Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels

Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee are two of the most effective military leaders in American history. These men have become symbolic of the two nations at conflict during the Civil War. Both had very different backgrounds and personalities that caused them to differ in their military leadership and accomplishments. Even though General Lee would surrender his army to General Grant, Lee throughout the course of the war proved himself to be a better military leader.

Robert E. Lee was a man of family, culture and tradition. Lee was a man who believed in the old English ways in chivalry. The Southern states fought for the same ideals that Lee stood for. Lee believed that this way of life made men to be of a higher class. He was convinced that these old values can build a better nation. Catton express the Confederacy loyalty to these values by saying: “For four years, the southern states had fought a separate war to up held the ideals for which Lee; as if he himself was the Confederacy… the best thing that the way of life for which the Confederacy stood could have ever had to offer” (410).

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

The Battle of Gettysburg brought the dueling North and South together to the small town of Gettysburg and on the threshold of splitting the Union. Gettysburg was as close as the United States got to Armageddon and The Killer Angels gives the full day-to-day account of the battle that shaped America’s future. Michael Shaara tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg through the eyes of the generals and men involved in the action of the battle. The historical account of the Battle of Gettysburg gives the reader a chance to experience the battle personally and not the history book manner taught in schools. A historical novel gives the facts straightforward and provides no commentary by the people involved in history. The

6. How does Shaara portray General Lee in this work, especially Lee's decision to attack at Gettysburg, despite Longstreet's advice not to? Why doesn't Longstreet want to fight at this particular spot?

Robert E Lee was a general. The times back then were with no electronics, slavery, old house and really old guns. In the south there was slavery, cotton and they had to do everything hand made. In the North there was good houses, they had good cloths and had crops. Same in the South they had crops. The South was dry and had farms and in the North had greens, water and green fields. They did not have good medicines or good doctors because they never washed there hands or cleaned the medicine tools. There was a infections going around and tons of Union and Confederate died or got wounded. You are going to learn about Robert E Lee and the battles he served in.

Throughout history, there have been people whose names and faces have become synonymous with the time periods in which they lived. For example, Julius Caesar is synonymous with the late Roman Republic and George Washington is synonymous with the American Revolution. Just like these two men, the name Robert E. Lee has become synonymous with the American Civil War. Not only did Lee rise to become the most important and recognizable person in the Southern Confederacy, but his honor and virtuous acts during and after the war made him a hero to modern-day Americans. Even though he fought for what many consider the morally erroneous side of the war, the virtues of his character have made him a figure in American history

In the end of the Civil War. Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant were considered as heroes. The two generals would earn a great reputation and will go down as one of the best generals for the years to come. These two changed, todays American History and how we can know better understand how the war actually came about. We know that these two made life decisions out on the battle field. We know that the both of them gave everything they had for their homeland. Though we know that their choices would represent each other.

confederate have lost many people. General Lee still doesn’t use Longstreet’s plan and on day 3

By the end of the Civil War, much of the country thought of General Robert E. Lee and General Ulysses S. Grant as personal heroes. Despite the outcome of the war, both the Union and the Confederates looked towards their leader with admiration. Both men were viewed as spectacular fighters, who were smart and strategic during the war. However, despite similarities between the two Civil War generals their differences in background experiences, personality traits, and personal underlying aspirations made them not only opposites of each other but the perfect champion for the people they were chosen to lead.

The book The Killer Angels was published in 1975 by the Ballatine Booksand was written by Michael Shaara. The Killer Angels is a historic novel about the time of the American Civil War, more specifically The Battle of Gettysburg. Shaara wrote this historical masterpiece with the sole purpose of letting the reader know exactly how the war was for the men actually putting their lives on the line to get this great country of America to the stature it is today. In order to accomplish his goal of creating the ultimate historic journal of The Battle of Gettysburg, he went straight to the source. He went back and retrieved letters and documents written by the men themselves, who were I the war. What better way to tell a story about one of the most significant battles of American history, then getting the information straight from the warriors who were fighting in the tranches? The book is written from the viewpoints of Robert Edward Lee, James Longstreet, and a couple of other men who were in the war. Robert E. Lee was fifty-seven at the time of the war. He was a highly respected general of the Confederate Army. He was an honest, God following man who had great morals which made a great leader (Killer Angles XVI). He didn’t drink or smoke and would stay away from reading novels and plays because he felt it would make him weak minded for battle (Killer Angles XVI). This is what made him such a great leader, the fact that he lead by example of how a true gentleman and general should

After the Civil War most people saw Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant as heroes. Both men symbolize the two forces which fought in the Civil War (“Lee and Grant”, 1). Even though both men were brilliant generals, Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865 and was also defeated at Gettysburg, one of the most known battles in 1863. After the Civil War, Lee went on to become president of Washington College, and Grant, president of the United States (“Robert E.Lee” and “Ulysses S. Grant”, 1). Lee and Grant were similar in their leadership styles, but also diverse in terms of military strategies.

The Killer Angel, by Michael Shaara, is the story of the Battle of Gettysburg told through the eyes of the officers who were there. The story begins with a Shakespeare-quoting, quirky spy named Harrison rushing to tell General Longstreet and General Lee the news- the Union army is on the move and is rapidly approaching. Harrison first meets up with Longstreet, who is skeptical about believing him, since General Stuart’s cavalry went out a few days ago, and there has been no word from him at all. After a few moments, it hits him- General Stuart is joyriding. Enraged, the resigned Longstreet brings Harrison to Lee, who is not feeling well and is resting. After hearing Harrison’s report, Lee gives orders to move to Gettysburg at first light and

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

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Shaara, the author of The Killer Angels, was born on June 23, 1928 in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was an author of science fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction. Although writing was his passion, Shaara was very athletically successful in high school, winning more awards than any other student in the history of the school for sports such as basketball, track and baseball. He acquired a skill in boxing, and of the 18 matches Shaara fought as a young man, he won 17. The one loss would serve as the basis for a later short story, "Come to My Party." After high school, he attended Rutgers University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1951. He later did some graduate work at Columbia University and the University of Vermont. It was during his college days that he realized his one goal was to become a writer, and he began to write short stories and sell them to magazines such as Playboy, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, The Saturday Evening Post, and many others. Prior to the Korean War, Shaara served as a paratrooper and was a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division, and he later served as a merchant seaman and a police officer. After working these various jobs, Shaara began to focus more on subjects related to writing, and later taught English, literature and creative writing at Florida State University in Tallahassee while continuing to write fiction on the side. His second novel, The Killer Angels, brought him