Analyzing Chamberlain's Seven Army Values

As a colonel, Davis gained fame and great respect from his men. After Captain W.P Rodgers refused stay in Saltillo as Davis commanded, he had a talk with him instead of demoting or court martialing the young captain.6 Davis also paid a farmer for the corn his men had taken from the farmer’s land stating: “Private rights must and should be respected”. 7

Have you ever heard Joshua Chamberlain speech to the mutineers? In the movie Gettysburg and the book Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, Chamberlain was given 120 mutineers. He talked to one of the mutineers and was told that the people that had them was trying to break them. When they were leaving all but six mutineers joined Chamberlain and his people.After looking at every detail in the speech people can become inspired by Chamberlain.

Though both men possess opposing views of the south, Chamberlain and Kilrain are two reasonable men who have experienced the obvious inequality that America was roaring with at the time of this dialogue. Kilrain is nothing but open with respectful logic when his commanding officer Chamberlain induces honest conversation of perspective on the south. Both viewpoints of the South are given from each man in strong opinion and based mostly off personal experience but also on personal morality. Although both soldier’s first hand experience with black people are limited, each has their own ideas on why they are actually fighting this war. And only one makes a clearer argument.

Perhaps the most important factor that led to the Union’s victory at Fort Donelson was the lack of effective leadership on the Confederate side. Of the four general officers present at the fort, only General Buckner had any military experience; a West Point graduate and friend of General Grant. The overall commander, General Floyd, was a political appointee. Prior to the war, he was the Secretary of War under President James Buchanan. The Union, on the other hand, had General Grant. Grant was known for his uncanny approach to war

During one such moment, Chamberlain is reminded of a Shakespearean speech: “What a piece of work man is…in action how like an angel!” (page 126). Upon hearing this, Chamberlain’s father commented, “Well, boy, if he’s an angel, he’s sure a murderin’ angel.” (page 126). From this interaction, Chamberlain came up with “Man: the Killer Angels”, a thought he often revisited over the course of the Battle of Gettysburg, and from which the book acquires its title. Chamberlain acted with the intention of getting something positive out of the war. He never treated the Confederates as though they were less than him: “ Chamberlain put out a hand. ‘Sir’ he said. The Alabama man nodded slightly. His voice was so low Chamberlain could hardly hear it. ‘Do you have some water?’ ‘Certainly.’ Chamberlain offered his own canteen.” (page 243). It is even known that he had his troops salute the surrendering South at Appomattox.

First we see his noble status; he is about thirty-five years old, “a well to do planter, of an old and highly respected Alabama family”, and a slave owner who was devoted to the Southern cause. Since his was so highly respected and wealthy he was unable to serve in the Civil War, however; he longed to be a hero so he did whatever he could to aid the South.

Famed Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s legacy is hardly easy to define. His is most remembered for cunning speed and brutality in battle and many consider him without equal. The same strategies Jackson used in the Shenandoah Valley campaign were scrutinized by both Rommel and Patton for inspiration in WWII. Jackson’s personal discipline carried over into his command. Although his men were often barefoot and near starvation, he pushed them forward into battle, not wishing to sacrifice the element of surprise. Many of his battles were actually waged on Sundays which contradicts Jackson’s steadfast devotion to Christianity that many attribute to fanaticism.

The Battle of Gettysburg was amongst one the most important turning points during the Civil War. It was a three-day bloody battle between the Union and Confederate forces which would ultimately lead up to the victory of the Union. In The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara shows a depiction of the battle through the eyes of the officers and tries to give the reader a first-hand look into the daily struggles that they had to deal with when it came to distinguishing between what’s best for their men and chances of success in the battle. In the book, we are introduced with two important officers: Colonel Chamberlain of the Union force, and General Lee of the Confederate force. Throughout the book, we witness different leadership strategies and philosophies between both officers which ultimately serve as their road to success or failure in the battle. Focusing on General Lee’s philosophy on leadership, “To be a good soldier, you must love the army. But to be a good officer you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love.”, it reinforces the idea that in order to fully succeed at battle, you must set aside and sacrifice your sense of sympathy towards your soldiers as a way to avoid making emotional decisions.

In the United States Army we are taught to live by the Seven Army Values. They are broken down to us in the acronym ‘LDRSHIP’ which is short for Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. We are all taught these 7 Army values repeatedly from day one in the United States Army. First we memorize these values. Then we are trained to live by them. All of these 7 values coincide with each other, and play an important roll in our Army lives. These 7 Army Values also play well into life outside the Army in our personal life. People sometimes do not realize the importance these values have on the way we are viewed by the people who look up to the men and woman who are privileged enough to represent the

In the story, Adelbert Ames shows his great leadership and guidance. He was one of the great leaders after the time of the Civil War. He was also a key contributor in the American Civil War. He was quoted as a “beau-ideal of a division leader” (32). His great leadership was awarded with the Medal of Honor, which is one of the highest medals in the army. He was known as a man who would do anything for his people and he would go the distance to help them out. As told by the story, he was a leader that also treated his soldiers right. This is seen in this quote: “Although he never permitted anything to stand in his way, and never asked men to go where he would

What we’re fighting for, in the end, is each other. ”(Shaara 8). This reveals that he is loyal because he strongly believed in what he was doing for the future of his country. Some of Chamberlain’s words that resonate with me are “I will personally be forever grateful. ”(Shaara 9).

While there are countless books and biographies written on the life of Abraham Lincoln, none argue quite so heavily in favor of Lincoln’s military brilliance during the Civil War as T. Harry Williams’ book Lincoln and His Generals, published in 1952. Williams, born in 1909, is an experienced historian who taught at Louisiana State University and wrote multiple books on military and political history (Williams, 2). Large amounts of his work focused on the Civil War, primarily with that of the Union’s leadership. Within the preface of his book, Williams directly states that his “theme is Lincoln as a director of war and his place in the high command and his influence in developing a modern command system for this nation” (Williams, 7). While the theme of this book was certainly original at the time it was written, the book Tried by War: Abraham as Commander in Chief – written by James M. McPherson and published in 2008 – shares similar contributions to the leadership qualities of President Lincoln. McPherson also argues that it was Lincoln’s learned military genius that won the war for the north. McPherson, like Williams, has written many essays and works about the Civil War, and is a renowned historian for his expertise in that genre. Both authors are well educated in the history of Lincoln even though their works are nearly

General Robert E. Lee’s impact on his leadership style have provide his men hope and loyalty, even on the day he surrendered at the Battle of Appomattox Court House in 1865, which is one also one of the last battles of the American Civil War. His men would be willing to fight, under his command, even to the very end. One of his men stated that they will go in and fight some more, if he order them to do so. General Lee’s leadership impacted even the most exhausted, dirty and hungry men, who were willing to fight and to give their ultimate sacrifice, simply because they believe in him. (Gipson, 2003)

When he it came to his attention that his men were working for low wages and in dangerous conditions him and some other ARU members announced that they would not allow a train with a Pullman car to move. However, the trains with a mail car and a Pullman car were allowed to move because they knew if the U.S. mail was messed with federal troops would be involved, and that was not something they wanted to

He was faithful to his country, his friends, and himself when he went out onto the battlefield. He set a Great example for all the other soldiers, and us