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Michael Shaara The Killer Angels Sparknotes

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The Killer Angels is a historical fiction novel which describes the events that happened during the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Michael Shaara, the author, wrote pulp science fiction stories and straight fiction for various magazines. Shaara wrote The Killer Angels after a family trip to Gettysburg inspired him to research and write the novel over 7 years, which was published in 1974; He died in 1988 from a heart attack. The Killer Angels begins on June 29, 1863 as the Army of Northern Virginia has invaded the Union in attempt to inflict a devastating defeat to the Union Army. The Confederate Army is notified by a spy that found the Union Army’s position is just to the south of Gettysburg. General Lee decides to concentrate …show more content…

General Lee and General Longstreet debate the Lee’s plan to hit the Union’s center; Ultimately, Longstreet reluctantly agrees to attack the Union Center with General Pickett to lead the assault. The Confederate artillery pound the Union line in attempt to weaken, but are rather ineffective. Pickett leads the Confederate assault on the heavily defended Union line. Pickett’s Charge manages to momentarily breaks the Union line, but the assault fails as the Union line is reinforced and breaks the Confederate attack; Pickett loses over half his division in the attack. The Confederates, tired and beaten, retreat bringing the 3 - day Battle of Gettysburg to a …show more content…

Shaara’s inspiration to use this model came from Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage, which Crane wanted to know what it was like to be there. Shaara’s use of the multiple viewpoints allows him to create multiple important characters, which can each push the different themes throughout the novel. Also the various viewpoints enabled the development of focused points of micro conflict, such as Armistead’s perspective of Pickett’s Charge and Chamberlain’s last resort bayonet charge. Yet, it also a more generalized macro perspective from Lee’s overall command of the Army of Northern Virginia. Shaara supports his main point of experiencing the battle through the eyes by using the primarily words of the men themselves. He uses the letters and other documents, not historical opinions of scholars. It is the letters of the generals and soldiers that is Shaara’s most important evidence. While the author does not present the evidence in the letter format he found them in, he does present the evidence in a theatric epic of

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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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In the novel Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, the main character is Richard Perry. In the beginning of this book, Richard was a generous and eager to start as a soldier in the Vietnam War. He soon becomes responsible and understanding of what it is like to be a black soldier in the war and how hard it can be to the other soldiers. Near the end, Richard becomes powerful and alerted near the end of the book. This character clearly relates to the theme of the book, which is age and race can impact somebody’s life a lot.

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“The Killer Angels” is a historical fiction novel published by Michael Shaara and details the Battle of Gettysburg as described by generals on both Union and Confederate sides - all based on real Civil War figures. The story begins with the events leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg. General James Longstreet, second in command to Confederate general Robert E. Lee, is informed by a spy that the Union army is moving, contrary to what has previously been told. Believing they must move north in order to catch the Union army by surprise, the Confederate army begins their journey to Gettysburg. Meanwhile, Union general John Buford discovers the presence of Confederate troops and begins preparing for a potential battle, aligning his soldiers alongside

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Michael Shaara, in The Killer Angels, gave life to the events and to the individuals involved in it, providing us with a more customized and adapted comprehension of the war. In The Killer Angels the lives of some of the survivors of Gettysburg are relived. The book portrays slavery as the major reason the civil war started. The South was against freeing the slaves, and the North fought for the latter.

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Why Was The Battle of Gettysburg The Bloodiest Battle The Battle of Gettysburg was fought on the days July 1, 1863 to July 3, 186 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Union the won the battle. It was a major loss for the Confederates.

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Lee’s plan was to take 60,000 troops north and take out as many military targets as possible. As his troops traveled north they collected various supplies from every farm and town they came across which strengthened his cause. His main goal was to head to the largest cities in the North which would greatly decimate the northerner’s capability and spirits. While traveling Major General George Meade was positioning his troops between Lee’s troops and the Capital until General Lee learned of his in Pennsylvania. This quickly prompted his attack on Gettysburg where on the first day 50,000 soldiers clashed in battle killing or injuring over 15,000.

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