The Killer Angels - The First Day, Chaps. 2 and 3 - Buford and Lee

The First Day, Chapters 2 and 3 - Buford and Lee

First, Happy Independence Day to all! Today is the 145th anniversary of the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

We see the first day of battle really heating up through the eyes of Major General John Buford. Buford's goal is pretty straightforward - hold the good ground until General Reynolds and his reinforcements get there. Most of the chapter is devoted to Buford's observations. Buford's relief when Reynolds arrives is obvious and palpable:

...[Reynolds] motioned to Buford. They rode out into the road. Buford felt a certain dreamy calm. Reynolds, like Lee before him, had once commanded the Point. There was a professional air to him, the teacher approaching the class, utterly in command of his subject...

Unfortunately for Buford, Reynolds, and I suspect the entire Union army, the chapter is punctuated by Reynolds's death on the battlefield:

...Buford got one last glimpse of Reynolds. He was out in the open, waving his hat, pointing to a grove of trees. A moment later Buford looked that way and the horse was bare-backed. He did not believe it. He broke off and rode to see. Reynolds lay in the dirt road, the aides bending over him. When Buford got there the thick stain had already puddled the dirt beneath his head. His eyes were open, half asleep, his face pleasant and composed, a soft smile. Buford knelt. He was dead...

Chapter 3 - Lee

Meanwhile, back at the Confederate Army, Lee is doing his best to get much-needed information and to command an army with a lot of egos. I have a hard time understanding the logistics of battles because I tend to be unable to visualize them. Obviously, I would not make a good general for that reason. Suffice it to say that Lee's wish is to attack, while his generals, for a variety of reasons, are unable to do so. In any case, Lee is also hampered by the fact that the Union army has already gotten the jump on them - his understanding was that there was only a few militia men in Gettysburg but Buford's calvalry is there and the infantry will arrive soon.

Throughout the battle, Lee consults with Heth, who reports this confusion and then with A.P. Hill. Eventually, he orders General Ewell to attack when it appears he might have the Union on the run, but it has been clear throughout the day that his troops are exhausted. Lee and his men are not in a position of strength, and there is only so much strategy and testicular fortitude, I think, that can make up for that.

So at the end of the chapter, we have this:

Lee shook his head again. He was growing weary of this. Why didn't Ewell's assault begin? A cautious commander, new to his command. And A.P. Hill is sick. Yet we won. The soldiers won. Lee pointed toward the hill.

"They will probably retreat. Or Ewell will push them off. But if Meade is there tomorrow, I will attack him."

"If Meade is there," Longstreet said implacably, "it is because he wants you to attack him."

That was enough. Lee thought: docile men do not make good soldiers. He said nothing. Longstreet could see the conversation was at an end...

Wednesday, July 1, 1863 - The First Day - Chapter 1: Lee

The Killer Angels - First Day of Battle - July 1, 1863

Lee is the focus of the first chapter regarding the first day of battle, which is probably fitting. Throughout the chapter, and I suspect throughout the long battle, he asks for word of General Stuart, who stubbornly remains out of reach. There is the sense of why Lee is so beloved as a general - he is very much aware of the strengths and weaknesses of his generals even while he treats them all in a courtly manner - yet there is also a sense of apprehension around him. The loss of Stonewall Jackson, killed by his own men, seems to weigh heavily on Lee and the rest of the Confederate army.

There is a bit of strange moment in this chapter, but it is one that foreshadows both Longstreet's concerns and the Conferederacy's loss in this important battle. Lee's aide, Venable, asks the general to speak with Dorsey Pender, because Pender's wife has written to him:

"Mrs. Pender is, ah, a pious woman, and she believes that now that we have invaded Pennsylvania we are in the wrong, and God has forsaken us - you know how these people reason, sir - and she says she cannot pray for him."

A little later in the chapter, the general reflects: "Lee felt a deeper spasm, like a black stain. I swore to defend. Now I invade. A soldier, no theologian. God, let it be over soon. While there's time to play with grandchildren. It came too late. Fame came too late. I would have enjoyed it, if I were a younger man."

The chapter ends with a discussion between Lee and Longstreet. In his heart, Lee wants to attack. In his head, Longstreet knows that that is not the right move for the Confederacy's long-term prospects in winning the war.

...Longstreet loved the defense. But all the bright theories so rarely worked. Instinct said: hit hard, hit quick, hit everything. But he [Lee] listened. Then he said slowly, "that move will be what Meade expects."

"Yes, because he fears it."

Lee turned away from the table. He wanted no argument now. He had been down this road before, and Longstreet was immovable, and there was no point in argument when you did not even know where the enemy was. Yet it was good counsel. Trust Longstreet to tell the truth. Lee looked up and there was Traveler, led by a black groom. The staff had gathered. Time to move. Lee took a deep, delighted breath.

"Now, General," he said, "let's go see what George Meade intends."

And so, with that passage, you can see how a great general can lose a war - Lee recognizes the truth of Longstreet's counsel and yet cannot overcome his own instincts.

The Killer Angels, Chapter 1 - Michael Shaara

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 begins with a spy, a would-be actor, spying the movements of the Union Army. He is bringing this information back to Lt. General James Longstreet, right hand man to General Lee. The spy is not liked by Longstreet, and he is initially doubted, but eventually Longstreet takes him to Lee to communicate the information he has.

What comes through in this chapter is how feckless the spy, who the chapter is named after, is and how anxious and worried Longstreet seems to be:

If the spy was right, the army was in great danger. They could be cut apart and cut off from home and destroyed in detail, piece by piece. If the spy was right, then Lee would have to turn, but the old man did not believe in spies nor in any information you had to pay for, had not approved of the money spent or event the idea behind it. And the old man had faith in Stuart, and why in God's name had Stuart sent nothing, not even a courier, because even Stuart wasn't fool enough to let the whole damned Army of the Potomac get this close without word, not one damned lonesome word...

It seems that Lee believes in his standards but this is war, and Longstreet recognizes that to win a war, you have to do things that violate one's standards. On the other hand, we get a sense that the spy's commitment is less to the cause of the South and more to his own desire to act. Still, his commentary on how he acquires information is interesting:

The spy chatted amiably. He seemed to need to talk. He was saying, "Strange thing about it all, thing that bothers me is that when you do this job right, nobody knows you're doing it, nobody ever watches you work, do you see?...This current creation, now, is marvelous. I'm a poor-witted farmer, do you see, terrified of soldiers, and me lovely young wife has run off with a drummer and I'm out a-scourin' the countryside for her, a sorrowful pitiful sight I am. And people lookin' down their noses and grinnin' behind me back and all the time tellin' me exactly what I want to know about who is where and how many and how long ago, and them not even knowin' they're doin's it, too busy feelin' contempuous. There are many people, General, that don't give a damn for a human soul, do you know that? The strange thing is, after playing this poor fool farmer for a while I can't help but feel sorry for him. Because nobody cares."

One the one hand, the spy articulates in the last sentence the same sentiments that Rick in Casablanca does when he tells Ilsa that this crazy world doesn't care a hill of beans about the problems of three small people. It's war. Who cares about a farmer looking for his runaway wife when the war is in everyone's front yards. And it is hard not to understand where he is coming from with that.

On the other hand, this guy is able to get self-righteous about their lack of care even while he is taking advantage of it and "betraying" them with the information he is gathering. He's a spy. He's at risk, true, but one is somewhat able to understand why he is looked down upon by military folk because his way of fighting the war it is all about subterfuge and obfuscation. Therefore, it is difficult to understand how he feels superior to those that he perceive feel superior to him since he is precisely trying to take advantage of their normal human feelings.

The chapter ends without the spy, but with Longstreet and Lee discussing the information that they have, especially the news that Meade has been named the general of the Army of the Potomac. And the discovery that the town on the map that they will concentrate their forces on is Gettysburg.

The Killer Angels - Foreword, Part II

The rest of the foreword tells about the men of Gettysburg, men who will become synonymous with victory or defeat in this pivotal battle. As with practically any story based on the Civil War, it is easy to come away marveling at the fact that the Union won given the competency on the Confederacy's side. We are still many months away from Grant's elevation and since I believe he was in Vicksburg at the time, he makes no appearance whatsoever at Gettysburg.

Lee has always been inscrutable to me and this description provides no exception. Shaara describes him as "the most beloved man in either army" but also "an honest man, a gentlman. He has no 'vices.' He does not drink or smoke or gamble or chase women. He does not read novels or plays; he thinks they weaken the mind. He does not own slaves nor believe in slavery, but he does not believe that the Negro, 'in the present stage of his development,' can be considered the equal of the white man. He is a man in control. He does not lose his temper nor his faith; he never complains... He believes absolutely in God. He loves Virginia above all, the mystic dirt of home." He is, in short, a paragon of a man who fights for an unjust, inhumane system. He also fights for the losing side.

Lee is juxtaposed against his subordinates, Longstreet, Pickett, etc. all of whom seem more like real men than Lee. They are men with flaws, be it of temper or temperment or chasing women or drinking.

With the men in blue, it is not difficult to understand why Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain becomes the hero of this piece (okay, I confess, I have seen Gettysburg and, of course, I know the history). Against George Meade and Winfield Hancock, Chamberlain at least seems like he has some prayer of understanding of what needs to be done. To be fair, Shaara gives credit both to John Buford and John Reynolds, too, as fighting men who got what it would take to win this war.

At the end of the day, it seems, the Confederacy had a great general in Lee but not enough men like Chamberlain, Buford, and Reynolds. And the Union did not have a good general until later, but could hold with superior men and some competent lower level leaders.