Essay on Killer Angels

The Foreword began with describing the armies of the two armies. It states that the Confederate armies had a strong union among its men, because of their similarities in traditions, language, and religion. The soldiers had a strong belief in their leaders and were stronger together. This resulted in them beating much larger armies. The leader of this group on the battle of Gettysburg was Robert E Lee. A man who loves Virginia, who doesn’t partake in any bad habits, and who is a calm and composed man. However, the Union army was more diverse in their traditions, language, and religion, but this didn’t stop them from volunteering for their country. The leader of this group was George Gordon Meade. Unlike Lee, Meade was far more irritable and

General Lee had vital victories against the Potomac army until reaching Gettysburg in 1863, despite being undermanned and poorly supplied. One example of General Lee being undermanned is during his victory at Chancellorsville where Lee was forced “to divide his army three times in the face of the enemy while being outnumbered two to one”(Reid 150). This passage taken from Reid’s book gives a good demonstration as to what General Lee had to face in multiple crucial battles during the war. “Lee could muster up only half the size of Hooker’s-65,000 men”(Reid 152), two to one odds are extremely difficult to fight against in any situation but especially fighting with less than standard supplied soldiers. Even with the odds “Lee believed that small armies could beat big ones”(Reid 18) and Lee had tremendous confidence in his troops and his strategy. One of the main reason this battle was won by the confederates is the stellar flanking techniques drawn up by General Lee. This sizable victory over the union forces, commanded by Major General Joseph Hooker, was arguably the biggest of General Lee’s military career. Even this victory at Chancellorsville being such an overwhelming victory for the South it came at the cost of Stonewall Jackson’s mortal injury. With this crucial loss of Stonewall, who was an irreplaceable lieutenant to General Lee, the Southern cause was soon to come

He then realized that the two armies may end up fighting in the town. Therefore, he took his two brigades with approximately 2,000 men. In the Confederate camp, Longstreet met with George Pickett. On the morning of July 1, Lee cursed Stuart. Without Stuart, he was blind because he had no idea where the Union army was. When he met with Longstreet, the Confederates used there defensive tactics in order to win the battle, but Lee refused. The battle of Gettysburg began when the Confederates attacked Buford’s men. Buford held the Confederates off until General John Reynolds arrived. Lee arrived in Gettysburg and finds the battle occurring. 2 other Confederate generals arrived and sent word to Lee that they had engaged the Union troops. Lee ordered his generals to attack. Meanwhile, Chamberlain’s regiment began to move north toward Gettysburg. Chamberlain was told that he was the extreme left of the Union line, which meant that he could never retreat. Chamberlain and his men fought the Confederates, but they eventually ran out of bullets. Next, Chamberlain ordered a bayonet charge, and his screaming regiment frightened the Confederates into fleeing. Longstreet’s men had suffered heavy losses in the peach

Lee then decided that it was time to attack the North by coming up with a stealthy mission that would allow him and his troops to be able to have a Northern territory victory which would rally more Confederates and weaken the Union. This plan failed unfortunately due to misplaced dispatch was noticed by Union soldiers. Due to this mistake the Union was able to hold them off from carrying on their attack and at Antietam, both armies facing off at a stalemate. After a bloody day lee and his men escaped in the middle of the night undetected to where they will hold the line and defend Union attacks at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. After the win at Chancellorsville, Lee’s confidence in his army and their ability to capture Northern territory. Lee so then decided that they would go out and get out of the defensive and into the offensive. Him and his army face off against General Meade at Gettysburg and this would be the most popularly known that took place in the Civil War. At Gettysburg Lee had a military officer named George Pickett to lead a charge toward Meade’s high ground position which would be called Pickett’s Charge and would be labeled as a failed attacked and would end with many Confederate soldier dead. Realizing his men were dying rapidly due to his orders he calls his men to retreat. For the reason of all

In day one (July 1, 1863), the Confederates attack first in the west of Gettysburg. The day starts off with General Lee and General Longstreet discussing tactics while riding, Longstreet wants to out flank the Union army and cut off the road to Washington, forcing the Union to attack. Lee prefers that the Confederate army attack the Union army at Gettysburg and defeat them, then take Washington, as Lee believes that defending is not as honorable as attacking. They are interrupted by the sound of cannon fire and Lee decides to ride toward the guns. It is discovered from Buford’s point of view that the rebels have begun to attack, and his line is able to repel the first rebel charge. The rebels attack once again and once again they are held off. It is discovered that General Heth of the Confederacy is leading the charge, and a last large rebel attack is given. Buford knows he cannot hold the lines, but is saved by reinforcements from General Reynolds, who is shot in the open and killed. The Union line does not give in. Later, in Lee’s point of view, we learn that he has established a base of commands and the readers learn of the calamity of the battle, how Heth initially believed he was only attacking militia. The battle continues and Lee is informed that it appears the Union line is falling back. Lee meets Longstreet again to discuss tactics and Lee concludes that he will attack. In Chamberlain’s point of view, it is learned that Twentieth Maine is approaching Gettysburg, and

Lee was a Confederate general whose major blunders helped the Union win the Civil War. General Lee had been an excellent war leader and led the South to many victories, but he became overconfident. This led to many mistakes that may have cost him the war. Beginning on July 1, 1863 and ending on July 3, 1863, General Lee launched his second attack on Union ground at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. There, he made the mistake of allowing the Union army to retreat and fight from Cemetery Ridge heights as well as ordering multiple frontal assaults. As a result, Lee’s troops had to fight uphill the entire time and charge uncovered through cannon and rifle fire. General Longstreet advised to choose more favorable ground and lead the battle there, but Lee refused. Thus, Lee lost over 6,000 men on July 3 alone and a total of about 19,000 men from all three days at Gettysburg. The Confederacy was not able to replace these men, which could have given the Union more leverage in the war. Therefore, Robert E. Lee’s stubbornness and overconfidence helped influence the outcome of Civil

He could choose to stay and fight with the United States, or newly formed Union army, or he could leave his friends and switch to the side his state was on. "A number of officers of the post called to persuade me to remain in the Union service. Captain Gibbs, of the Mounted Rifles, was the principal talker, and after a long but pleasant discussion, I asked him what course he would pursue if his State should pass ordinances of secession and call him to its defence. He confessed that he would obey the call." (Longstreet 29) After some consideration Longstreet felt he needed to be loyal to his state even if that meant fighting against his former country. Unlike most of the Confederate Army Longstreet wasn't fighting to keep slaves or out of anger against Union President, Abraham Lincoln, he was doing it because he felt it was his

Why did the soldiers fight? While many still debate the ultimate causes of the Civil War, according to the Novel, it gives the perspective of both the Union and Confederate sides. Colonel Chamberlain makes a wonderful speech to the disbanded mutineers, in order to make them fight and join them into battle. Colonel Chamberlain states, “This is free ground. All the way from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow. No man born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not by what your father was. Here you can be something. Here’s a place to build a home…. What we’re all fighting for, in the end, is each other” (P.28). That is exactly what the Union army was fighting for, freedom, not only for the slave, but

There are illustrations showing movement of the Confederate and the Union armies, an epilogue, and an afterword stating the events after the Battle of Gettysburg. In the foreword, Sharra tells the reader the purpose of the book is to educate the reader on the history of the battle, but also give insight into the soldier’s thoughts. Sharra also writes that out of all the historic writings about the battle, he chose to use letters,

The book was historically accurate in all perspectives. This is shown from the location, characters and the thoughts of them. One thing that was a big part of the entire battle was loyalty. In many parts of the book loyalty is shown from the generals and commanders. For example even though Longstreet did not agree with the decisions of Lee he still stayed loyal to his commander and they army by going in with the plan. Shaara captured the essence of the battle that I've never seen before. “Honor without intelligence is a disaster. Honor could lose the war.” (p.133). The one thing I really admire about the way the book was written in such of way that you can change the perspective of the North and South to see how each is reacting to the events going on at the same

To this day, Confederate General Robert E Lee would be considered one of the greatest generals in war history. However, towards the end of the American Civil War, his dependability was questionable. The highlight of Lee’s frailty was in the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863, where he repeatedly went against Longstreet’s advice to retreat. In the third day against the Union, Confederate soldiers felt the weight of Lee’s mistake; one soldier stating that

Throughout the book, the reader is exposed to the pain, difficulty, anguish, and other dilemmas the armies face leading up to the final confrontation. There is extreme loss and unimaginable pain expressed as General Lee realizes that he is close to losing the war, as quoted in the book, "No blame can be attached to the army for its failure to accomplish what was projected by me . . .. I alone am to blame, in perhaps expecting too much of its prowess and valor . . . could I have foreseen that the attack on the last day would fail, I should certainly have tried some other course . . . but I do not

General Robert E. Lee is one of a few character in the book The Killer Angle that I would like to talk about. General Lee was born in the south and he live in a state of virginia which also happen to be one of the state who left the union. Lee is fighting for the confederacy and he is well know and love by his soldier. In lecture class, professor Andrews said something about Lee doesn’t want to know as a defensive man throughout the war. the men will think of retrieve. Lee men's will follow him and do anything for him. This tell me that Lee is well respect and everyone trust him. The reason Lee was at gettysburg was because of the supply his army needed during the war. Lee didn’t know that the Union army was at the town due to one of his own

A primary differentiation between James Longstreet and Joshua Chamberlain is their incompatible perspectives on the morale of the war, ultimately leading the reader to ascertain the cause of the Confederacy’s defeat at Gettysburg. As a Northern general, who believed that slavery could not co-exist in a county committed to the proposition that all men are considered equal, Chamberlain believed the war is fought to determine the value and freedom of all men. Viewed as essentially aberrant property throughout the South, Chamberlain, unlike other Southern officers, comprehends the complexities of human rights and the defective definition of man imposed upon the Constitution, promoting

Multiple factors were vital in determining the outcome of the Battle of Gettysburg in which the Confederate States of America suffered a defeat of numerous casualties. The lack of communication among the officers of the army may be attributed to the defeat as due to the confusion and insufficient information allowed for the Union army to gain an advantage. With the disappearance of General J. E. B. Stuart, the movements of the Union army or the geography of the surrounding area was unknown the Confederates, information that led to the loss of time as well as men. Consequently, strategic planning is proven to be a difficult feat for general of the army, Robert E. Lee, who uncertainty in his battle tactics due to the lack of information lead