US History: Killer Angels Questions

1. Who was the spy that notified the Confederates about Union troop movements? Who hired the Confederate spy? Why did most Confederate soldiers distrust spies?

Harrison; General Longstreet; spies were distrusted because people, like Lee, did not believe in paying for information

2. Why does the Confederate leadership view themselves as a big family?

they had been together for a long time in war and they had all grown very close

3. What were Lee's main objectives in entering Pennsylvania (a northern invasion)? What key city in Pennsylvania did Lee plan to occupy?

he could potentially cut the Union Army from the capitol and Lincoln; Gettysburg

4. Who leads the Union cavalry when Gettysburg started? What was his prior experience before the war and how does that set his cavalry unit apart?

John Buford; he was an old army calvary, Kentucky-born, and raised in the Indian wars meaning he knew how to fight; he reformed his men by throwing away the old sabers and pistols and replacing them with repeating carbines

5. What important Union infantry general was killed in the first day of the battle? Why was the loss of this man such a devastating loss for the Union army at Gettysburg?

John Reynolds; he was perhaps the finest soldier in the Union Army, and was even offered to command the army

6. Who was the Confederate officer that first saw Union cavalry in Gettysburg? Why did the Confederates not believe him?

Harry Heth; he had gone into the fight against orders and Lee thought that Heth didn't know what was going on

7. Which Union general gained command from General Joe Hooker and led the entire Union army at Gettysburg? What was his reputation as an officer?

George Meade; he was known to be a cautious commander

8. Which Confederate general failed in his assignment of monitoring the movements of the Union army? Why was his cavalry away from Union troop movements?

J.E.B. Stuart; no one knows where he is but several Confederates, including Longstreet, think that he is out joyriding

9. Why were soldiers from both sides sent into Gettysburg? Why did both sides not immediately begin fighting when they encountered one another?

soldiers from both sides thought that they would be fighting militias, not the opposing army; both sides wanted to gain "high ground" before they began to fight

10. Which important general of the Confederate army died due to his wounds a few weeks before the Battle of Gettysburg? Why was his absence at Gettysburg so important to the Confederate army?

"Stonewall" Jackson; he accused Dick Garnett of cowardice in the face of an enemy and died before Garnett was able to clear his name, meaning Garnett had to die bravely in battle to save his reputation

11. What physical ailment bothered General Lee during the battle? What physical ailment affected many of the Confederate soldiers going into the battle? What caused "the old soldier's disease?"

Lee suffered from a troubled heart; eating too many raw cherries

12. Where was Joshua Chamberlain from and what difficult decision does he have to deal with just before his unit marches off to Gettysburg?

Maine; he has to deal with a runaway slave who had been shot and his own personal feelings towards him

13. Which soldier has a brother under his own command? Did their relationship cause problems?

Joshua Chamberlain was the older brother to Tom Chamberlain; yes because he felt he would be responsible for his death as he was Tom's commander

14. What is the capital of the Confederacy?

Richmond, Virginia

15. What was the name of General Lee's Confederate army?

Confederate Army of Northern Virginia

16. After Union troops were engaged by Confederates in Gettysburg, what were the conflicting battle plans between Lee and Longstreet?

Longstreet wished to enact defensive strategies and cut the Union army off from Washington, DC while Lee thinks defensive warfare is dishonorable

17. What job did Joshua L. Chamberlain hold before the war?

professor of rhetoric at Bowdoin College

18. What type of military strategy does James Longstreet endorse?

defensive warfare

19. Union general Winfield Hancock was best friends from West Point with which Confederate general?

Lew "Lo" Armistead

20. What is the name of Chamberlain's regiment?

Twentieth Maine

21. What Confederate general went by the nickname, "Old Pete?"

James Longstreet

22. What high ground does Chamberlain's regiment have to protect?

Little Round Top

23. Who was the famous Confederate general from Virginia that was ironically appointed to West Point by Abraham Lincoln?

George Pickett

24. What is the name of the Englishman observing the Confederate army?

Arthur Fremantle

25. Pickett's Charge was not actually planned by Pickett. Whose idea was the charge?

Lo Armistead

26. What was the high ground that the Union controlled during the battle?

Cemetery Hill, Cemetery Ridge, Culp's Hill, Little Round Top, and Big Round Top

27. Why did the author choose to use Joshua Chamberlain as the main Union character instead of the Union generals?

other Union generals were not as present in the actual battle as Chamberlain was

28. Why did the Confederate army lose the Battle of Gettysburg?

Union troops were able to gain control of high ground, hills like Cemetery Hill, Cemetery Ridge, and Culp's Hill, which allowed them to see the full expanse of the area; Lee has limited information about the movements of the Union troops

29. Is Longstreet wrong to obey Lee's orders, even though he disagrees? Should he have tried to get the other generals to help him change Lee's mind? Why doesn't Longstreet try to take command from Lee?

no, Lee did what he should have done, followed orders; no, going against top authority disrupts the organization of the Confederate Army; taking command away would have caused disorganization, which would have further hindered the Confederates

30. Author Michael Shaara changes some of the historical facts about the battle—for instance, he puts Chamberlain in the middle of the Union line during Pickett's Charge, when in fact Chamberlain was more than a mile south at the time. Why do you think Shaara does this? Do you think it is good or bad to change the facts in a historical novel?

he does this to give the battle a more personal experience from one of the main character's perspective; it's good to change facts to make the novel more interesting although it can lead to confusion

31. Discuss how the issue of slavery is dealt with by the characters in The Killer Angels. Be sure to cite examples from both Confederate and Union characters.

Fremantle, an Englishman observing the Confederate Army, said that the war was over slavery at a poker game and several southerners got upset at him; Armistead is disgusted that Fremantle thinks the war is over slavery; Longstreet does agree that it is, but claims that is not why he is personally fighting; Chamberlain does not agree with slavery and is fighting to freedom of all men but has a moment of hesitation when actually coming in contact with a runaway slave

32. Why did the Confederates grapple with the fact that they were the invaders at Gettysburg?

they thought that they were the protectors and fighters of freedom but the town of Gettysburg was more inclined to accept the Union Army because they aligned more with their ideals