying to uphold your duty, even if it means killing your best friend. i chose to write “brother against brother” based on armistead and hancock’s relationship but it works for almost anyone who was faced with a similar situation. it is based on a conversation between the two the last night they were together, before going to their respective sides.” intro “brother against brother” just a mile or so away is my dearest friend in this world he wears the blue and i the grey and god it hurts me so the last time we were together i grabbed his hand and i pledged if i ever draw my sword on you may the good lord strike me dead “it’s now day two, and although many amazing and tragic events happened on this day, i chose to write about one particular event and one of my favorite personalities of the civil war, colonel joshua lawrence chamberlain of the 20th maine. “hold at all costs” is my dedication to him, and my way of helping his memory live on. his story has to be one of the most inspiring of any in the chronicles of human history.” the union flank’s in trouble to the round top on the double a bad decision, insubordination exposed our line in a dangerous way the burden lies upon us surrender is not an option we are the flank and if we break the union crumbles, we could lose the war down below’s the carnage the rebel’s charging onward push the slaughter forward, the peach orchard through the wheatfield and devil’s den the valor of the texans and alabama’s best men they’re unrelenting and devastating the last full measure of devotion’s clear chorus we’ll know what we’re made of when up against all odds we hold our line for the cause that we so love we must hold at all costs we’ll know what we’re made of when our nation needs us, we’ll stay the course for the union we so love we must hold at all costs “the instrumental passage that happens at approximately 2:36 is designed to give the listener a feeling of the overwhelming endurance that both the union and the confederates showed on little round top. wave after wave of texan and alabamian attacks forced chamberlain and the 20th maine to resort to an obscure military text book maneuver that ultimately saved the day for the union. imagine these rebel forces enduring a forced march through the night before making their way to the battle and immediately being put into action. on top of that they ran out of water during the march, so these guys are charging the hill over and over again after marching all night, having no water and suffering in the brutal heat and humidity of summer. chamberlain, who was placed at the extreme left of the union line, was ordered to hold at all costs, retreat is not an option. since he was the extreme left he had to stop the confederates, otherwise they would be able to attack the union lines from behind, and that would have been devastating, possibly being the final blow to the union. when the fight started his men had around 60 rounds of ammo, after numerous rebel attacks he was forced to make a decision that proved to be one of the boldest moves in military history. having repelled wave after wave of attack from the rebels, his men made him aware of the fact that they were out of ammunition, a desperate situation indeed. knowing that the rebels were just moments away from another charge, he ordered his men to fix bayonets. he gambled that if his boys were at the end, the reb’s had to be near the end as well, so he ordered a sweeping motion with fixed bayonets down the hill, a bold and desperate charge. the amazing thing is that it worked. the rebel’s were so sh