The Killer Angels is a historical novel that chronicles the battle of the Civil War, focusing specifically on the Battle of Gettysburg. Set from June 29 to July 3, 1863 and told from the perspectives of several soldiers and commanders on both sides, Michael Shaara effectively illustrates the feelings behind the war that split America in two, from strategic battle plans to emotional hardships. endured by everyone. The book opens with a Confederate spy as he made his way through Union lines on the night of June 29, 1863 toward Confederate General Robert E. Lee carrying news of the Army of the Potomac as they passed through the town. of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The next few days follow the various Union and Confederate regiments as they regain their sanity after the earlier battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Marching toward Gettysburg, where the most decisive battle of the Civil War would take place. As he immerses the audience in combat with the soldiers, Shaara demonstrates the more emotional aspects of war by highlighting the personal lives of the men fighting. For example, when Shaara reveals the pasts of James Longstreet and Lewis Armistead, I began to imagine them as the men they were and not as soldiers out for blood. After suffering the devastating loss of three of his children to fever, Longstreet is thrown into battle. In Armistead's case, he not only suffered the loss of his wife, but also a friend fighting on the Union side, General Winfield Scott Hancock. Shaara saves his readers a front row seat to General Chamberlain's inner turmoil regarding his duty as a soldier clashing with his duty to family as he strove to serve the Union and protect... middle of paper ... .... simply ends with the credits rolling, so to speak. The novel's afterword lists the accomplishments and significance of the major players that occurred after the Battle of Gettysburg. While Gettysburg may be part of our nation's past, it continues to remind Americans of the bridges that were crossed and burned to get to where we are now. Shaara consolidates the ideals fought for on the Gettysburg battlefield. They serve as the whitelighter of Cemetery Ridge that Buford saw before the first day of battle: we may lose sight of them as they become obscured by many other symbols and markings, but they are solid as stone and will never disappear. These truths and ideals watch over the passage of time and events that come and go, to remind us that what has been will always be part of what remains..