The Killer Angels

Before dawn, Buford rides down his line to awaken his soldiers. It begins to rain, so he settles himself in the white cupola of the seminary building west of Gettysburg; he hears a single gunshot that turns into a small volley. The shooting stops. From his vantage point, he sees the Rebel line advance then pull back and push forward again. Buford climbs down and sends a message to Reynolds but is not concerned with this Rebel attack. Returning to the cupola, he hears the infamous Rebel yell, which is cut short by the sound of guns. He sees the line of wounded begin marching to the back of the line and climbs down and moves to Bill Gamble and his brigade, who are positioned next to the Union battery. Gamble reports that his losses aren’t bad, and he’s learned from Confederate prisoners that he’s facing Major General Henry Heth’s division of 10,000 men with Hill’s and Longstreet’s corps behind him and Ewell approaching from the north. Gamble anticipates that the entire Rebel army will be at Gettysburg by the afternoon.

At this point, Buford moves men from another brigade to lengthen Gamble’s line to the north so that Heth will now run into two brigades. It is eight o’clock in the morning, and Buford knows Reynolds’s infantry should be on the move by now. He can only hold his line against 10,000 Rebels for so long, and if his line gives way, the Union will lose the high ground. Buford now orders his men to head north to prevent the Rebels from flanking them. He orders them to report directly to him if they see the enemy coming down the road. The first Rebel shell explodes nearby, and a large attack hits the Union line. Buford sees that his soldiers are low on ammunition, so they have only about 30 minutes of fighting left. He returns to his cupola and sees Reynolds approaching from the south.

When Reynolds arrives, he joins Buford, who is happy to see him. As they watch, they see the Union’s 1st and 11th Corps round the bend. Reynolds orders Buford to pull his men to the flank, the exhausted cavalry making way for the fresh infantry. The men leave the cupola, and Reynolds sends a message to Meade that the Rebel army is advancing in force and might take the high ground before Reynolds can stop them. Reynolds then orders his commanders to convene at his location by the seminary; he then leaves to hurry his men forward into position, complementing Buford on obtaining the high ground.

The next Rebel assault breaks through the cannon smoke and runs into the fresh Union troops. From a distance, Buford sees Reynolds mounted and in the open, and the next moment, the horse remains but Reynolds is gone. Buford rushes over to find him on the ground, dead. His aides cover him with a blanket, and Buford orders them to move him away from the fight. They return to Buford for orders, but he has none to give. Reynolds’s infantry continues the fight without its commander, holding the line against the Rebel attack. Buford moves his cavalry along the northern road to help hold the position.

Lee’s men are marching through the mountains on a dusty road, eventually passing through Cashtown. Lee approaches Hill, who looks ill, and establishes his headquarters. Hill reports that there has been no word from Heth, offering to go to Heth for an update. Taylor appears with General Anderson, who seeks information about the guns he hears, and Lee finally shows frustration about Stuart’s absence, which prevents the commanders from knowing what’s in front of them. He mounts Traveler and leaves Cashtown in the direction of Gettysburg.

Mounting a rise, Lee sees the seminary with its white cupola as well as the nearby Union battery. Lee pieces the situation together and notices that Heth has been repulsed. He sends a message to Ewell to hurry and a message to Longstreet that the Union infantry is in force. It is now 2:00 p.m. Heth approaches Lee and explains that he engaged against orders because he thought he was only facing militia. When he realized he was fighting dismounted cavalry, he deployed his entire division. At this point, Dorsey Pender joins them. Taylor also approaches and mentions that they are in range of the Union battery and suggests they move into the trees. Lee is again overcome with anger and frustration about his lack of information. A courier rides up and tells Lee that General Rodes’s division is attacking the Union on the right and that General Early is behind him and should be on the field within the hour. This pleases Lee, but he still doesn’t know how large the Union force is. He orders Taylor forward to observe the enemy, and Heth tells of Reynolds’s death and Doubleday’s appointment to replace him. Another courier reports that Early has arrived and is fighting to the north of Rodes. Lee now gives Heth and Pender permission to attack, and they ride off.

Lee rides forward and waits for reports. A white-faced Hill approaches and says that Heth is down with a head wound. Lee moves his headquarters closer to Gettysburg, sending out couriers to inform his commanders and ask for updates. A courier from Early soon arrives and says that the Union is falling back, and Hill returns to report that Heth will recover but will be out of the fight for a while. One of Pender’s couriers arrives and confirms that the Union is pulling back; Lee rides forward to a hill overlooking Gettysburg and sees the retreat for himself. However, he also sees Union artillery forming on a hill and knows that the fighting isn’t over. He also realizes the value of the high ground the Union now occupies, so he sends orders to Hill’s artillery to fire on it and for Hill to come to Lee; he orders Pender to continue his assault.

When Hill arrives, he looks worse than before but offers a report on Heth and Pender. Lee now sends Taylor to Ewell, ordering him to take the hill if he is able, without engaging in a full assault. Lee looks backward and sees Longstreet approaching. Longstreet feels that they should disengage and move around behind the hills to get between the Union Army and Washington, DC. Lee, however, wants to push on and possibly end the battle and the war. One of Ewell’s aides appears, giving an update on Ewell’s position with a request of support from Hill on his right. Lee sends the aide back to Ewell with the repeated command to take the hill if possible but without help from Hill until Longstreet’s division is in position. A short time later, Lee notices that he does not hear any artillery and sees no advance of Ewell’s troops. Longstreet persists in suggesting they move south to ground of their choosing, but Lee says that the fight is here, so they will stay. Longstreet rides back to his division, and as he begins to leave, Lee thanks him for his spy. Without Harrison’s information, Lee’s army would have been destroyed. Longstreet leaves, and Lee continues to wait for Ewell’s advance, which never comes.

Chamberlain’s regiment is marching at the head of the Union’s 5th Corps, and at noon, they cross the border into Pennsylvania, headed north to Hanover before moving west into Gettysburg. Today’s 20-mile march brings the corps’ total to 100 miles in five days. Chamberlain notices that the civilians are getting friendlier as they move north, offering food to the soldiers as they pass. Tired of riding, Chamberlain dismounts and begins to walk, half conscious, as he listens to Tom chat with one of the mutineers from the 2nd Maine. As he walks, he thinks of his father and mother and how he feels at home no matter where he goes. Eventually, a sergeant approaches and begs him to remount, which he does.

As they move into Hanover, Chamberlain sees rows of dead soldiers in a field, men from Stuart’s cavalry, which wakes all the soldiers up from their half-conscious marching. Eventually, Chamberlain sees a courier and then wagons. He also notices a dirty haze on the horizon and knows that there’s fighting in Gettysburg. Just when the soldiers think they are going to stop for the night, they are called back into line and continue forward. Word of what’s happening at Gettysburg passes along the line, and as they march closer, they begin to see their wounded comrades huddled around fires in the fields. Rumors of the Union’s defeat begin to circulate, but Chamberlain orders his men to close and stop talking. They finally end their march around midnight and sleep. They have arrived at Gettysburg.

Riding along Cashtown Road from headquarters to Gettysburg, Longstreet is in a dark mood. His staff notices and eventually drifts away, leaving him alone. Longstreet senses a coming disaster and can’t keep his thoughts from turning toward his three children, all of whom died of fever, so he seeks someone to talk to. He sees Fremantle nearby and allows him to join him. They chat casually about the day and what might happen tomorrow. They then turn to Lee and how he's not what their English visitors expected because he is a gentleman, and they expected someone coarser. They then discuss the idiosyncrasies of other commanders before turning more serious, discussing honor, bravery, and Longstreet’s defensive tactics. Longstreet eventually reaches camp and stays up as long as possible, avoiding the haunting memories of his dead children.

Lee rides through town, feeling the joy of the soldiers around him, who are happy with their work against the Union. He nods and touches his hat to them as he passes by and heads to Ewell’s headquarters in a small farmhouse. Once there, Lee, Ewell, Early, and Rodes talk in an arbor at the back of the house. After the three generals report on the condition of the corps, Lee tells Ewell he’d hoped he would attack and take Cemetery Hill, but Ewell felt it wasn’t practical and was following Lee’s order to avoid a full engagement without adequate support. Early supports Ewell’s decision and proposes that Longstreet’s corps take the lead on the right. This will pull the Union out of its position and allow the other corps to attack the hill more responsibly. Lee then shares Longstreet’s idea of moving the army south between the Union Army and Washington, but Ewell doesn’t want to give up the town they fought so hard to possess. Early mocks Longstreet’s focus on defensive warfare and says that they will control the hills tomorrow if Longstreet attacks on the right. Lee ends the conversation without deciding and leaves the farmhouse.

He eventually encounters General Trimble, a man slightly older than Lee. Trimble says he can no longer work under Ewell, whom he sees as a disgrace. He knows they could have taken the hill because it was unoccupied, and Ewell knew it. Lee senses the truth in what he says. Trimble continues and tells Lee that he even begged Ewell to take a group of men to attack the hill, but Ewell refused. Now, Trimble fears, many Confederate soldiers will die for Ewell’s cowardice. Lee tells the old general to rest and rides on to his headquarters on Seminary Ridge. Lee sends for Ewell, thinking he will get more information if Ewell is alone. When he arrives, Lee asks about Ewell’s inaction, and Ewell is much more confident without Early’s presence. Ewell admits that he regrets being too careful, but Lee reminds him that he still won a victory, though it wasn’t as big as it could have been. Lee tells Ewell he is satisfied with his work and dismisses him to rest. Sitting in a rocking chair in the small house, Lee ponders on the importance of this battle before eventually falling asleep.

At 2:00 a.m., Buford watches the Union Army take position in the hills south of Gettysburg. During the fight, he was hit in the left arm. Though the arm is now bandaged and hidden under his coat, Buford can feel the rising pain as he seeks orders for his cavalry. He sees a small farmhouse surrounded by men, so he rides over to look for the commanding officer. Once there, Buford learns that General Howard has complained that Buford failed to support him on his right side. General Hancock, who is in charge for the time being, comes out of the house to speak with him. Buford tells him about Reynolds’s death and that his division was heavily involved in the day’s fighting. As they talk, Meade arrives. Buford mounts and goes back to the cemetery overlooking Gettysburg. When he calls for an aide, he realizes two of them—both boys—are dead and a third is wounded.