Killer Angels Introduction

Killer Angels Overview Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in It is a fictionalized account but of the Battle of Gettysburg, but is based entirely on primary documents--maps, memoirs, diaries, etc.-- and therefore is an accurate portrayal of this battle that occurred July 1-3, Both Union and Confederate military forces were organized similarly. Each side of this conflagration was organized into armies with nicknames, commanded by a general—Army of the Potomac, Army of Northern Virginia, Army of the Ohio, Army of the Tennessee.

The Armies At the Battle of Gettysburg, the Army of the Potomac (Union) under General George Meade and the Army of Northern Virginia (Confederate) under General Robert E. Lee faced each other. The following chart summarizes how the two armies were organized:

Civil War Army Organization

Technical Vocabulary Artillery--Cannon or other large caliber firearms; a branch of the army armed with cannon.

Technical Vocabulary Artillery battery: 4-6 cannon with six men to a cannon Quartermaster units: These were units in charge of supplies. Engineer units: These were in charge of construction of bridges, trenches, etc.

Signal Corps: These units were in charge of communications and intelligence. Video removed

Technical Vocabulary Bayonet--knife fitted into the muzzle end of the rifle

Technical Vocabulary Cavalry--troops trained to fight on horseback

Technical Vocabulary Caisson--A two-wheeled cart that carried two ammunition chests, tools, and a spare wheel for artillery pieces. The caisson could be attached to a limber, which would allow both to be pulled by a team of horses.

Technical Vocabulary Echelon--troops formed in parallel units arranged to the left or right of the rear unit like stair steps

Technical Vocabulary Flank—(noun) a "flank" is the end (or side) of a military position, also called a "wing". (verb) "to flank" is to move around and gain the side of an enemy position, avoiding a frontal assault.

Technical Vocabulary Infantry--units of army trained to fight on foot

Technical Vocabulary Napoleon--type of cannon named for the French emperor

Technical Vocabulary Taps--bugle call to signal "lights out" or played at military funerals Video removed

Technical Vocabulary Volley--a discharge of several missiles all at once

Army of the Potomac : Commanding general of the Army of the Potomac. He is barely mentioned in the novel, but it is important to know that he commanded the Union at Gettysburg. President Lincoln had just appointed General Meade to his post after firing General Joseph Hooker just three days before. : Head of the Union cavalry. His cavalry are the first Union forces in Gettysburg and to encounter Confederate forces there. : A major general in command of the II Corps. He was in command of the Union forces that faced Pickett’s division on third day of the battle. He was a close friend of General Lewis Armistead, one of Pickett’s brigade commanders. George Meade John Buford Winfield Hancock

: Former commander at West Point, now a Major General in the Union Army, and maybe its best soldier. He has refused the command of the Union army. He is respected by the Confederates and, along with Buford, one of the first Union generals on the field at Gettysburg. : A former college professor who took a leave of absence to enlist in the army, he was the colonel in command of the 20th Maine regiment which includes his brother Tom; Something that concerns him as the commander of the regiment. He was the last unit on the left flank of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge on the second day of the battle. He was shot six times during the war. Army of the Potomac John Reynolds Joshua Chamberlain

Army of Northern Virginia : Commanding general of the Army of Northern Virginia. (Contrary to popular myth, he was not the commanding general of the Confederate military.) Opposed to slavery, he could not find it in himself to accept President Lincoln’s appointment to lead the Union forces and thus fight against his home state of Virginia. By the time of the Battle of Gettysburg, General Lee had become a legend as a brilliant strategist and repeatedly defeating armies much larger than his own Army of Northern Virginia. : Known as “Old Pete,” Longstreet was the commanding general of Lee’s I Corps. He had replaced General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson (who was killed by friendly fire at the Battle of Chancellorsville just a few months earlier) as Lee’s most trusted aide. : Commanding general of Lee’s cavalry. He was Lee’s eyes and ears during the invasion into Pennsylvania, but leading into the battle, his cavalry is no in communication with Lee and this has an important impact on the Battle of Gettysburg. Robert E. Lee James Longstreet Jeb Stuart

Army of Northern Virginia : Commanding general of one of Pickett’s brigades. He was also a close friend of General Winfield Hancock, commander of the Union’s II Corps, before the war and looks forward to reunion with his old friend. : Last in his class at West Point, he a young, free-wheeling and dashing commanding general of one of Longstreet’s divisions. Held in reserve during the first two days of battle, his division was the most rested on the third day which gives them the order to assault the Union lines at Cemetery Ridge. : A visiting British officer, whose assignment was to observe the Confederate forces in action and report back to his superiors in London. Lewis Armistead George Pickett Arthur Freemantle

Order of Battle The following diagrams present the “Order of Battle” or a visual representation of the military organization of both armies at the Battle of Gettysburg as it relates to the novel. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia

Order of Battle The following diagrams present the “Order of Battle” or a visual representation of the military organization of both armies at the Battle of Gettysburg as it relates to the novel. Meade’s Army of the Potomac

Maps Culp’s Hill Emmitsburg Road Peach Orchard Devil’s Den Big Round Top Little Round Top Wheat Field Cemetery Ridge Seminary Ridge Cemetery Hill The book contains maps; as you read examine the maps so that you know the terrain and its important features such as: