Transcript Gettysburg: The Characters

The killer angels
by michael shaara
• Historical fiction
• Dramatizes the Battle of
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
• July 1 - 3, 1863
• the most pivotal battle of the
American civil war (1861-1865)
• The first major southern loss
GEneral Robert E. Lee
•Commander, Army of
Virginia
•A religious, honorable,
prideful and beloved leader.
•Believes God brought the
armies together to battle at
Gettysburg.
James “Pete” Longstreet
• Lee’s Right-Hand Man
• Logical, reasonable and
intelligent, he
understands modern
military tactics
• Believes they should
move to high ground
The dashing general
george pickett
• A Southern Gentleman
Soldier (Aristocrat)
• Famous for Pickett’s
Charge at Gettysburg
• Eagerly led 12,500
troops across almost
one mile of open field
under heavy enemy
fire, most to their
deaths.
General Jeb Stuart
• Leader of the Cavalry
• The eyes of Lee’s
Army
• Missing for days before
and during the Battle of
Gettysburg, leaving
Lee to make the
decision without his
“eyes”.
General Lewis Armistead
• Commander under
Pickett
• Beloved friend of Union
General Winfield
Hancock.
• Died of wounds
sustained in Pickett’s
charge against his best
friend.
Colonel Joshua Lawrence
Chamberlain
• Leader of the Union
Army of the Potomac
20th Maine Regiment
• Embodied the ideals of
equality and courage.
• Held the important high
ground at Little Round
Top against
overwhelming odds.
Why They Fight
--The North:
To Save the Union
To Free the Slaves
For Freedom
------------------------------------------------------------The South: To Defend States’ Rights
To Defend their Homeland
For Freedom
Confederate States (Seceded from
the Union, 1860-1861) Below the
Mason-Dixon Line
The Conflict Was Named
• The Civil War (so-called by the North)
• The War Between the States (by the South)
• The War of Northern Aggression (by the South)
• Note: After 1865 it became common to refer to
our nation as “The United States,” instead of
“These United States.”
Civil War Casualties:
620,000 men (more than all other
American wars combined)
• Union
Battle deaths: 110,070
Disease, etc.: 250,152
Total 360,222
• Confederate
Battle deaths: 94,000
Disease, etc.: 164,000
Total 258,000
Casualties At Gettysburg, July 4, 1863--: 51,112
(23,049 Union and 28,063 Confederate)
Starving Prisoners of War
“Thus ended the great American Civil War,
which must upon the whole be considered
the noblest and least avoidable of all the
great mass conflicts of which till then there
was record.”
--Winston Churchill
A History of the EnglishSpeaking Peoples
Themes
• The soldiers who fought in the Civil War
faced brutal death with courage and honor,
fighting and following orders even when it
seemed hopeless.
• Confederate Generals Lee, Longstreet,
Pickett and Armistead were aristocratic
gentlemen who made decisions at
Gettysburg based on the ideals of honor,
duty, pride, and religious faith.
• Union Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain led
his men at Gettysburg by embodying the
ideals of equality, respect, and courage.
New Vocabulary Words
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Skirmishers
Pickets
Caissons
Canister
Artillery
Cavalry
Entrenchments
Bayonet
Court-martial
Militia
Works Cited
"Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain." The Battle of Gettysburg & The American Civil
War. 27 May 2009 <http://www.brotherswar.com/Civil_War_Quotes_4e.htm>.
"General James Longstreet." Son Of The South. 27 May 2009
<http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/James_Longstreet.htm>.
"General Lewis Armistead." Son Of The South. 27 May 2009
<http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/Lewis_Amistead.htm>.
"George Pickett :: Confederate Officers and Soldiers :: American Civil War Pictures." The
American Civil War Pictures Database - Civil war photos and images. 27 May 2009
<http://www.civilwar-pictures.com/g/confederate-soldiers-officers/george_pickett>.
"Joshua Chamberlain." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 27 May 2009
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Chamberlain>.
"Pickett's Charge." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 27 May 2009
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickett%27s_Charge>.
"Robert E. Lee Picture." Son Of The South. 27 May 2009
<http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/robert-e-lee-pictures/robert-e-leepicture.htm>.