The Killer Angels
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The Killer Angels
Michael Shaara
Random House Publishing Group
Copyright 2003
355 pages
This book takes place over four days; Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. For each section of the book, the battle scenes change. The first one is when the armies establish the position on Monday. At this time, the Union has a good hold over the town. By the end of the next section, Wednesday, the Confederacy is in most control and forced the Union troops to go back to the Hills of Gettysburg. But by the end of the Thursday section, the Union is the best after it resisted Lees attack.
Since the book mostly goes back and fourth, it really makes you wonder whats going to happen in the final section. Obviously, you already know that the Union will resist Picketts charge. But how the author does the back and forth technique, it makes it seem the Union is about to be victorious, the Confederacy, then the Union again. It kind of makes it suspenseful. In the final section, Friday, you find out about the Union victory.
The Spy
On Monday, June 29, 1863, a spy named Harrison, hired by Longstreet, finds a nearby union troop and goes back the Confederate camp to report it. His information is that the Union army is trying to get the Confederate forces into Pennsylvania. Harrison goes to the Confederate camp to give Longstreet the report. When he receives it, he isnt sure if the spy is telling the truth of not. At that time he didnt have his Calvary, so he didnt have much a choice. He decides that he must trust the spy. Harrison takes them to Lee. Now that Lee knows his options, he orders his army to march to Gettysburg and hopes to destroy the Union forces.
Chamberlain
While Chamberlain is marching with his men to Gettysburg to help the Union position, he gets sick with a sunstroke. Tom, his younger brother, and Kilrain, and fatherly figure to him, try to help him get well.
Soon after, Chamberlain is in a situation: the army left his 120 men from Maine with him and he has the orders to kill anyone who refuses to fight. The men dont want to fight because they accidentally sighed up for the three year enlistment. The other men, that choose the two year enlistment were already gone, and the rest of the men want to go home to and refuse to fight. Chamberlain, who was a professor, convinces the men to fight with a speech he made. “this is a different kind of army. If you look at history youll see men fight for pay, or women, or some other kind of looy, They fight for land, or because a kind makes them, or just because they like killing, But were here for something new. I dont . . . this hasnt happened much in the history for the world. Were an army going out to set other men free.”
Buford
Longstreet hears how General Hill is planning on marching to Gettysburg and not caring what the spy said. At that time a Pickett comes to town with three brigade commanders: Armistead, Garnett, and Kemper. Longstreet introduces the four of them to Fremantle, a comical English soldier. Longstreet and Fremantle go and sit down to discuss the new trench strategies, Hancock, and General Lee. When they were finished talking, they returned to the other men, who were sitting around a camp fire. Some men were explaining why the war was happening. “Sorrel asserts that government derives its powers from the consent of the governed and that the South simply does not consent the Union.”
Wednesday, July 1, 1863
The Confederate victory over the Union defenses was just north of town with new defenses. Lee waned to know if he should attack the Union or go around between the enemy and Washington. Lee receives Ewell and an explanation to let the Federals retreat to the south of town. Then Buford gets in the dispute between Hancock and Howard, on his way to deliver the orders that his cavalry was destroyed. That day Chamberlains men march through the night to reach Gettysburg.
Lee and Longstreet are notified how no help is going to be coming from Europe. They meet up to talk about that and how to deal with Stuart, why and how General Hills plan to march up to Gettysburg is going to go, and what to do when the Meades army approaches. Lee wasnt to hit the new Union Commander when they meet up, but Longstreet wants to” swing around between him and Washington and get astride some nice thick rocks and make him come to us.” While they were having their conversation, they were disrupted by guns being fired in the direction of the town. That meant that Hill had run into Buford defenses that must have been mistaken for militia.
Buford
While Buford and Heths Brigade were fighting, they realized they were up against a organized force, not just the local militia. Many men were dying, so Heth set us his own cannon and aims it at the Buford. At that point the battle was not just one-sided. Buford thinks about pulling them out of the battle, but just then Reynolds shows up with his infantry. The two infantry corps start fighting right away. After they had basically won the war, Reynolds is about to leave, and a sniper gets him, and he dies.
Lee is not liking how everything is going right now. Hill isnt doing as well as he should be, Stuart just decided to leave an army in enemy territory, and Heth is trying to get into trouble with superior force right outside of Gettysburg. Lee hears that Rodes and Early, the heads of Ewells two divisions, have got to the scene from the north and are getting really the Unions right flank. Hearing that Reynolds died, he orders Rodes and Early to go help troops to aid Heth. Ewell gets orders by Lee to Get the Federals and not let them get into the south part of the town.
Longstreet
Longstreet gets to Gettysburg and rides his horse around the battlefield filled with dead soldiers. He couldnt believe how unsuccessful Lees order to attack was. Longstreet meets up with Fremantle and they decide that they need some cheering up to do so, he waits for an Englishman to show up. Fremantle and he start to talk and mention stuff about the excitement in watching battles, and how he thinks General Lee is a gentleman and not just some stereotypical savage. They also talk about Darwins