An Examination into Factors That Compel a Soldier to Fight

Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Killer Angels describes the Civil War in accurate detail, allowing readers to relive historic battles hundreds of years after the conflict. Although the events depicted occurred during the war, Shaara fictionalized the dialogue in the novel, as well as the thoughts of the characters. Nonetheless, the novel has been praised for its historical accuracy, with former General H. Norman Schwarzkopf calling it the “best and most realistic historical novel about war” he has ever read. One theme that is explored throughout the novel is why men chose to fight in the war. Shaara ultimately concludes that there are a number of motivating factors for soldiers on both sides of the battlefield that compel them to join the war, and also explores why they were willing to fight in the face of death.

Central to the novel is of course the practice of slavery. The abolition of slavery motivated many in the north to participate in the war due to the fact that they found the practice to be unjust and immoral. Early in the novel, Shaara explains how some were motivated to end slavery because they had been born to ancestors that had been persecuted in other parts of the war in previous decades. This is the case with Union soldier Private Buster Kilrain. The Private realizes the complexities of the war and what motivates him to support the cause. While walking toward a dark grove, Shaara outlines Kilrain’s thoughts: “The faith itself was simple: he believed in the dignity of man. His ancestors were Huguenots, refugees of a chained and bloody Europe… He had grown up believing in America and the individual and it was a stronger faith than his faith in God. This was the land where no man had to bow” (Shaara 29).

Kilrain later thinks how it is disheartening that the land where freedom was born is now home to slavery. During the same passage, he also thinks to himself: “True freedom had begun here and it would spread eventually over all the earth. But it had begun here. The fact of slavery upon this incredibly beautiful new clean earth was appalling, but more even than that as the horror of old Europe, the curse of nobility, which the South was transplanting to new soil” (Shaara 29). His thoughts display a cruel irony during the early years of the United States, where the founding citizens established the country in order to abolish a system that provided special rights to the nobility, but in turn, ended up enacting a similar system by advocating an economic system dependent upon slavery where whites were granted full rights and slaves were granted no rights. The abolition of slavery and the guarantee of equal rights to all citizens are Kilrain’s primary motivations for fighting in the Civil War.

Despite the fact that many Union soldiers chose to fight in the war for reasons similar to those of Private Kilrain, not all soldiers fought because they hoped to provide equal rights for African American slaves. Instead, others chose to fight for reasons they could not even articulate. In describing how his Regiment was formed, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain states: “Some of us volunteered to fight for Union. Some came in mainly because we were bored at home and this looked like it might be fun. Some came because we were ashamed not to. Many of us came… because it was the right thing to do” (Shaara 32). In describing how the soldiers of his Regiment chose to enter the war, Chamberlain shows that many did not even equate the war to the larger picture, with some simply thinking it would be a “fun” experience. Although many believe that Union soldiers mostly entered the war because they deemed the practice of slavery to be morally wrong, this passage shows that was not always the case.

Lastly, Chamberlain later outlines his own reason for joining the cause, providing one final reason why some Union soldiers chose to volunteer for the war. The Colonel, it turns out, joined the war because he wanted to be involved in a larger cause in life. Near the middle of the novel, Shaara provides background into Chamberlain’s early life and why he chose to volunteer for the Union Army, explaining: “All his life he had been a detached man, but he was not detached any more. He had grown up in the cold New England woods, the iron dark, grown in contained silence like a lone house on a mountain, and now he was no longer alone; he had joined not only the army but the race, not only the country but mankind” (Shaara 175). Having been detached from society for many years, Chamberlain simply wanted to feel a connection with others, and that opportunity presented itself after he volunteered to join the Union Army during the war.

Although Chamberlain initially joined in order to feel an attachment to society, he is quickly converted to a supporter of the cause after he sees many atrocities throughout the war. At one point in the story, the army encounters a wounded black man. Upon witnessing his injuries, Chamberlain thinks of the horrific journey the man had to endure, thinking to himself: “To be alien and alone, among white lords and glittering machines, uprooted by brute force and threat of death from the familiar earth of what he did not even know was Africa, to be shipped in a black stinking darkness across an ocean he had not dreamed existed, forced then to work on alien soil, strange beyond belief, by men with guns whose words he could not even comprehend” (Shaara 180). When directly exposed to the hardships endured by slaves, Chamberlain quickly sympathizes with their plight, feeling compassion for them due to the poor treatment they have received in the United States.

On the other side of the battlefield, the Confederate Army had different motivations for fighting in the war. Most importantly, they felt the war had been forced upon them by aggressive northern states. General Robert E. Lee presents this argument during a meeting with General James Longstreet. While the two are discussing an upcoming battle, Lee says to Longstreet, “I like to go into battle with the agreement of my commanders” and later states, “I did not want this fight, but I think it was forced upon us. As the war was” (Shaara 193). Lee is stating a common belief during the years of the Civil War, which was that southern states had no choice but to engage in war because the north provided two choices: either abolish slavery or go to war, and the south proved unwilling to abolish the practice of slavery, thereby forcing them to go to war with the north.

A southern culture of bravery also compelled many soldiers to volunteer for the war. Not only did many feel as if their rights were being revoked, but also that fighting valiantly to retain the rights was the brave and noble course of action. Members of the Confederate Army spoke poorly of those who they did not believe to be brave and honorable. This is the case with soldier Dick Garnett. After Garnett is injured, resulting in a wounded leg, he can no longer fight. Believing that he should fight not matter what, “Stonewall” Jackson attempts to court-martial Garnett “for cowardice in the face of the enemy” (Shaara 140). Another soldier, when speaking of the incident, states of Garnett: “I’ve known Garnett for twenty years… But his honor is gone” (Shaara 140).

Not all Confederate soldiers placed importance on bravery and courage, however. In a conversation with Arthur Fremantle, General Longstreet claims that it is more important to win the war than displays characteristics of bravery and honor. He states: “Let me tell you something. I appreciate honor and bravery and courage… But the point of the war is not to show how brave you are and how you can die in a manly fashion, face to the enemy. God knows it’s easy to die. Anybody can die” (Shaara 141). Longstreet’s statement shows again, how on both sides of the battlefield, soldiers had different motivations for fighting.

In the end, both sides have different reasons that enable them to fight in the face of death. For those in the south, it was primarily a concern involving the revocation of rights, including issues such as “borders and state’s rights and the Constitution and Dred Scott” (Shaara 181). During the final pages of the novel, Colonel Chamberlain questions how Confederate soldiers could fight to preserve the practice of slavery, pondering: “Things I never will understand. How can they fight so hard, them Johnnies, and all for slavery?” (Shaara 364). For many Confederates, the idea of slavery and the right to enslave another human being was a cause worth fighting, and possibly dying, for, as many believed the war was forced upon them and fighting was the only way to repel the aggressive northern states. The Union Army, on the other hand, primarily fought to correct the injustices that were occurring in the slave-owning culture of the south. Although there were outliers who fought for other reasons, such as boredom, most soldiers were willing to risk their lives because they truly believed in the cause and felt it was one worth dying for. Although both sides had differing reasons for fighting in the war, neither side had a uniform reason for doing so.

In conclusion, Michael Shaara’s portrayal of the Civil War is one that provides historical accuracy while also hypothesizing what the relationship between soldiers was like during the conflict. The author eloquently describes the passion involved during the war on both sides of the battlefield, ultimately showing how a cause as important as slavery can not only divide a nation, but also closely bring together the two warring factions. In the end, although the two sides had largely disparate reasons for engaging in war, there was some overlap, possibly showing that the two sides were not so different from one another after all and that cultural norms and values played a large role in the two not seeing eye-to-eye. Whatever one’s opinion of the war and its causal factors, it is hard to deny that novels such as The Killer Angels are important because they provide perspective and insight into how the United States became the nation it is today.

Work Cited

Shaara, Michael. The Killer Angels. New York: Ballantine Books, 1974.