Book by Michael Shaara, 1987
[THEME AND SUMMARY]
SUMMARY: The first half The Killer Angels detailed the cluelessness of the armies, how both the Union and the Confederacy were essentially stumbling around in the dark, until a spy, previously an actor, gives a report on a large Union force within hours of James Longstreet's Regiment of the Confederacy, leading them to head to Gettysburg to cut them off from Washington. Simultaneously, John Buford's Regiment, a Union troop, was also heading to Gettysburg.
Buford stays on Cemetery Hill, just outside of town. His dismounted cavalry defends the town from a small Confederate force, and is joined by an infantry to successfully hold the town. Robert E. Lee, the famed General of the Confederacy, has several of his Regiments force a surrender of the Union from Gettysburg, initially.
The second half of the book details the larger battles of Gettysburg. Lee , after taking the town, slowly battles the Union down south several hundred yards, where the Union takes a Little Round Top, a hill, as its main headquarters. Lee engages the enemy, but is repeled, and tries again, with Pickett's Charge, which weakens the Confederate army down to 60%.
The second half of the book details the larger battles of Gettysburg. Lee , after taking the town, slowly battles the Union down south several hundred yards, where the Union takes a Little Round Top, a hill, as its main headquarters. Lee engages the enemy, but is repeled, and tries again, with Pickett's Charge, which weakens the Confederate army down to 60%.
THEME: The theme of the book is: There is never a single side to a situation. This applies to The Killer Angels in a few ways:
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, an ex-professor and in command of the 20th Regiment of Infantry of Maine, wrote an oration in his youth after a discussion with his father about a quote from Shakespeare, listed in the book: "What a piece of work is man...in action how like an angel!" (Shaara 126), his father then responding on how man must then be a "murderin' angel, a reference most likely to humanity's addiction to war. Chamberlain titled his oration Man: The Killer Angel, which is most likely the source of the name of the book. Chamberlain's oration detailed the duality of man, how we may sometimes be 'angels' and other times 'killers'.
Additionally, being a novel of the Civil War and the fact that civil wars are wars fought against yourselves, it was witnessed in Buford's first hours in Gettysburg, he saw a general of the opposing army, from a distance. "He saw the lone officer. Buford waved. You never knew what old friend was out there. The Reb officer took off his hat, bowed formally. Buford grimaced: a gentleman." (Shaara 39) In another related part of the book, it described the troops refusing to shoot an officer because he was brave. Stonewall Jackson claimed "I do not want them brave, I want them dead!" Though this is commonly attributed to Jackson, it was found on page 128.
The theme of the book, about every situation having multiple sides, is applied to the Civil War, specifically The Killer Angels, by having men realizing they may be killing old friends, or gentlemen, or men who have held so strong that they were admirable, even if they were an opposition.
Related Page: http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/gettysburg.html?tab=facts
Related Page: http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/gettysburg.html?tab=facts
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