The Killer Angels

Harrison, a spy hired by Lieutenant General James Longstreet, dismounts his horse, crawls to a boulder in an open field, and sees two Union corps, about 20,000 men, marching quickly below him. He then rides north between the Union and Confederate armies. He passes empty and deserted fields and houses as rain and thunder fill the landscape, searching for the Confederate Army headquarters near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. By afternoon, he comes to a crossroads and sees the tracks of a large cavalry unit passing through. Harrison follows the tracks and eventually sees a bald man standing in a peach orchard. Calling upon his skill as an actor, he convinces the man that he is a farmer in search of his runaway wife and learns that the Union cavalry had passed by not long before. He also asks the man what town lies beyond their location, and the man says it is called Gettysburg.

Harrison returns to the crossroads and moves across South Mountain. Instinct tells him that the Rebel army is close, so he moves carefully on until he comes to a picket line of Southern soldiers. He asks to see Longstreet and, after being taken to him, tells him the information he has gathered and shows the position of the Union Army on a map, guessing that there are 80,000 to 100,000 men in total. Longstreet decides to trust him and rides with him the short distance to Lee’s headquarters.

Longstreet and Harrison tell Lee what they know, and Longstreet shows him the position of the Union Army on a map. Lee thanks Harrison for his work and dismisses him. Lee then discusses with Longstreet the appointment of General George Meade to the head of the Union Army. They agree that he will likely be slow and cautious as he organizes his staff and adjusts to the position. The two generals return to the map and discuss Gettysburg’s location, and Lee notices that several roads converge on the town. Lee decides that Gettysburg is a good place for his army to concentrate because of the usefulness of the junction. They decide to move out at first light. Longstreet walks Lee to his tent and returns to his camp to begin moving the army.

Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain wakes up after sleeping off the sunstroke he sustained from an 80-mile march over the past four days. Buster Kilrain informs him that 120 mutineer soldiers have been assigned to join his unit, the 20th Regiment of Infantry, Maine Volunteers. The soldiers mutinied when the 2nd Maine was disbanded, and they were not allowed to go home. Chamberlain exits his tent and sees the darkening sky and movement of the thousands of troops constituting the 5th Corps of the Army of the Potomac.

Chamberlain sees men marching toward him, and he knows these are the mutineers. They arrive in camp and form two lines, collapsing in exhaustion. Chamberlain dismisses the guards and asks his new soldiers when they last ate. He orders a steer to be slaughtered and prepared for them. One of the soldiers, Joseph Bucklin, steps forward as a spokesman for the group and asks to tell Chamberlain their grievances. Chamberlain takes Bucklin to his tent, and Bucklin explains that they’ve done their share of fighting and that they are being ill-used. They are sick of the politics and military officers and simply want to go home. As Bucklin is talking, a courier arrives and tells Chamberlain that the corps is moving immediately and that the 20th Maine will be first in line. Chamberlain dismisses Bucklin, explaining that he will address the men soon.

Chamberlain later returns to the mutineers and tells them that he has heard their grievances from Bucklin and that he will do what he can to make things right, but he can’t do it today. They will march and might be in a fight by nightfall, but he will do what he can to help them afterward. He also tells them that he will ignore Meade’s permission to shoot anyone who refuses to fight, allowing the men to choose for themselves. He will return their rifles to them and tells them that his regiment could use their help. He will not force them to fight, Chamberlain continues, but everyone needs to march with the regiment. Next, he explains that the 20th Maine was formed the previous fall with 1,000 men; less than 300 of them remain. Some of these men joined for the excitement or because they had little better to do, while others joined because it was shameful not to. Chamberlain mounts his horse and heads to the road, questioning his effect on the soldiers. His brother Tom rides up and tells him that all but six of the soldiers will fight. Chamberlain then orders Tom to disperse the mutineers among the different companies to spread them out and to then get them rifles. They then begin the march to Gettysburg.

The Union cavalry, headed by Major General John Buford, approaches Gettysburg from the south at the same time the Confederate infantry is approaching from the west. Buford climbs to the top of Cemetery Hill overlooking Gettysburg, finding it strange to see Rebel infantry with no accompanying cavalry. As Buford continues to watch, the Rebels turn around and leave. Because he has been tracking Lee for five days, Buford understands that the Confederate Army will now concentrate at Gettysburg and will likely be there in force by morning. He orders his scouts to go west and north to see if there is other Confederate movement. Some return quickly and confirm that the Rebels are camped three miles west of Gettysburg. Buford tells his brigades to dig in at the crest of a ridge facing the Rebel army, knowing that this line will hold as they await Major General John Reynolds’s infantry.

As the sun sets, Buford sees lines of Rebel fires to the west and north. His second group of scouts returns and confirms that Lee is approaching from the north. Buford then writes a message to Reynolds, requesting that he bring his infantry immediately to maintain the high ground. Buford then orders the six-gun battery to move to Cashtown Road, the same road the Rebels used to enter and then retreat from Gettysburg. Buford sits down to rest against a headstone and sleeps, dreaming of his previous post on the plains. He wakes up to a message from Reynolds. Reynolds confirms that he will be at Gettysburg by morning. Buford relays this message to his staff, explaining that they will wait and hold the high ground until Reynolds arrives and that if they can hold the hills south of Gettysburg, they can win the coming battle. This news excites the staff, who are eager to fight. After ordering a good meal for his men, Buford rides out again, posting the lead pickets near the Rebel line. He orders these men to wait until they can clearly see the enemy then fire a few shots before pulling back. Buford ends his day by setting up his headquarters at the seminary building west of Gettysburg before falling asleep and again dreaming of the plains of Wyoming.

Longstreet watches a poker game at his headquarters as he awaits Harrison’s scouting report from Gettysburg. He’s frustrated over the blindness of his infantry because Lieutenant General J. E. B. Stuart’s cavalry has not reported on the Union’s position. Sorrel returns from Lee’s camp to report that the general has gone to bed and that all is going well for concentrating the army in Gettysburg. Sorrel also reports that Major General Ambrose Powell Hill has reported cavalry in Gettysburg but assumes that it is only militia; Hill will return in the morning to confirm who it is. Longstreet dismisses Sorrel with an uneasy feeling about what is happening in Gettysburg. Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Fremantle approaches Longstreet, seeking some poker advice, and as they talk, a group of riders enters camp.

In the group is Major General George Pickett, accompanied by three brigade commanders, all of whom Longstreet has known for more than 20 years. He welcomes each man, and the group banters and jokes as a curious Fremantle looks on. Eventually, Longstreet breaks away from the growing crowd, and Pickett joins him. Pickett complains that his division is being intentionally left out of major battles, but Longstreet explains that’s just how things have worked out and that he knows he can count on Pickett when the time arises. Pickett then excuses himself to join the poker game, and Armistead approaches Longstreet. They discuss many things including the Union Army’s position, the evolution of warfare, the Cause, the difficulty of fighting friends, General Lee, and Armistead’s desire to see his close friend—Winfield Scott Hancock, a Union major general—one more time.

Longstreet walks the visitors back to their horses and tells them that the army is amassing in Gettysburg and should be joined by Hill and Lieutenant General Richard Ewell by tomorrow evening. He also tells Pickett that there is a big fight coming and he should prepare his men. The commanders leave, and well after midnight, Harrison returns and confirms that there is Union cavalry in Gettysburg.