Civil War in Shaara’s The Killer Angels and Glory Film Essay

The Killer Angels is a historical tale of the American Civil war, specifically the Battle of Gettysburg. The novel, written by Michael Shaara and first published in 1974, takes readers on adventures of valor, dedication, and tragedy through the eyes of the military readers throughout the conflict. However, he does resist seeing the Civil War from the perspective of slavery. The film Glory, directed by Edward Zwick and released in 1989, highlights the journey of the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, composed entirely of black fighters. Some African Americans were free individuals from the North, while others escaped enslaved people, but Whites were the rulers. Nonetheless, its members remained steadfast in their goal of destroying the Confederate Army and bringing slavery to an end. Their battle on July 18^th, 1863, inspired the North to enlist other Blacks. That stated it is evidenced that the two literature sources depict the Civil War through different lenses.¹ The film Glory links the Civil War to slavery, on the other hand, The Killer Angels defines the war as an event to gain control.

First, The Killer Angels’ depiction of the Civil War diverges from Glory’s depiction due to the motive of the war. That means that The Killer Angels concentrates on the strategic plans to defeat the Union’s army and take charge. Shaara thus focuses on how both sides prepare for the war to gain victory. For instance, plans are already underway from the beginning of the novel. The Spy reports to Longstreet and tells him of the Union army advancing nearby. The information makes Longstreet think that the Confederates needed to attack the Union army quickly, which would be to their advantage.²

Attacking quickly would be effective since the new leader would still be familiar with his team. Additionally, during the first day of the war, Lee moved his army toward Gettysburg, and various fights occurred, and the Southern Army appeared to be winning. Lee aspires to raid in full force, but Longstreet advises him to do the Contrary. Irrespective of their small conquests, their position is disadvantaged since they are attacking from downhill, while the Union has the higher ground. Lee becomes angered with General Richard Ewell, a new commander, who failed to attack plus take charge of the high ground, which would be a “…very strong position.”³ However, this position also appears crucial for the union army as Chamberlain is ordered not to “…withdraw under any conditions” his troops from the hill.⁴

In addition, on the second day of the war, Lee wants the echelon attack, which would arrange the troops diagonally one after the other. Nonetheless, the Union army also made plans by changing their positions and moving into the peach orchard. From the above information, it is evidenced that Killer Angels mainly depict the strategic goals of the battle, which would make either side win the war. In addition, it is even seen when Longstreet and Lee clash on either offensive or defensive. This narrative shows a little depiction of slavery as the cause of the war.

On the other hand, Zwick’s Glory depicts the Civil War through the lens of slavery. Slavery was mentioned in Killer Angels’ but only to convince the Second Maine Regiment to be part of General Chamberlain’s command. Rather than killing the men who refuse to join his troops, Chamberlain uses his convincing aptitudes to tell the men “We’re an army going out to set other men free.”⁵ Thus, for The Killer Angels, slavery appears to be a secondary cause of the war since its main motive is to persuade more men to join, as this would give them an advantage when it came to capturing the key point, Guttenberg. Nevertheless, the aspect of slavery dominates Glory from the beginning. For instance, viewers can see that the film attempts to show how African Americans also took part in the Civil War to end slavery. Zwick shows the formation of African American troops via the eyes of Shaw, who comes back to Boston to heal on medical leave. He then learns of an all-Black troop being created and takes charge of this new formation, officially identified as the 54^th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.⁶

This regiment draws African American men from the local and far-flung regions to battle the Confederate Army. One of the main characters in the movie is Silas Trip, an escaped enslaved person from Tennessee when he was 12.⁷At the later point of the film, Trip states reservations concerning the probability of life improvements for the ex-slaves fighting the Confederate. His uncertainties are valid since he comprehends how slavery worked, and these people were harshly dealt with when they attempted to fight for their freedom. From the above information, it is seen that the Glory movie does not focus more on winning the grounds but on ending slavery.

In addition, the differences between The Killer Angels and Glory are easily seen based on how the author and the director choose to play with characterization. In The Killer Angels, Shaara’s characters all fight to gain control of the most strategic points, some even conflicting. Mainly, Lee is the Commander of the Confederate army, and his second in command is General Longstreet. These two army leaders clash while making critical decisions; specifically, Longstreet is shown to be stubborn, opposing his Commander’s old ways of battle. Besides, the other main characters are from the Union Army, such as Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and General Buford. The character personality of these two individuals appears to be determined. Chamberlain even told his troops, “Let’s fix bayonets…” when he was short of bullets.⁸

In other words, the novel’s characters aim to gain their stands, even when doing the impossible. On the other hand, the characterization in Golf appears to be diverse. This movie uses and focuses on African Americans, through their determination mainly to end slavery and gain freedom in the USA. Also, the film places Whites as leaders, even in the 54^th, which only had African-American troops.

Lastly, authors and writers have attempted to tell the Civil War as it occurred to the current generation, but each bases their tails on the main topic they would like to achieve. One author, Shaara, in The Killer Angels, has used real-life people who participated in the war and added imaginary conversations to give his count of the Civil War. Moreover, the other work is Golf, which has also copied Shaara’s trend of using real-life names to explain the tale of the Civil War. Even though these works address the Civil War, their depictions differ, affecting their characters’ choices. In particular, Shaara in The Killer Angel depicts the Civil War as a battle of control, implying that both sides were fighting to gain authority over strategic points, Guttenberg. Nonetheless, Golf depicts civil war as a battle to end slavery, seen in its choice of determined characters, who, despite facing oppression, still had the motive to fight and liberate their enslaved mates.

Bibliography

Glory. Directed by Edward Zwick. 1974. TriStar Pictures, Film.

Shaara, Michael. The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War. McKay, 1974.

Footnotes

1. Glory, directed by Edward Zwick. (1974; TriStar Pictures), Film.
2. Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War (McKay, 1974), 1.
3. Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels¸107.
4. Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels, 159.
5. Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels, 129.
6. Glory.
7. Glory.
8. Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels, 172.