Jaime Vega
Taylor
D.C. U.S History
5 December 2017
The Killer Angels
"The Killer Angels" is a historical novel written by Michael Shaara in 1974. The novel is about the four days of the Battle of Gettysburg which is viewed from various perspectives that took place during the American Civil War. The story takes place between June 30, 1963 when both the Union and the Confederacy soldiers prepare for battle around the town of Gettysburg and the 1st to 3rd of July 1973 when the battle takes place. The novel is involved with Harrison, Longstreet's spy gathering information on the movement and positioning of the Federal soldiers. Each day of in the novel is narrated from the perspective of the generals from both the Union and Confederacy. James
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Reynolds is killed shortly after arrival. On the Confederate side, Lee and Longstreet want General Ewell, another commander, to try to capture high ground near Gettysburg from the arriving Union infantry. He totally messes this up, which annoys Lee. Nevertheless, the Confederates have put up a decent fight and killed a lot of Union soldiers. The British observer, Arthur Fremantle, is an enthusiastic cheerleader for their Cause The second day is much worse for the Confederates. Lee, his judgment clouded due to poor health and heart trouble, rejects Longstreet's plan to swing around and cut the Union Army off from Washington. The fight needs to be here, he thinks. Instead, he sends Longstreet's forces to attack the Union flank, trying to seize some high ground—Little Round Top—in the process. On the Union side, Chamberlain's troops are just arriving.
Chamberlain's regiment ends up defending the extreme flank of the Union line on Little Round Top in order to stop Longstreet's troops from breaking through at all costs. It's an extremely bloody fight, and Chamberlain loses a lot of men—but he saves the day by launching a bayonet charge after his troops run low on