Killer Angels
The pain, joy, bloodshed, death, and sorrow of the Civil War are all contained in the book called, "The Killer Angels." This book will show you the thoughts, feelings and actions of many of the leaders of both armies. By reading this book you will get an in depth view of the bloodiest days of the Civil War. Even if you know absolutely nothing about this war, you can still read and understand everything that is portrayed. This story not only gives you the view of many of the major leaders, but it also gives you the maps an strategies used in this war. It also shows you the conflicts in making these strategies. This book has inspired many, but the true question is will it inspire you? Reading this book will cause you to be engulfed in the horrors, hardships, and glories of the Civil War.
The author's main purpose in writing this book is to inform and involve the reader. I believe that Michael Shaara gave the reader the true information and viewpoints. He wanted to get the reader hooked on the book. He did not want this book to be only read by historians and people that know a lot about the Civil War. He wanted this book to be able to be read by anyone. He did not want it to matter if you didn't know anything or a lot of things about the Civil War. This purpose is extremely difficult to achieve, but by using the style of writing that was used, he may have accomplished this goal.
The true main idea that the author writes about is the four bloodiest days of battle that in the end decided the Civil war. He includes all of the battles that occurred in that time span. These battles are either the smallest skirmishes or the fixed bayonet charge that was ordered by Chamberlain during the battle of Lit...
... middle of paper ...
...y could have shown how many men or ammunition each army had attacking. The maps also could have shown the reserves and the calvary. If the maps were more detailed like I have explained it would have been much more easier to visualize each attack.
Michael Shaara portrayed the Civil War in a novel that is like no other. It gave an in depth view of the events leading up to, during, and after the battle of Gettysburg. All of the important battles and events during those four days were included. He extensively researched and explained that part of the war. He molded that information into a great novel. The author greatly proved and explained his main idea. This book gives you one of the best ways to view and understand the Civil War. By reading this book I have learned a lot more about the Civil War. I now have a better understanding of its events and battles.
As students, studying battles such as this, we have the advantage of hindsight, knowing the outcome. Nonetheless, we can still learn valuable lessons from it. To do so, this analysis will explore some of the decisions of the leaders at Gettysburg, and how they were affected by the operational variables. This essay will scrutinize some of the leaders at Gettysburg, and the impact of their actions. The outcome of this analysis will show that what was true in 1863 is still true today.
Shaara’s novel Killer Angels shows the battle of Gettysburg through a number of unique viewpoints. Shaara offers a more intimate view of the battle than other Civil War novels. A reader can see the battle through the eyes of both Union and Confederate leaders. Through the novel the reader is able to see why each character is fighting and what they hope to gain from the war. Readers can also see the effect that the war has on the different characters. I will examine the war through the eyes of several different characters from Shaara’s novel.
The American Civil War is one of the biggest turning points in American history. It marks a point of major separation in beliefs from the North and the South and yet somehow ends in a major unification that is now called the United States of America. It still to date remains the bloodiest war in American history. The book “This Republic of Suffering, Death and the American Civil War” by Drew Gilpin Faust better explains the change in thought from the American people that developed from the unexpected mass loss of soldiers that devastated the American people. Throughout this review, the reader will better understand the methods and theory of this book, the sources used, the main argument of the book, the major supporting arguments, and what the author did well and what the author didn’t do well.
The book begins with an in-depth explanation of what happened in the latter stages of the Civil War. Major battles like Sayler’s Creek, High Bridge and Richmond are described through detailed language. For instance, at High Bridge, “Each man wages his own individual battle with a ferocity only a life-and-death situation can bring. Bullets pierce eyes. Screams and curses fill the air. The grassy plain runs blood red.” (page 61). All of these iconic Civil War battles led up to the Confederate surrender at the Appomattox Courthouse and the inescapable rebuilding of a new nation Abraham Lincoln had to deal with. Next, John Wilkes Booth is introduced and his pro-Confederate motives are made clear. His conspiracy to kill the president is described and his co-conspirators like Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt who also attempted to kill Secretary of State Seward a...
... concludes simply with a rolling of the credits, so to speak. The Afterword of the novel lists the accomplishments and significance of the main players that occurred after the battle of Gettysburg. While Gettysburg may be in our nation’s past, it continues to remind Americans of the bridges that were crossed and burned in order to get to where we are now. Shaara solidifies the ideals fought for out on the field of battle in Gettysburg. They serve as the white angel of Cemetery Ridge that Buford saw before the first day of battle: we may lose sight of them as they become overshadowed by many other symbols and markers, but they are as solid as stone and will never pass away. These truths and ideals watch over the procession of time as it passes, and events as they come and go, in order to remind us of the fact that what has been will always be a part of what remains.
The Battle of Gettysburg lead by Robert E. Lee was a three-day battle and was an immense turning point in the war for the Confederate army. Lee had designed brilliant plans for battle, but they were not always fully thought out and executed. Furthermore at Gettysburg Lee’s battle plans seemed to be a big guess or gamble and not really certain at all. Having well thought out
The famous Battle of Gettysburg was a major part of the Civil War. Before the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederate army had the advantage. Although the casualty tolls of both armies were relatively close in numbers, the North and the South’s attitudes towards the war completely differed after the Battle of Gettysburg. The events occurring in the months following the historic battle were what gave the Union Troops the greatest advantage leading to their victory at the end of the Civil War.
Heidler, David Stephen, and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: a
The novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara depicts the story behind one of the bloodiest, and highly significant, battles of the American Civil War, the battle of Gettysburg. The battle consisted of 51,000-casualties between the Union and Confederate army forces. Mainly focused on letters, journal entries, and memoirs, Shaara tells the story of Gettysburg by using characters from both sides of the war. The characters chosen grasp the divergent views regarding the impending days of the war, and countless numbers of those views develop throughout the novel. Such views come from the Confederates own General Lee and General Longstreet, and the Unions own Colonel Chamberlain and soldiers from both sides. From those depicted
McPherson, James M.; The Atlas of the Civil War. Macmillan: 15 Columbus Circle New York, NY. 1994.
This type of novel is recommended for anyone interested in the Civil War. Not too many books explore the southern battles, especially from a Confederates soldier’s point of view. Bahr does an excellent job at capturing the essence of the Civil War and its affects on the people involved. The novel was nominated for several awards, earning the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Gettysburg College, won the Book-of-the-Month Club, and was a New York Times Notable Book. The book showed some popularity and sold 10,000 copies, but was heavily overshadowed by another...
“All up and down the lines the men blinked at one another, unable to realize that the hour they had waited for so long was actually at hand. There was a truce…” Bruce Catton’s Pulitzer prize winning book A Stillness at Appomattox chronicles the final year of the American Civil War. This book taught me a lot more about the Civil War than I ever learned through the public school system. Bruce Catton brought to life the real day to day life of the soldiers and the generals who led them into battle.
The Civil War is one of the defining wars in the history of this great nation. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle in American history, and a turning point in the four year war. At the time, Gettysburg was a small, quiet town generally unaffected by the war. General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate States of America and General George Meade of the Union converged in Gettysburg, and a conflict quickly arose. After three long days of battle the Union pulled away with a victory, though not an easy one. This essay will outline the six themes of history; in essence the who, what, when, where, why, and who cares of this infamous battle.
The Killer Angel The Battle of Gettysburg fought in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania from July 1 to July 3, 1863, is considered the bloodiest battle in American history. It’s also considered the most important battle that took place during the American Civil war, because after the Battle of Gettysburg the south never really recovers, resulting in them to never won another major battle the rest of the war. Well behind every great battle there is a great leader, whether it’s one that brings utter chaos or one that sincerely wants a change. In the novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, a historical fictional story of the battle of Gettysburg
Stephen W. Sears’ Landscape Turned Red is an account of political and military plans. Especially General Robert E. Lee’s Maryland Campaign as well as the Battle of Antietam. Sears frames his work around the pending support of Great Britain and France to the Confederate cause due to cotton. Landscape Turned Red covers the battle of Antietam. It offers a vivid account of both armies, the soldiers and officers, and the bloody campaign. It analyzes the impact of Antietam on the Civil War as a whole. Sears' use of diaries, dispatches, and letters recreate the Battle of Antietam. You experience the battle not only from its leaders but also by its soldiers, both Union and Confederate. Sears attempts to examine the tactical moves of both Lee and General George McClellan. He also talks about the foolish decisions that troubled both the Federal and Confederate forces. Sears' use of traits, political pursuits, and tactical preferences, explain the thoughts of many. Some of these include President Lincoln, General Halleck and General McClellan, and their subordinates. Stephen Ward Sears is an American historian specializing in the American Civil War. He is a graduate of Oberlin College and an attendant to a journalism seminar at Radcliffe-Harvard. As an author he has concentrated on the military history of the American Civil War. Such as the battles and leaders of the Army of the Potomac. He was an editor for the Educational Department at American Heritage Publishing Company. American Heritage Publishing two of his ten books.