As the story begins, a Confederate spy, named Harrison, brings news to Longstreet and Lee. They're totally taken by shock, since Jeb Stuart has left them in the dark. Lee's troops, mostly a division led by a general named Harry Heth, accidentally get into a fight with Union cavalry close to the town of Gettysburg. The leader of that cavalry, John Buford, decides to try to hold the Confederates off and buy time for the reinforcement that would be sent
In the meantime, over the Maryland border, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain is waking up. He discovers that he needs to convince a bunch of mutineers from another regiment to stay and fight with his, the 20th Maine. Surprisingly, he finds that the old inspire-them-with-a-speech tactic is pretty successful. He lays out the Union Cause—it's all about destroying slavery and aristocracy—to the disgruntled and battle-weary soldiers. They almost all agree to …show more content…
Unfortunately, he discovers that his friend Kilrain has died after being wounded the day before. Just after he receives this news, the Confederates start to bombard the Union line, preparatory to their attack. Lee sends General Pickett's division, along with two others, to charge the center of the line: it totally fails, going down in history as the infamous "Pickett's Charge." A Confederate General, Armistead, dies in the battle as he nears the position of his best friend, Win Hancock, a Union leader.
In the end, Longstreet and Lee are broken. They both doubt that they'll be able to win the war, and they feel that the Cause has also died. Chamberlain comes to admire the bravery of the Confederates, but he also becomes steeled in the conviction that the anti-slavery, pro-Union Cause is the right one.
The day after the battle, it's the Fourth of July—which symbolizes the "new birth of freedom" won by the Union
In the meantime, over the Maryland border, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain is waking up. He discovers that he needs to convince a bunch of mutineers from another regiment to stay and fight with his, the 20th Maine. Surprisingly, he finds that the old inspire-them-with-a-speech tactic is pretty successful. He lays out the Union Cause—it's all about destroying slavery and aristocracy—to the disgruntled and battle-weary soldiers. They almost all agree to …show more content…
Unfortunately, he discovers that his friend Kilrain has died after being wounded the day before. Just after he receives this news, the Confederates start to bombard the Union line, preparatory to their attack. Lee sends General Pickett's division, along with two others, to charge the center of the line: it totally fails, going down in history as the infamous "Pickett's Charge." A Confederate General, Armistead, dies in the battle as he nears the position of his best friend, Win Hancock, a Union leader.
In the end, Longstreet and Lee are broken. They both doubt that they'll be able to win the war, and they feel that the Cause has also died. Chamberlain comes to admire the bravery of the Confederates, but he also becomes steeled in the conviction that the anti-slavery, pro-Union Cause is the right one.
The day after the battle, it's the Fourth of July—which symbolizes the "new birth of freedom" won by the Union