The Killer Angels Analysis

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“The Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara is about the Battle of Gettysburg. The battle takes place in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where the hilly land had an impact on both the North and South. Because of Buford this played a large part in the Northern victory, because he gained control of the hills first. This novel is told from a third person point of view where you were able to see the different perspectives of each soldier because they were changing. The Battle of Gettysburg was a four-day fight starting June 30th and ending July 3, 1863 when Lee was forced to remove his injured army and head back to Virginia. This battle is said to be the “…most important engagement of the American Civil War” (CliffNotes). On the South, better known as the confederate …show more content…
Longstreet has a lot of emotions throughout the battle and “…wants to win the battle but is not a zealot for slavery or a person with religious sense of the South’s mission, like the deceased Stonewall Jackson was” (CliffNotes). This could be a reason Longstreet can see the faults in the Confederates strategy more clearly than the other soldiers can. General Lee wants his soldiers to fight with an aggressive, offensive position against the North, but Longstreet disagrees: “He had never believed in this invasion. Lee and Davis together had overruled him. He did not believe in offensive warfare when the enemy outnumbered you and outgunned you and would come looking for you anyway if you waited somewhere on your own ground” (Shaara p.128). Throughout the novel Longstreet was very confused and skeptical of Lee’s approach to the battle. Longstreet wanted to use a more defensive approach and try to cut the Union off at Washington DC. This defense tactic meant the Confederates would have control over good ground, then they can abolish the Union army as the men come at them. Even though he has a good tactic he has to obey Lee’s orders. Lee and Longstreet’s disagreement is a struggle between the two that grew throughout the entire battle. Because of Longstreet’s stubbornness Lee becomes aggravated with him because he keeps trying to