Killer Angels 1

From a suggestion given to me during my student teaching experience I read Killer Angels for the first time about ten years ago. At that time, because of my limited understanding of the events that occurred during the Civil War I read it more for enjoyment. However, since I have read it again, I gained a better understanding of the events that took place and how it affected the people involved. That additional knowledge made reading the book more meaningful. Additionally, it has changed how I teach students about the Civil War what I have added to my lessons it to ensure that I provide sufficient background information in my lessons to help the students understand the events of the time.

I thought the author’s description of the North and South very insightful and it provided a point of reference during my reading that helped me understand the “why” of the challenges, successes and failures of each side. The soldiers in the South had a lot in common with each other, which made it easier for them to work together and focus on strategies of planning each battle. Most soldiers fighting for the South shared a common religion, spoke the same language, were illiterate, and brought their own supplies to sustain themselves. In contrast the soldiers from the North had few things in common, which made it very difficult for them to work together successfully. Because of the language and religious differences faced by the North there was profound lack of trust in the ranks for their leaders – they were defeated often and experienced conflict among those they needed to be able to trust to protect their backs. .