The Killer Angels Essay, Research Paper

The Killer Angels

Joseph E. Seguin

Ms. Weis

U.S. History AP

5 December 1996

THe Killer Angels Opinion and Commentary

In the novel The Killer Angels, Mr. Shaara’s historical accuracy is

unquestionable. He has written this fabulous (Pulitzer Prize winning) novel.

Although the heroic suicidal charge of the 10th Minnesotans on the second day of

the battle was left out, Shaara focuses on Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

and the 20th Maine which makes up for the lapse.It is safe to say that

no other novel has so closely allowed the reader to understand the peculiar

madness of this civil war.

After reading this powerful, exciting novel one assumes that whenever

cultures clash, there will be a final conflict. By showing the reader what the

principals of this great battle were (and may have been) current thinking on

multiculturalism are highlighted in a new and perplexing way. This was a great

feet for a book written in 1974 to be so magnificent.

The Killer Angels has been made into a five hour long motion picture and

is called ‘Gettysburg.’ The novel is so compelling that the story seldomly

deviates from the movie. The movie illustrates Mr. Shaara’s ability to tell a

complex story with clarity. The novel shows a great depiction of the tragedy of

war, like in the part when Armistead races into battle, even though he is

fighting his best friend (Hancock), and they both get shot. It really shows the

views of each side, and what each character felt.

The Killer Angels’ will satisfy both the history buff and the Civil War

buff. But, the sense of duty, honor, and the appalling loss of life as well as

the unbelievable heroism displayed by both sides in the battle will move many

readers.

The Killer Angels Summary

This outstanding historical novel depicts four days at Gettysburg,

Pennsylvania which occur during summer of 1863. These crucial days are the

turning point of the American Civil War and the strong days of the Confederacy.

In just three days of slaughter in Eastern Pennsylvania, there was one-third as

many casualties as during the three years of the Korean War. At the beginning,

General Robert E. Lee leads a confident, flawless Confederate Army north into

Pennsylvania. There, they hope to demolish the Union Army by provoking it into

an attack. Colonel Chamberlain leads a desperate charge of the 20th Maine. For

Colonel Chamberlain’s actions, he later received the Congressional Medal of

Honor. This is told with such force and clarity that the reader smells the gun

smoke, hears the rebel yells, feels the heat and desperation and experiences the

exhaustion and relief of the Union troops when the day is finally won.

At one point, Buford finishes a battle and goes to the cemetery on the

hill. He had been hit on his left arm. There were barely any of his calvary

left. This scene described a sadness that Buford experienced. On the third and

final day of actual conflict, Pickett’s Charge is told with great patience and

sensitivity. This was a highlight of the novel. During this run, 15,000

Confederate troops attacked a stable Union position that was spread across

almost a mile of open ground. Many men died at this event. The conflicting

strategies, which confronted General Lee, led him to order this ill-fated attack.

These strategies are then further explained.

Mr. Shaara offers some insights into the nature of men (Killer Angels)

and war. He states that the war was fought because of a clash in cultures and

that the Union Army fought, not for plunder, loot, or power, but to make people

free. He also makes it clear that the Confederate leaders and soldiers also

fought for a different sense of freedom. The conflicts within men, who having

vowed in happier times to never take arms against each other, yet nevertheless

find themselves on opposite sides of a battlefield. The book closes with

General Lee leading his weakened forces on a retreat south to the safety of

Virginia after having lost thousands of men in furious assaults on Union

positions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Shaara, Michael. The Killer Angels. New York: Ballantine Books, 1974.