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Comparing The Attributes Of Lee And Joshua Chamberlain In The Killer Angels

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As conflict arises a nation may enter into a state of destruction and violence, leading to the prominence of admirable leaders characterized by their ingenuity, ideals and admirable attributes. The American Civil War was an imperative and decisive series of battles that lead to the creation of resolutions regarding the conflict over slavery. With the progression of the war, leaders emerged from the Confederate and Union armies, among the most notable are Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate army, and Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, colonel in the Union army. The strategic decisions and military positions reflect the personal attributes of these prevalent leaders, thus affirming their dexterity and personal emotions. In The Killer Angels, a novel by Michael Shaara, the paralleling and contrasting attributes of Robert E. Lee and Joshua Chamberlain are asserted as their decisions and personalities influence the outcome of the war. Their optimism and devotion as well as their dexterity to make strategic and sometimes risky plans are characteristics they share, while their devotion and loyalties as well as their personal ideologies contrast. In the midst of detrimental military conflict the attributes of an inspirational leader are reflected in his men, thus ensuring a tenacious and competent …show more content…

The calamitous Pickett’s charge generated many adversities for Lee and his ability to remain optimistic and preserve, when many would give up, demonstrates his courage and competence as a leader. His optimism prompted the resolution of his men to continue the war, appealing to their sense of duty and courage, thus depicting his endeavor to make his characteristics resonate in the other soldiers. His passion, as well, can be inferred because despite his wavering ideals he remains dedicated to the cause in which he made an

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On top of this, the broad idea was to use brute force to overcome Lee's army, which is reasonable from an overview standpoint, but is much less popular with the common soldier. This generated a distrust for the command, and a feeling of loss. Additionally, most of the commanders were trained in traditional tactics involving charges and open field battles, ill-suited to the trench warfare that had appeared during the war. The pointless charges wasted soldiers, and destroyed loyalty within the army. Catton also shows the seemingly pointless nature of the war by showing occasions in which the soldiers from both sides would call a truce and share resources during the war.

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Sergeant Richard T. Handy Commandants Profession Reading Program Annual Reading Requirement 28 July 2017 Killer Angles Michael Shaara’s Killer Angles is a Pulitzer Prize winning historical novel published in 1974. It is a very point based written book about four days of battle at Gettysburg during the Civil War. It hit hard on individual experiences and how they handled certain situations. Each chapter within a section is from a different person's viewpoint, though the overall viewpoint of the novel is that of the story teller. It truly focuses and articulates the thought process and emotions of the men who served for General Lee and those who stood against him on the Union side under Colonel Chamberlin.

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Why Fight? In the year 1975 a book called The Killer Angels was written by Michael Shaara. This historical novel was about the Civil War and focuses on the Battle of Gettysberg. Some may not know but the soldiers and generals on the Confederate and Union sides were not always fighting to abolish or keep slavery.

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In Bruce Catton’s article, “Grant and Lee: A study in Contrasts” he contrasts the differences in the ideologies of the north and the south, while comparing the similarities between the generals themselves. To develop the thesis Catton begins by providing historical context on the two generals working out the terms for surrender of the south, this sets the stage for the next few paragraphs contrasting them. When he contrasts the generals he describes their childhoods and then goes on to describe the ideologies they supported. After this, the author compares the similarities between the generals, which tells the reader that despite the fact they lead two opposing factions in the civil war they weren’t so different as people.

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When looking at the back cover of Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels, positive reviews of the book, and a brief summary can be seen. The summary begins, “In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation’s history, two armies fought for two conflicting dreams.” But after reading the book, one would realize that every single soldier on either side for their own personal reasons, that may not have had anything to do with the war.

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Caitlyn Epperson Dennison History 1301 1 May 2015 Union Vs. Confederate The Killer Angels a book written by Michael Shaara, published in the 1970’s. The book gives readers a surprising view of the Civil War. After visiting Gettysburg, the author knew that he wanted to write about America’s past.

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Many battles have been fought throughout history. During the battle of Gettysburg there were many leaders that made mistakes, some of the mistakes could have costed them the war. In July of 1863, first through the third, there was a major battle between the North and the South. Many officers did not do their duties which did not help with them win the battle . ALthough I believe the main person who gambled the Confederates the whole battle was Robert E. Lee.

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In “Nathan Bedford Forrest; A Biography” by Jack Hurst, there are many occurrences of literary and historical contrast. One main occurrences are the contrast of the North and South's’ beliefs of slavery. The other is the contrast of General Nathan Bedford Forrest and General William Tecumseh Sherman and how they chose to fight the war.     To begin, a major contrast is obviously the beliefs of both the North and the South. In the biography, the ideas and actions of both sides is equally shown.

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The Killer Angels, written by American author Michael Shaara, is a constant third person narrative, which is about the Battle of Gettysburg (a small town in Virginia). The novel begins on the date of July 1, 1863, during the time of the Civil War where the Confederate army, and the Union army, fought the most substantial sized battle of the American Civil War. In my research based outside of the book, I discovered that several of the characters in the novel are based on real historical figures. Those characters include, General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate army; General James Longstreet, Lee’s second in command; and Union Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain, who participated in one of the most famous segments of the Battle of Gettysburg,

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Robert E. Lee is the most prominent Confederate general in the civil war history of the United States. Scholars are divided about the brilliance of Robert E. Lee as a military leader because he has a mixed legacy of success and failure. He is a controversial figure because suffered earth shuttering losses and he also won inspirational victories (Arnold 6). General Robert Edward Lee displayed military leadership in the American Civil war because he mastered the art of pitch battles (Carmichael 50). Historically, his greatest asset was his reputation because it provided him with respect and the loyalty of Confederate soldiers.

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The first important theme in the foreword to The Killer Angels is how the objective of the army was to draw The Union Army out into the open where it can be destroyed. Although many of the men could not read or write, they all share common customs and a common faith in following a victorious leader that lead the march. Second important theme in the foreword was the description to the major characters in the armies. This book takes place during the Battle of Gettysburg so it describes the men of the troops for both Confederate and The Union. For example, James Longstreet a Lieutenant General was on the first of the new soldiers that had sensed the birth of the new war machine.

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Many historians consider Pickett’s Charge the end of Confederate hopes for victory.” (Jennifer Stock) Not only did Lee’s mistake got his soldiers killed and wounded, but his mistake became the turning point in the

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