Book Review – Michael Shaara’s “The Killer Angels”

In school we’re taught that the Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the American Civil War.

The Battle of Gettysburg was a conflict that lasted for four days, ending on July 3, 1863, and in the end the Confederate Army was dealt a serious blow from which it could not recover.  Nearly eight thousand soldiers in both armies were killed during that epic battle.

But what was the Battle of Gettysburg really like?  What were the generals debating when they formed their battle plans?  How did it feel to lead brave soldiers into a killing field knowing that most would not survive the encounter?

Those questions and more are answered in Michael Shaara’s expertly written historical novel, The Killer Angels.  This historical novel was written in the point-of-view from several key leaders including General Lee, General Longstreet, General Armistead, General Buford and Colonel Chamberlain.  The majority of the book focuses on the Confederate Army and the mistakes that led to their ultimate failure in the battle.

The Killer Angels begins 150 years ago on June 29, 1863 as a Confederate spy makes an important discovery.  The Confederate Army had recently invaded Pennsylvania as part of a plan to take the conflict into the northern states and put political pressure on the northern leaders.  What the leaders did not know was that the Union Army, the Army of the Potomac, was hot on their heels and moving much faster than expected.

By this point the Confederate Army was in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.  What the spy revealed to General Longstreet was that the Army of the Potomac was a mere twenty miles away in Taneytown, Maryland.  A small line of mountains separated the two armies.  This information was relayed to General Lee, and Lee decided to turn his army and meet the Union forces.  The town where both armies met was called Gettysburg.

From the beginning the Confederate Army is acting in the blind when it comes to the knowledge of the local geography and the location and size of the Army of the Potomac.  After doing his job in the cavalry so well during the earlier stage of the American Civil War, General J.E.B. Stuart fails miserably when it comes to keeping General Lee informed during this conflict.  The Confederate leaders have had enough of the arrogant leader and believe that he’s out joy riding to stir up more stories about himself in the local newspapers.

The first day of the Battle of Gettysburg begins with General Buford’s initial defenses north of the town along Seminary Ridge.  As the day progresses, more soldiers arrive on both sides and the Union defense is pushed south of the city and onto Cemetery Hill.

Colonel Joshua Chamberlain is in command of the 20th Maine Infantry.  As the army is set to move north to Gettysburg, Chamberlain is given 120 “mutineers” from the 2nd Maine, a regiment that had recently been disbanded.  The 120 men had signed a three-year contract with the army, though they believed that they would only be serving with the 2nd Maine.  When they were transferred to another regiment from Maine, the men protested and refused to join the fight.  Upon receiving the mutineers, Colonel Chamberlain treated the men humanely and with respect, and after giving them a pep talk about the 20th Maine, nearly all of the mutineers voluntarily joined the regiment.  Doing so erased their court martial charges.

On the second day of battle General Lee is determined to launch an attack against the Union troops despite the fact that the Union forces are holding a strong defensive position on high ground.  General Longstreet unsuccessfully tries to convince General Lee to attack further to the right (south) side of the forces, hoping for a better angle to attack the Union flank and seize the high ground.

The Killer Angels focuses on General Longstreet as he leads his forces to the designated attack position.  The only problem is that the land was not scouted by the cavalry (part of General Stuart’s failure), and his path would have taken him through a large area of open ground.  This would put his soldiers at risk of fire and also alert the Union troops of the incoming attack.  General Longstreet has to turn around and take a secondary route, but this takes a great deal of time and throws off that day’s battle plan.

By the time Longstreet’s forces begin attacking the hill (Little Round Top), the 20th Maine is already in position and repeals wave after wave of attacks by part of General Hood’s division.  As the 20th Maine runs out of ammunition and cannot receive any re-enforcements, Colonel Chamberlain makes the famous decision of making a bayonet charge down the hill.  His plan is highly successful and the 20th Maine’s actions are credited for saving the Union line along Cemetery Ridge.

The third and final day of the Battle of Gettysburg involves General Lee’s direct frontal attack on the center of the Union lines even though it means an uphill attack across over a mile of open ground.  The previous attacks have been against the Union flanks and it was believed that the center of the line was relatively weak.  If the Confederate Army could break through the line, they would split the Union army and the resulting action could defeat the Army of the Potomac, ending the bloody war.

General Longstreet knows that such an attack is suicide.  It’s way too much open ground and the Union artillery will kill too many soldiers.  They’ll also have to cross a wooden fence and a stone fence, slowing down their men as they’ll be further attacked by the Union soldiers.  General Longstreet pleads with General Lee not to launch such an attack.  It will not work.  But General Lee is set and he orders Longstreet to carry out the orders.

The frontal attack begins with a massive artillery barrage by the Confederate cannon.  This is replied by an equally hard Union artillery barrage.  The cannons duel for about an hour before the regiments form and the soldiers begin their march to attack the Union line.  Much of this infantry attack is told from the perspective of Confederate General Lewis Armistead as he leads his men across the open field, over the wooden fence, and finally to the stone wall.  It’s just after crossing the stone wall that General Armistead is shot and ultimately killed.

As predicted by General Longstreet, the frontal attack fails miserably.  Too many men were lost when attacked by the Union cannons and soldiers.  The attack was repulsed and nearly one half of the attackers did not make it back to the Confederate lines.

As it was previously mentioned, the results of the Battle of Gettysburg marked a turning point in the American Civil War.  The Confederate Army was simply hit with too many losses during the battle.  Despite doing so, it would take two more years until the combat finally ended in May of 1865 with the surrender of the Confederate Army.

To get the most out of The Killer Angels, you really need to read Jeff Shaara’s book Gods and Generals.  Even though Gods and Generals was printed twenty years after the first printing of The Killer Angels, Gods and Generals provides the same literary format and goes into detail with the beginning stages of the American Civil War.

When reading The Killer Angels and seeing General Lee’s actions, one can only question why such a great military leader would make such critical mistakes and seem so careless towards his soldiers.  Why would he allow attacks prior to proper scouting of the terrain?  Why would he allow such a massive suicide attack, knowing full well that IF the frontal attack were to succeed he would still lose a substantial number of soldiers?

My theory is that General Lee’s judgement was put in jeopardy by his recent health problems.  In Gods and Generals we learn that General Lee suffered from a minor heart attack in February of 1863.  Even though he survives this is a big alarm, it’s a wake-up call that he could easily die at any time.  The Killer Angels further hints at this problem as we read about the general having more pains and reminders of that incident.

My theory is that General Lee desperately wants to end this war so that he can return home.  He knows that his own death could be right around the corner, and it most likely will NOT be from a stray bullet or fragments from an artillery shell.  The killer is right there in his chest, constantly reminding him that he’s no longer a young man.

The entire Army of the Potomac is right there in Gettysburg.  Even though he doesn’t know the terrain or the true strength or locations of the Union forces, he sees this as an opportunity to destroy the army, capture Washington, D.C., and then go back home to Virginia.  His mentality leads to reckless decisions and the failure of the Confederate Army during the Battle of Gettysburg.

General Longstreet was also suffering from mental problems after the sudden deaths of his children, but Longstreet still had sound military judgement and tactics.  He could have easily planned the attacks while General Lee remained the figure head of the Confederate Army.

But what happened is history.  The Battle of Gettysburg was a critical point of the American Civil War.  Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels does a fantastic job telling the tale of this battle from several perspectives.  Fans of US History, military tactics, and the American Civil War cannot go wrong with this book.

In 1993, The Killer Angels was finally presented on the big screen in the epic film Gettysburg.