Confederate.
A general whose troops do much of the fighting on the first day of the battle.
fights with Union General John Buford’s cavalry, then John Reynolds’s infantry.
Union.
A competent, important general of the Union army, who directs much of the action at Gettysburg.
He is an old friend of Confederate General Lew Armistead, who fights on the other side at Gettysburg.
General Ambrose Powell Hill
General Winfield Scott Hancock
- George Pickett Confederacy.
- Perfumed, with bouncing curly hair,
- Last in his class at West Point, Pickett has nonetheless risen to the rank of major general, and he leads an entire division.
- His division has not seen action in battle yet, and he longs for a chance to prove himself and his men.
- Led Pickett's Charge.
General J. E. B. Stuart
- General J. E. B. Stuart
- Confederacy
- Stuart is the cavalry leader assigned by Lee to track the movements of the Union army.
- Stuart is off joyriding for the first two days of the battle, causes the Confederate army to lose track of the Union troops in the first place.
- Because of Stuart’s absence, during the first two days the Confederates never know where the Union troops are or what the surrounding area looks like.
General George Pickett
- Union.
- Joshua’s brother and aide, also in the Twentieth Maine.
- Tom is more social, funnier, and more easygoing.
- Soon becomes a liability when Joshua Chamberlain realizes that he might, at some point, order his brother to his death.
- An Englishman sent to observe the Confederate army in action.
- Many people in the Confederacy hold out hope that England will come to their aid.
- Fremantle is tall and thin and reminds Longstreet of Ichabod Crane.
- Fremantle is dismayed by the rough manners of many of the soldiers, but he is also amazed at how much the Southerners are like Englishmen.
- He especially admires Robert E. Lee and James Longstreet.
- He is very enthusiastic about the battles, but he rarely has any idea of what is really going on.
Thomas Chamberlain
Confederate. An aide to Longstreet. Sorrel is a competent but not very sociable man.
Arthur Fremantle
General John Hood - Confederate. A major general under Longstreet’s command, Hood is Longstreet’s most competent soldier. Like Longstreet, he prefers defensive strategies, and he understands that the nature of war is changing.
- Union
- Recently appointed commander of the Union armies, Meade arrives a bit late to the Battle of Gettysburg.
- Cautious but intelligent.
- After the death of “Stonewall” Jackson, Longstreet becomes Lee’s second in command. A stubborn man
- Longstreet enters the Battle of Gettysburg with high hopes of success
- Provided that Lee swings the Confederate army to the southeast and comes between the Union army and Washington, D.C.
- disagreements between Longstreet and Lee regarding field tactics.
- Lee is continuously annoyed by Longstreet’s stubbornness, and Longstreet is depressed by Lee’s opposition to his defensive tactics.
- Commander of the Confederate army.
- One of the most beloved men in either army .
- Lee is fifty-seven years old at the time of the Battle of Gettysburg.
- Lee is a brilliant tactician.
- Resigned from the U.S military when Virginia Seceded.
- General John Buford-Union
- A cavalry commander
- Buford comes from the great plains of the Midwest, and dislikes the tame and political East.
- He has an eye for finding the best ground on a battlefield.
- He has been given two brigades and ordered to follow the movements of the Confederate army.
General Robert E. Lee
- Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain
- Union.
- Thirty-four years old
- Left his home in Maine and a comfortable professorship at Bowdoin College to come to war.
- He is the colonel of the Twentieth Maine Infantry regiment. He was an excellent student at school.
- All his life he has wanted to be a soldier.
- He lied to Bowdoin and told them he was going on sabbatical to France because they would not let him go to war.
- He is an intellectual, speaks seven languages
General James Longstreet
Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain
General John Buford
- General John Reynolds - Union.
- An intelligent infantry general who has a gift for positioning troops, Reynolds refuses to become the commander of the Union army, a position that is then given to George Meade.
- Reynolds is killed shortly after the action begins at Gettysburg.
- Confederacy.
- Recently chosen to replace part of “Stonewall” Jackson’s command, Ewell has become unsure of himself after suffering an injury that cost him his leg.
- As Jackson’s replacement, Ewell has a great amount of responsibility, which is a source of concern to Lee.
- Lee is particularly troubled by the way that Ewell defers to Jubal Early.
- Confederacy.
- At forty-six, Armistead is a widower, and his wife’s death constantly causes him sorrow.
- A general serving in Pickett’s division,
- Armistead knows that his old friend, Winfield Hancock, is on the other side of the war, serving as a general in the Union army.
- Armistead and Hancock will both be at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Confederacy.
A young, ambitious, and cold general.
Like Ewell, he has been given a part of Jackson’s old command.
He is capable and confident, but also pushy, particularly with Ewell.
Longstreet and Armistead despise Early.
General Lew Armistead
Union. A former sergeant who was demoted to private for drunkenly assaulting a fellow officer.
A big, stocky Irishman,
Kilrain is getting old and knows he does not have many fights left in him.
He becomes a friend and mentor to his colonel, Joshua Chamberlain.
General Richard Ewell
Private Buster Kilrain
General Jubal Early
Killer Angels Character Chart