The Killer Angels

Most people think of the Civil War as a military battle between the North and South. Without studying the subject, they do not appreciate the facts that make up this historical event. When one reads the novel, The Killer Angels, the reader will have a much better perception and understanding of what actually happened during the war. The Killer Angels, which is written by Michael Shaara, tells the epic story of the great battle of Gettysburg, which left 50,000 Confederate and Union soldiers dead, wounded, or missing. The tale is told from the alternating points of view from several of each side’s significant participants. The book moves back and forth from the North and South perspective. Shaara portrays the terrible butchery of the three days’ fighting through the vividly ren- dered thoughts and emotions of men such as

General Robert E. Lee, Major General John Buford from the South and from the North, Brigadier General Lewis

Armistead, and Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. This is a tremendously moving novel, guaranteed unforget- table. The book instills in one's mind what a battle fought during the

Civil War was actu- ally like to be apart of for the soldiers.

The setting for the book takes place in Pennsylvania, where the Battle of Gettys- burg is fought. The author provides many detailed maps of both army's positions. Throughout the book, the reader is shown the pain, difficulty, anguish, and other dilemmas the armies face leading up to the final confrontation. In the beginning...