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The Killer Angels By Michael Shaara

Decent Essays

Michael Shaara’s 1974 historical novel, The Killer Angels, covers the story of the four days of the Battle of Gettysburg that also features maps for visualization. The format of the story is well organized. It begins with a Foreword, which describes in great detail the armies and soldiers involved in the battle. It follows up with four sections and within each section there are chapters that are written in chronological order, covering the events between Monday, June 29, 1863 and Friday, July 3, 1863 in different perspectives. The first to reveal their thoughts is Harrison, the Confederate spy. Harrison reports his findings about the Union to James Longstreet. As a result, Robert E. Lee decides to move his troops to Gettysburg. Meanwhile, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain proceeds to move his soldiers north. When John Buford, commander of the Union Cavalry, enters Gettysburg, he notices the Confederate infantry. Eventually, the armies clash. That was the mark of the beginning of the battle between the Union and the Confederates. Soon the rest of the Union army heard of the confrontation, so they prepared for battle. The Union and the Confederate army continued to plot plans against each other and fight for the next few days. Nonetheless, they both had their ups and downs. The characters are drawn from the words of the men themselves. In fact, Shaara states that he used letters and documents as sources. However, it is Shaara’s own interpretation of the characters. Shaara’s

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