The Killer Angels and the Battle of Gettysburg

When an author writes a book he has a message that he is trying to get across to

the reader. This message is called a theme. In The Killer Angels Shaara’s theme

was freedom for the slaves. The Northerners truly believed that the slaves

deserved to be free, and their desire to set slaves free was the cause of the Civil

War. Just before the Battle of Gettysburg, Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain of the

20th Maine gave a speech to a group of mutineers. He told them that the war in

which they were fighting was unlike any war in history. The war in which they

were fighting was not for money, property or power. It was a war to set other men

free. After the battle began, Sergeant Tom Chamberlain asked a group of

prisoners why they were fighting. They gave no answer, but asked him the same

question. Sergeant Chamberlain answered, “To free the slaves, of course.” The

South, however, was against freeing the slaves. The entire Civil War, whether the

people were for or against the idea, was about freedom.

The Killer Angels was informative, very fascinating and I liked it. I liked

the book because I learned many things from it. I’d never thought much about the

importance of the Battle of Gettysburg until I read The Killer Angels. From this

book I learned many things. I learned that the Battle of Gettysburg was the turning

point of the Civil War. Prior to Gettysburg, the South had won most major battles.

At Gettysburg, however, the North gained it’s...