Themes Of The Killer Angels By Michael Shaara

The Killer Angels was a book based on The Battle of Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was a battle that lasted three days. The Battle of Gettysburg is named what it is named because the north won because the names were often what the victor called the battle and the north named battles by nearest town and the south named them after geological landmarks. There are multiple main characters in this book.

When it came the time to kill the Confederate he was ready and willing; however, he had a great sense of respect for the Confederate soldiers. For example, Chamberlain had ordered his soldiers to take a knee for the Confederate soldiers when they surrendered at the end of the war because he wanted to acknowledge how they have fought bravely in the war. Chamberlain sympathized with the south due to the insight he had about why many of the southerners were fighting. Many southerners believed that they were fighting for their states rights along with traditions, but in reality they were fighting primarily for

In the book, Michael Shaara provides an account of the four most important days during Battle of Gettysburg where he details its features and characterizations of key characters such as Pickett, Buford, Lee, Longstreet, and Hancock. He describes the events of June 1863 when the troops of both the Confederacy

The Killer Angels, a book written by Michael Shaara that explains the crucial Battle of Gettysburg in the Civil War, along with the perspectives and lives of both the leaders of North and South. The bloodiest battle of the Civil War is explained through the eyes of the leaders of Union and Confederates in a way that is breathtaking and exhilarating. Even though South was determined and bold; The North was able to wear the confederates down because of their leaders who had a strategic plan and clear concept of war to take in prisoners and win for the sake of freedom. The essential concept of war for the Unions meant to free the prisoner slaves and restore the balance and freedom to the country they had fought from the British.

The Killer Angels follows the three day long, decisive battle of Gettysburg during the United States Civil War. The book’s storytelling is purely chronological, as the story progresses our perspective is flip flopped between the Union and Confederate sides of the battle, however the story is consistently told in the 3rd person. Michael Shaara uses immense details when describing this battle and does an incredible job of describing every character and scene, making everything easy to visualize and allowing you to put yourself in the story. The story reveals to us the thought process of all the seemingly fearless military leaders, as they discuss battle strategies and how to outsmart their opponent. Many characters throughout the book explain

We all know the outcome of the Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in 1865, meaning the North defeated the South and won the treacherous war over slavery. In Michael Shaara's historical fiction novel The Killer Angels, the reader follows the disastrous three day course of the Battle Of Gettysburg; the battle of which many historians believe was the downfall for the Confederate Army and the turning point of the war. In addition to the recent loss of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, the absence of Jeb Stuart and his leaving the entire Rebel army blind, and General Lee's heart condition, the biggest factor for the loss at Gettysburg was Lee's order to make a frontal assault

The Battle of Fort Wagner of 1863 The Civil War was triggered by the disagreement between the Southerners and the Northerners over the rights and roles of slaves. The majority of the Southerners believed slaves should have been used for the provision of free labor, while the majority of the Northerners believed that slavery was inhuman and immoral. The Confederate States of America was a Southern country formed by the Southern states’ leaders to break off from the United States. The president of the Confederacy was Jefferson Davis, former senator of Mississippi, while the president of the United States was Abraham Lincoln.

Southern soldiers viewed the confederacy as their country and were compelled to fight for the safety of it. Confederate soldiers enlisted to protecting their native lands from what they understood as invaders. The Confederacy sentiments of the Union was they were imposing upon the southern way of life. For instance, a young soldier from Kentucky wrote “sink or swim, survive or perish” (McPherson 11). The average Confederate soldier felt that they the Union was trying to destroy the legacy of the founder fathers by enslaving them and reversing the actions of the American Revolution.

The battle between the Union and the Confederacy. The novel starts with the first date which is June 29, 1863 to the day when the battle is over which is July 3, 1863. Which is taken place in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Killer Angels was a war novel that explained the actions and emotions going through the war for those who weren't there able to see it for themselves.

Southerners were fighting the war to preserve the states right and slavery. Many southerners thought they were fighting for their way of life and

This statement shows the fact that taking away slaves would be taking away the Confederates’ services, which is against the Constitution. In addition, the Northern States have nullified the Fugitive Slave Act, which is illegal, so they were technically breaking the law first. This is especially shown at ‘.. have enacted laws, which [nullifies] the Acts of Congress,” which further proves that the North States have already broken their contract as a country by circumventing a law. Therefore, the agreement between them had broke, so the South had the right to leave the Union with free

Though the reason for the South secession was claimed not to be about slavery, but rather “states rights”, it was ultimately over the right to keep African Americans enslaved. For the North, though there was an abolitionist's motive, Lincoln initially fought just to keep the United States together. When Union Major General Butler came across many slaves who came to Fort Monroe for refuge from rebel states owners, he asked questions regarding their stance (Document A). He raised the unavoidable question, “is their condition that of men, women, and children, or of property, or is it a mixed relation?”, and didn’t fail to note how they were “able bodied” for the war, though initially during the beginnings of the Civil War people were hesitant to let African Americans participate. However, after a long delay even Lincoln supported Africans fighting for the Union in the Civil War, as noted in a letter where he refutes critics against the fact (Document C).

Southerners believed that the U.S. was made for and by the white race, and that the Africans had no part of their establishment. They believed that slaves were justified by the “..experience of mankind, and the revealed will of the almighty creator.” (Document B.) They did not want to give up their businesses or their beliefs too soon therefore, they

Gettysburg (1993) eventually became difficult to sit through. The movie started off strong and fell short as the production dragged on for a duration of four-and-one-quarter hours, following a story that spans a full three days, and aligning with the plot line of the book The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara. From the beginning, Gettysburg makes a point to align itself with factual historical figures, but misrepresents or ignores some important aspects of the real happenings from which it claims to draw source. The film spans three days revolving around The Battle of Gettysburg: focusing on the viewpoints from John Buford (Sam Elliot), Joshua Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels), and James Longstreet (Tom Berenger).

However, these differences show that the North and South were actually two distinct countries held together by one constitution. The North felt that decisions regarding slavery and its legality were entrenched in the central government while the South felt that such decision belonged to the individual states. In the times preceding the war, both sides could not reach a compromise. Bonner mentions, “Because secession and war were permitted to come, warned Russel, "We are not entitled to lay the flattering unction to our souls that the Civil War was an inevitable conflict (Bonner, 195).” Hence, these differences could only be addressed through war.