The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara: A Powerful Civil War Novel - Review (+)
From The Book Vault
"There’s nothing so much like a god on earth as a General on a battlefield."
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Key Insights from The Killer Angels
Historical Context: A historical fiction novel focused on the Battle of Gettysburg, bringing to life the experiences of key figures like Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, and Joshua Chamberlain.
Leadership and Strategy: Highlights the critical decisions made by both Union and Confederate leaders, showing how strategy, terrain, and intelligence influenced the battle outcome.
Human Dimension: A portrayal of the internal conflicts, emotions, and bonds between soldiers, reminding readers that these historical figures were also human.
Battle Dynamics: Covers pivotal moments like Chamberlain’s bayonet charge and Pickett’s ill-fated assault, offering insight into military tactics and their consequences.
Timeless Lessons: This book reflects on the relevance of intelligence, decision-making under uncertainty, and the personal toll of leadership, which should resonate with both military professionals and general readers today.
For the Reader: Whether you’re a military professional, history enthusiast, or casual reader, this novel provides a gripping narrative with timeless leadership lessons, making it accessible and engaging for anyone interested in historical battles or decision-making under pressure.
The Killer Angels, first published in 1974, is a historical fiction novel about the Battle of Gettysburg fought in July 1863. It tells the story of the days leading up to the battle and the battle itself through the eyes of key combatants on both sides. The author, Michael Shaara, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1975 for his work on The Killer Angels.
I finished reading The Killer Angels for the second time a few weeks back. The first time was over 35 years ago when I was a young Marine Officer attending a career-level school in Quantico, Virginia. Like most Marine Corps Schools, there is an emphasis on the importance of reading for professional development. I was already an avid reader but had not read much about the Civil War. At the time, our focus was to understand and learn lessons from the battle: the importance of recognizing key terrain, what the commanders saw, what they knew (and did not know about the enemy and terrain), the decisions they made, and how they maneuvered their infantry brigades, divisions, and Corps supported by artillery and cavalry. And the cost of these decisions.
But as I read the book again, with the passage of time and age come different perspectives. In this reading, I was struck by the human dimension of battle and the impact on the average soldier, and I was more aware of what must have been a tremendous stress, both physically and mentally, on the senior commanders. My most recent reading was much more powerful than the first, and I am glad I read it again. I hope this post motivates you to consider putting The Killer Angels on your shortlist to read, whether you have read it before or have not at all. I encourage you to pick it up. I am confident you will be happy that you did.
It is okay if you don’t have much background or deep interest in the Civil War; the book is entertaining and will pull you into the unfolding events. More than a brilliant account of the Battle of Gettysburg, the most pivotal clash of the Civil War, woven throughout this book is a rich landscape of leadership styles, decision-making, tactics, strategy, and the moral and ethical dilemmas both sides faced. The Killer Angels is a novel, a historical fiction story told in a narrative voice by Robert E. Lee and James Longstreet, among others.
The novel begins in the third year of the American Civil War. Following the Battle of Chancellorsville, just south of where I now live in Spotsylvania County, General Lee shifted his army to the west to advance up the Shenandoah and Cumberland Valleys. He had decided to invade the North, hoping to draw the Army of the Potomac out and inflict a decisive defeat that could end the war.
Ultimately, the two armies converged in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from July 1st to July 3rd, 1863. By most accounts, it was a turning point, halting Lee’s attempt to bring the war onto Union territory and possibly forcing a political settlement. The Union victory shifted momentum to the North while boosting the Union’s morale and resolve to keep fighting. A different outcome of the battle might have prolonged the war and, perhaps, resulted in a very different America today.
Michael Shaara masterfully dramatizes the Battle of Gettysburg in The Killer Angels by letting us into the thoughts of several of the battle’s key personalities, revealing their motivations, fears, and inner conflicts. He gives life to the characters using a narrative that switches between key figures such as General James Longstreet, the Confederate First Corps Commander, and Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who commanded the Union’s 20th Maine Infantry Regiment.
Shaara’s narrative approach expands your understanding, creating a vivid movie in your mind. It is historical fiction, but it is probably the closest we will get to understanding the personal and emotional aspects of the battle short of reading the participant's letters ourselves.
The novel's beginning reveals that the Confederate forces do not know the location of the Union Army. General Longstreet receives a report from a spy in his employ that the Union Army is close and heading in their direction. Shaara reveals the friction inherent within the Confederate Army caused by this source. Some of Longstreet's staff despised “spies” and did not want to trust the report. General Robert E. Lee, the overall Confederate Commander, was also shown to be distrustful of this type of source.
Shaara effectively highlights how Lee attempted to confirm Longstreet's information, which included reports of Union cavalry near Gettysburg. General A.P. Hill, the 3rd Corps Commander, was not overly concerned about reports of Union cavalry. Hill’s interpretation of those reports delayed Lee’s ability to form a complete picture of the battlefield.
Shaara’s depiction of the Confederate Army's struggle to trust their intelligence sources underscores a lesson that remains relevant to military commanders today: the critical need to assess the validity of information. Just as Lee and his officers grappled with conflicting reports, modern military leaders face the challenge of distinguishing between credible intelligence and unreliable or even deliberately misleading sources. In today's complex information environment, where some reports may result from circular reporting or lack independent verification, commanders must navigate an ever-expanding pool of data with caution. The stakes remain high, as decisions based on flawed intelligence can lead to strategic missteps, much like those depicted in the days leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg.
The novel covers the major events of the three-day battle. Significant events include Joshua Chamberlain’s decision to fix bayonets and counterattack from the Union extreme left flank when the 20th Maine was essentially out of ammunition and had doubts they could withstand another Confederate attack—also, Lee’s decision to attack the Union Center with Longstreet’s Corps. Longstreet disagrees with that plan but is ultimately loyal to Lee—the novel culminates with Pickett’s charge into Union strength across unfavorable terrain.
In providing multiple perspectives, Shaara balances the examination of how both sides of the fight confirmed facts, weighed assumptions, and made decisions. This balance also allows the reader to experience how imperfect information can influence a battle, and it did influence this battle.
The central figures in The Killer Angels are larger than life in American history, but Shaara reminds us that they were also human. They struggled with the same emotions - fear, self-doubt, biases, and physical limitations of all men.
The novel portrays strong bonds among soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Many of the senior leaders had served together before. Confederate officers had led many of the Union troops they were now fighting. They were facing off against best friends and, in some cases, family. The novel highlights the friendship between General Winfield Scott Hancock (Union) and General Lewis Armistead (Confederate) and the internal conflict Armistead faced squaring off against his friend.
Shaara includes a note to the reader explaining that they may experience The Killer Angels in a different light than other stories about the battle. He emphasizes that he avoided inserting historical opinions, instead relying on the actual words of the men involved, drawn from their letters and other documents. Shaara condensed some action and removed some characters for brevity. He changed some of the language to make it easier to read for a modern audience. Shaara assures readers, “I have not knowingly violated the action.”
Michael Shaara’s narrative writing style, particularly his use of internal monologues, helps the reader imagine more than the battle itself. The movement from one perspective to another is timed well so that the reader gets a feel for both sides' concerns and movements. As I hinted earlier, this narrative style and modern language make this novel easy for all readers regardless of their familiarity with the Civil War. It is an exciting, entertaining, heartbreaking human drama.
The impact of the Battle of Gettysburg on the direction of the Civil War and its human cost ensures that future generations will never forget it. The Killer Angels continues to resonate with readers today largely due to Shaara’s exploration of the personal experiences of key figures on both sides of the battle. There are human stories behind all conflicts. The Killer Angels will continue to help future generations of Americans understand more about our Civil War.
Overall, this is one of my favorite reads.
Not being a Civil War expert myself, I sometimes felt like “fact-checking” information to determine how likely the internal monologues were. That would ultimately prove unnecessary as Shaara’s exceptional historically faithful narrative is a standout work with enduring value today. In my opinion, the book's format taught me what I needed to know about The Battle of Gettysburg.
The moral issue of slavery and the Civil War was touched on but was not the main focus. As the Civil War continues to fade from our memory as time passes, this novel will continue to be an essential read for both the new Civil War reader and the more knowledgeable historian alike. The Killer Angels will help future generations remember one of our history's most contentious and delicate moments.
The Battle of Gettysburg resulted in an estimated ~50,000 casualties on both sides. While honoring the soldiers who fought and died, President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address also called for national unity and resolved to continue the fight to preserve the Union.
The book ends before President Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, which puts the meaning of the battle into the context of the Civil War, and I thought it would be an excellent place to put it here.
The Gettysburg Address
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives, that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here, have, thus far, so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Tags: USMC Reading List, Civil War Books, Historical Fiction, Battle of Gettysburg, Book Reviews
An excellent review of one of the finest warfare novels ever written. It should inspire any American to want to learn more about the battle, as well as to visit the battlefield. Frankly, it is one of the places that every American should visit if given the opportunity....to learn about the sacrifices that their ancestors endured!!!
I studied civil war history at Florida State University with the author's son. Who became a renowned author in his own right!!!
Dave, your observations reminded me of the style and connection between three authors recommended by the Corps. These fictionalized accounts yet disparate genres evoke similar thought and emotions regarding warfare. All three novels explore the themes of leadership, sacrifice, and the human cost of war, but they approach these themes from different perspectives and historical contexts. Gates of Fire offers a portrayal of idealized heroism in the ancient world, The Killer Angels delves into the moral and psychological burdens of Civil War commanders, and Ender’s Game examines the dehumanizing aspects of warfare through the lens of a child genius. Each author’s treatment of character development is shaped by the specific nature of the conflict they explore, with Pressfield focusing on stoic honor, Shaara on personal conflict and historical gravity, and Card on the internal and emotional cost of strategy and leadership. Your keen synopsis and insights on Shaara resonates - well done; Shaara’s historical characters ring true.
Semper Fi, Hank