Courtney Bush
April 14, 2009
Mrs. Rice
The Killer Angels
Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels (1974) was rewarded the Pulitzer Prize – Winning Civil War Novel in 1975 and sold 2.5 million copies in print. It was said to be “The best and most realistic historical novel about war I have ever read.” by General H. Norman Schwarzkopf. Shaara uses the setting of The battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War to illustrate both the Union and the Confederacy sides. It gives you the understanding of the effects of war on not only the soldiers but their families also. This book demonstrates a first hand look on the pain and struggles faced during this
time.
The Killer Angels rejects all ideas of nature being a beautiful sight. It throws aside all the unrealistic concepts that people have gathered and gives details of the natural world and the difficulties faced. Colonel Chamberlain sees a wounded solider. “A few feet away, he saw a man lying dead, half his face shot away. Face of one of the Second Maine prisoners who had volunteered just a few moments past.” He kept looking around. “Another dead horse down with no head, like a broken toy.” Chamberlain had never expected to go through a battle and see the so called “beautiful nature” as blood covered grass with the corpse of not only fellow friends, but great soldiers. He had never imagined in all of his life, that he would have to endure so much pain dragging him down every step of the way.
It was said that god created every man for an unknown reason; who knew it would be to kill his own kind. Chamberlain thought back to his past battles fought. “Awake all night in front of Fredericksburg. We attacked in the afternoon, just at dusk, and the stone wall was aflame from one end to the other, too much smoke, couldn't see, the attack failed, couldn't withdraw, lay there all night in the dark, in the cold among the wounded and dying. Piled-up bodies in front of you to catch the bullets, using the...