Killer Angels Essays -- essays research papers

The Killer Angels 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 historical account of the Battle of Gettysburg, as seen in Killer Angels, provides the facts of the battle as seen through the eyes of Generals Robert E. Lee, Joshua Chamberlain, James Longstreet, and John Buford. The feelings and inner-thoughts of each General and the conditions of the battle are seen, heard, and felt by the reader in the historical account. Shaara takes historical license with letters, the words of the men, and documents written during the three hellish days of the battle. Shaara avoids historical opinion and provides his own opinion towards the Civil War and the people. The historical account of the Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg specifically, in Killer Angels conveys the attitude to toward war, attitude towards the Civil War, and cause for fighting the war of General Robert E. Lee, Joshua Chamberlain, James Longstreet, and John Buford. General Robert E. Lee gained stoic and legendary status as the heart and soul of the South in the Civil War, but many did not know his reasons and feelings for fighting the war. War and the slaughter of others did not interest Lee and he felt compassion for the Union. Lee had contradictory feelings towards war and says, â€Å"He was not only to serve in it but he was to lead it, to make the plans, and issue the orders to kill and burn and ruin†¦he could not do that† (Shaara 263). The Civil War is not in the taste of General Lee, but feels it is his duty, and he cannot just stand by and watch the war pass him by. Michael Shaara says of Lee’s reason for fighting the Civil War â€Å", He found that he had no choice†¦Lee could not raise his hand against his own. And so what then? T... ...eiving recognition for saving the high ground and perhaps the battle. Colonel Joshua Chamberlain is given a brigade after the battle of Gettysburg but is wounded six times. He is regarded as one of the greatest soldiers in American history, and receives numerous medals for honor during the Battle of Gettysburg. Ulysses Grant gives him the honor of Major General for heroism and is chosen by Grant as the officer to receive the Southern surrender at Appomattox. Chamberlain is elected the governor of Maine and eventually elected President of Bowdoin College. He dies from his wounds in June 1914 at the age of eighty-three. General Longstreet asks to be relieved of command after the Battle of Gettysburg, but Lee makes him stay. After the war he blames Lee for the loss of Gettysburg, and this does not sit well with people. His theory of defensive war is very advanced for the time. He serves as President of Washington College until his death in 1904. General Lee remains the symbol of all that is proud and noble in the South. He asks to be relieved of his command but it is denied. After the war he asks for pardon from Congress and it is denied until 1970. Lee dies of heart disease in 1870.