Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels

Longstreet understands and senses the birth of a new nature of warfare, and one with machines. He realizes that new technology means the old strategies of war can no longer work as well. Longstreet believes that fortified, defensive positions are the best way to win a battle, and so he suggests that Lee move the Confederate army to a position southeast of Gettysburg, so the Confederates can come between the Union army and the Union capital, Washington, D.C. This strategy will force the Union army to attack to protect the capital, and if the Confederates dig into a defensive position, they can simply destroy the Union army as it attacks. Lee, however, is a more traditional soldier, and he believes he can destroy the Union army if he simply puts his men in the right places. After two days of battering the right and left flanks of the Union army, he finally tries to break through the center with Pickett’s Charge. He believes this tactic will allow him to cut the Union army in two and then destroy the confused pieces that remain. But Lee underestimates the Union artillery which utterly demolishes the Confederate soldiers as they attempt to cross the field. Longstreet is devastated. “He had never believed in this invasion. Lee and Davis together had overruled him. He did not believe in

General Longstreet felt that the plan Lee formed would ultimately fail and cause a major loss to the Union Army. He brought it to Lee’s attention only once, but Lee told Longstreet with the help of him and other strong generals including Pettigrew, Trimble, Pickett, and Armistead, they could cut the Union army in half and force them to retreat. Unlike Longstreet, Lee never looked at the consequences of pulling this risky attack. Longstreet, feeling guilty for trying to stop Lee’s overconfidence, decides to compromise and go along with Lee’s plan since he has a sacred bond with him. Eventually, Longstreet’s predictions came true and the strategy was a failure.

The killer angels is a world acclaimed novel that was written by an author known as Michael Shaara. In the year 1975, it was granted the Pulitzer Prize for creative writing. It gives us in details the occurrences of the four days in the Battle of Gettysburg. This was during the American Civil War that occurred in the year 1863. At this time, troops that comprised of both the Union and Confederacy were at war in town called Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. This is a piece of story that is driven by disposition and narrated from the point of view of various heroes (Hartwig, 1996).

In the Pulitzer Prize winning civil war novel Killer Angels, Michael Shaara covers five days of the historic battle between the Northern and Southern United States at Gettysburg. Both the North and the South fought for freedom, although they did not have equivalent definitions of freedom. The North and the South were unwavering in their beliefs and their hope for a better United States, but what the two butted heads the most on was slavery. The South was a primarily agrarian region which relied heavily on the agriculture of crops like cotton and sugarcane, both of which required intense manual labor, unlike the North who was more so industrialized; however, as William Preston said, it was not cotton that was “the south’s king” but it was slavery that made them so prosperous. The South relied on slavery because having many workers to tend to these cash crops without having to pay them saved farmers and plantation owner’s money that they could use to buy more slaves that put out more work leading to more land for more crops, or to have more money to pay their taxes. Many Southerners like William Preston thought that owning other people was their divine right as white men. The Civil War was started over the North and South’s conflicting views on whether they had the “civil” right to own or not own slaves. The Northern and Southern states developed themselves much differently than one another because of their agrarian versus industrialized economy. As the states developed they

The three-day Battle of Gettysburg, starting on July 1st in 1863, would be known to be one of the most memorable and important battles in history. It would become the major outcome of the Civil War. The day of the outburst of the Battle of Gettysburg was a hot humid day on the first of July. It was between two sides. One side was the Union, which was the Army of Potomac Commanded by General George G. Meade, along with other notable commanders such as John F Reynolds, Winfield Scott Hancock, Daniel E. Sickles, George Sykes, John Sedgwick, Oliver O. Howard, Henry W. Slocum, and Alfred Pleasonton (“Battle of Gettysburg,” 2016). The other side was the Confederate Soldiers called the Army of Northern Virginia who was commanded by General Robert E. Lee, along with other notable commanders as well, which were James Longstreet, Richard S. Ewell, A. P. Hill, and J.E.B. Stuart (“Battle of Gettysburg,” 2016). Between these two sides, the Army of Potomac had a great advantage with 93,700 men and 372 guns, while the Army of Northern Virginia were outmanned and outgunned with only 70,100 men and 280 guns. The Army of Potomac’s mission was to defeat the Army of Northern Virginia as well as to make sure Washington, D.C. remained safe. It may seem like the Army of Potomac would be the clear winner at the Battle of Gettysburg yet the Army of Northern Virginia had a strategy that would help to attempt to beat the Union which was to go on the aggression and confront them. This would

General Lee’s Army had been in mainly defensive positions and he wanted to surround Washington, because he believed if he could capture it then he could end the war. General Lee had also begun reorganizing his Army and in doing so, he gave a great unbalance to the experience in his command positions. Of the forty-nine command positions 14 on them were in experienced in the position in which they held. The planning required at the corps level was remarkable different from the planning required at the division level. In addition, the planning at the

This is most evident in the third day, when Shaara alternates between Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain of the Union and James Longstreet of the Confederacy with one section focusing on Lewis Armistead. Chamberlain and Longstreet are the two major opposing officers, and we see the events from both perspectives. During Pickett's charge from Longstreet's view, it is conceivable to imagine that the Union forces are easily routing the charging Confederates. However, when the book looks at Chamberlain's side, we see that the Union forces are being hit fairly hard by Confederate artillery. By showing us the different characters' viewpoints, Shaara also shows us their personal feelings. For example, we learn of the deep friendship between Armistead and the Union Major General Winfield Scott Hancock. This changes the reader's view of Armistead's role in Pickett's charge. There is now a poignant touch of pathos in seeing Armistead falter with emotion and die at the top of the hill with apologies to Hancock. When the readers can look at the characters of history as human, it becomes easier to grasp not only what they have done, but also why they have done so. This is invaluable to understanding history.

The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the American Civil war. General Robert E. Lee was the commanding officer of the Confederate army. During the battle of Gettysburg Lee’s military strategy was to fight offensive. Lee’s goal during the battle was to seize the high ground and out last the union army. The Union army had outnumbered the Confederate soldiers. General Lee’s first hand man was General James Longstreet. Longstreet believes the new technology in warfare would make attacking the Union army bloody for the Confederate soldiers. Longstreet suggests to Lee that defensive warfare tactics such as using trenches and rocks for cover and concealment would be the Confederacy’s best fighting chance. Lee denies Longstreet’s ideas and continued with the plan to fight out in the open and attack the enemies head on. After three days of fighting the Confederate army lost the battle at Gettysburg. Lee’s tactical approaches that led to this lost included the lack of communication and the absence of and with General J.E.B Stuart, Lee’s continuation to pursue offensive attacks and Pickett’s charge.

     Michael Shaara’s fictional novel, The Killer Angels, is based on the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The novel allows the reader to recognize the heart and courage of the more than two million men that fought in the war. Shaara focuses the reader to better understand the reason why these men fight and the meaning of the war. Ultimately, the reader observes that the war is fought on an individual level as much as a governmental level. These men are there to fight for what they believe is truly right. The Confederates fought for their rights to hold slaves, their freedom tyranny of the Federal Government, and their

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

With Hollywood producers jumping all over the idea of making historical wars and battles come to life on the big screen, many times fabricated and over-the-top details are added to enhance the overall plots. Keeping this in mind, I analyzed the movie Gettysburg, directed by Ronald F. Maxwell, for historical accuracies. The battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle in American history, many movies have been made to re-enact the horrors that unraveled within those days; however, many of them are incorrect. The movie Gettysburg, directed by Ronald F. Maxwell, seems to be mostly accurate with the historical events. The defense of Little Round Top was a pivotal moment within the battle of Gettysburg, the winner of this skirmish would decide

The Vietnam War in the late 1960’s was described as a tragedy, a victory, a win, and a loss, but for whom? The millions of people who loss their lives or the millions of people who fought to save others or is it for the millions of people who had to make that decision every time that they were in battle, but as for Richard Perry, a seventeen-year-old, African American just out of a Harlem High School, had to ask that question solely to himself. Perry, a talented and bright young man put away his dreams of college and becoming a writer because of the unfortunate circumstance he is in. He lives in poverty in the slums of Harlem. His single mother is abandoned by her husband and this leaves Perry and his younger brother Kenny without a father

Overall, I found Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels an interesting book; it shed a new and different light on the Battle of Gettysburg by showing it from multiple points of view. I believe that Shaara was successful in writing in the diction of his chosen narrators; he used slang and dropped “g’s” for the Confederate soldiers and used proper grammar and British terminology for the Englishman, Freemantle. I was also impressed by his knowledge of military terms and the effectiveness of which he used them. The terms were used enough that

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?

I would rather not have done it upon this ground, but every moment we delay the enemy uses to reinforce himself. We must hit him now. We pushed him yesterday; he will remember it. The men are ready. I see no alternatives.” (pg. 184) This proves that General Lee was more concerned about taking quick action against the Union army rather than taking the time to figure out a more defensive attack in order to ensure a higher chance of survival for his