Gettysburg, July 1–3, 1863, Where The South Lost The Civil War

By Dottie Evans

One hundred forty-one years ago this weekend, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War took place almost by accident, when an advance guard of the Confederate Army bumped into Union cavalry in a small Pennsylvania farm town named Gettysburg.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee decided this was as good a spot as any to fight the Northern Army of the Potomac and win the war. The tide of war did turn at Gettysburg, but not in the way Lee had hoped.

During the three-day battle, which was waged from July 1 to July 3, 1863, Gettysburg would be the Confederate high water mark. It was the farthest north that General Robert E. Lee and his army would go.

When it was over, very early in the morning of July 4 on Independence Day, the casualties were enormous: 53,000 in total, representing 25 percent of Union Army and 40 percent of the Confederate Army. In a driving rainstorm, the beaten Confederates turned south again and slipped through Maryland. They crossed the Potomac River and returned to Virginia where the war would be fought for nearly two more years.

Lee finally surrendered on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Courthouse.

 

Killer Angels

The Pulitzer Prize winning novel Killer Angels written in 1974 by Michael Shaara gives an immediate and dramatic portrayal of those fateful three days at Gettysburg.

It was chosen by the Non-Fiction Book Club for the monthly discussion group that took place June 1 at The Booth Library. The presenter was Jerry O’Neil.

As the author explained in the book’s foreword, the story line is based “on the words of the men themselves, their letters and their documents,” and every effort was made not to alter historical fact. The dramatic focus was primarily on three battle leaders, their possible motivations and tragic dilemmas.

When the story begins, Robert E. Lee, Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, is leading his army’s march north to Harrisburg, but he lacks necessary reconnaissance on the whereabouts of the Union Army. This is due to the unexplained absence of his “eyes and ears,” the usually brilliant Confederate cavalryman Jeb Stuart.

James Longstreet, Lee’s loyal friend and most trusted general, is the one most likely to speak his mind to Lee. General Longstreet’s men will suffer a devastating defeat in the Battle of Little Round Top on the battle’s second day. On the third day, he fears Pickett’s Charge will result in disaster but he must obey Lee’s command.

Lieutenant Joshua Chamberlain, commander of the 20th Maine, is a college professor-turned-soldier who at first is not sure why the war is being fought but who has volunteered out of a sense of duty. He rises to the challenge July 2 of defending the Union’s exposed left flank and leads the successful bayonet charge at The Battle of Little Round Top.

In June 1863, President Lincoln had appointed George Meade commander of the northern forces. But Chamberlain is the northern hero who most intrigues the author. Clearly, Michael Shaara feels that if Gettysburg was the turning point in the Civil War, Little Round Top was the turning point at Gettysburg.

To trigger debate on Killer Angels, Mr O’Neil posed several questions for book club members.

 

Considering The Hows and Whys

What was Robert E. Lee’s motivation for being in that part of Pennsylvania at that time?

“He was trying to make an end run around the Union Army to get to Washington, and he wanted to draw the Union troops out into the open,” Bob Schmidle said.

“I think Lee wanted this war to be over,” noted Kathy Winton.

Others agreed that General Lee, then 57, was in poor health. They noted a recklessness in his behavior and thinking.

“He was outrageously conflicted about this war,” Bonnie Miller said, referring to Lee’s decision to violate his oath to defend the United States by choosing to fight for his native Virginia.

“I think he was more bumbling than brilliant,” commented Ms Winton.

“And he hated confrontations. Look how he merely slapped [Confederate cavalryman] Jeb Stuart’s wrist when Stuart failed to provide critical information about the location of the Union Army.”

Which leaders were most outstanding? Which were most heroic?

Nearly everyone agreed that General Longstreet was the most sympathetic character for the Confederate side. He was one of the few who stood up to Lee and challenged his judgment in ordering Pickett’s Charge on the third day.

They were not so sure about General Pickett, last in his class at West Point, who couldn’t wait to lead the charge on that fatal last day.

Would the battle have turned out differently if [cavalry officer] Jeb Stuart had arrived sooner and scoped out the Union position?

“I think the North would have won eventually, no matter what,” said Non-Fiction Book Club Chairman Howard Gorham.

“The North was a fighting machine. With more men, guns, and supplies, it was going to outlast the South.”

The group agreed that northern General Sickles, who on the second day led a charge against orders into the Peach Orchard, “was brave and a little crazy.” After his leg had been amputated, he insisted on being put back onto his horse so his troops could see him riding into battle.

Gerry Finnegan asked who in the group had been to Gettysburg and had actually seen the battlefield. Only a few said they had.

“It’s a very moving, beautiful experience. The battlefield has been preserved in a natural state and you can stand there and imagine the battle lines –– try to think like a general,” Mr Finnegan said.

Why wasn’t Lee pardoned after the surrender, when the war was over?

“Think of all the small towns in the north like Newtown, where there are monuments to those who died in the Civil War. Those people had lost their friends and loved ones. They were bitter,” said Mr Gorham.

“They weren’t sympathetic and they weren’t about to pardon the southern general,” Mr Finnegan agreed.

What about Lieutenant Joshua Chamberlain? He was presented as a hero. He saw the paradox in war, where man is capable of extreme cruelty performed for what he sees as a greater good. Chamberlain understands that man is truly a “Killer Angel.”

Mr Gorham noted that in 1863, “People were very different from the way we are now –– not secular but more sacred. Religion was very important to these men. Whatever happened in battle, they believed it was the Will of God.”

Finally, Bonnie Miller asked the group whether Michael Shaara’s portrayal was a product of his fertile imagination or true to fact, whether it should be read as history or simply for enjoyment.

“In writing about the Battle of Gettysburg as a piece of fiction,” she opined, “the author has already crossed the line by making judgments and interpretations.”