The Killer Angels

The Killer Angels is a novel about the Civil War. More accurately it is about the Gettysburg Campaign that turned the tide of war in the favor of the Union. This book is not only about the tactical aspects of the battle but it also gives a personal account of the many key players. Great men like General Robert E. Lee, General Longstreet, General Pickett, General Buford, and Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain are featured. The story begins on Monday 29 June 1863. General Longstreet hired a spy to scout out the Union Army because J.E.B. Stuarts Cavalry had not been heard from in quite some time. The spy tells Longstreet about the strength of the Union Army and that they are headed to cut off the Confederate Army in order to prevent them from invading the North. Longstreet takes this information to General Lee and he concludes that the two Armies will meet at a town called Gettysburg. This book then goes into everything that leads up to the first day of battle on Wednesday, July 1, 1863. It goes on to how General Bufords Cavalry encountered the lead elements of the Army of Northern Virginia and is forced to defend the high ground on Cemetery Ridge, just outside of the town, until the main body of the Army of the Potomac can reach him. He holds until Wednesday, July 1, 1863 when the lead elements of the Union Army finally come up and relieve him. The Union Army succeeds in holding the high ground and as night falls on the first day they begin digging in. Col. Joshua Chamberlain is the Commanding Officer of the Twentieth Maine, which is part of the Fifth Corps, in the Union Army. His Regiment is brought up on the first day of battle but does not get involved until the next day. On the second day of battle he is given the mission of protecting the entire Union Armies left flank. His Regiment is taken to a hill called Little Round Top that is south of Cemetery Ridge where the main body of the