Ronald Maxwell’s 1993 film ‘Gettysburg’, based on the novel ‘The Killer Angels’ by J. ... It is set from the afternoon/evening of June 30th, 1863, until the day after the Battle of Gettysburg, the 4th of July, 1863, ironically enough, ‘Independence Day’. It is filmed on location at Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania. ...
Herein is our first historical mistake: Longstreet’s hat, in this scene and indeed throughout the rest of the movie, is of a style which was not made until 1870 – it is 1863. ... This late information led to Lee’s fateful decision, as shown in the movie, to assemble his army at Gettysburg, the reason being that it was a central location and all the roads led there. ...
Here, we see another historical mistake – when we have first met Chamberlain, he is a lieutenant colonel, with the silver oak leaves; now we see him suddenly as a full colonel with the eagles – he seems to have had an instant promotion. Instead, history tells us that during the Battle of Gettysburg, Chamberlain was a colonel – he had been promoted sometime earlier.
Upon the mutineers’ arrival, the movie shows Colonel Chamberlain as instructing a certain Sergeant Andrew J. ... This is our third historical mistake - Chamberlain would not have previously known Sergeant Tozier. ... This speech casts a shadow of doubt on the historical accuracy of this particular section of film. ... They arrive in Gettysburg and survey the area. ... Scouts arrive to inform Buford that the Confederate Army is indeed on the move and heading for Gettysburg. Buford deploys his men to their respective positions west of Gettysburg on the Chambersburg Pike, ready for the morning, as undeniably they were. ... It is a new day, the morning of the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. ... Artillery is heard in the distance and Lee decides to move himself for Gettysburg. ... We must again correct the film at this stage - in the Battle of Gettysburg, Bufords cavalry was equipped with seven-shot Spencer carbines. ... However, in the movie, all of Bufords cavalry are shown to be firing single-shot infantry rifles . ...
The battle scenes appear on our screens once again and we see Brigadier General John Buford viewing the field from the Gettysburg bell tower. ... We must again discount this as it is a historical fact that the Confederate Army did not lose one cannon during the Battle of Gettysburg – they actually captured and left with six more . Some time later in this scene, Longstreet arrives to inform Lee of the Federal Army fall back through Gettysburg. ... Meade (played by Richard Anderson) appears for the first time in the movie and talks with Hancock, predicting the following day’s fight. ... This quote is one of the quotes in the movie that was actually said by Lee on the day . ... Here we have another error – Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Fremantle of Her Majestys Cold Stream Guards, never wore a red uniform at all whilst at Gettysburg. ... This is quite likely, but in the history books, no special reference is made to the injuries of one such Sergeant as he was just one of many to go down whilst fighting whereas in the movie, it is quite a major event. ... It is only upon further research outside of the movie that we learn Stuart had been trapped off in eastern Virginia after crossing the Potomac River. ... We have another historical inaccuracy as Pickett would not have known Darwin’s ideas unless of course he knew Darwin personally, which is most unlikely. ... The movie conveys to the audience, that the attack was totally unexpected. ...
In the movie, Armistead is found by Lieutenant Chamberlain, and before he dies, manages to stutter out a last message to be passed on to his old friend, Hancock. ... While director Maxwell may be wanting his audience to know the extreme loss of life suffered that day, having such a report at that stage in the movie removes authenticity, and may be considered a historical inaccuracy, as there is no way Longstreet could have had a report of such quality at that immediate time. ... Lee did make this announcement on the day and as in the movie, it was immediately quashed by the remaining soldiers, who were ready to go out and fight again at his command.
The movie ends with a statement by Lee, “We will withdraw; we must look to our own deportment”. ...
The movie does not do proper justice to the soldiers who fought on the side of the Confederacy. The entire movie makes reference to those soldiers from Virginia. In some parts, for example, prior to the final charge, the movie makes it seem as though there are only soldiers from Virginia present. ...
Also, the lack of blood and gore in the movie, as would be expected in a battle, is to some extent disappointing. ...
It is somewhat difficult to compare the events of the movie ‘Gettysburg’ with the factual events of the actual Battle of Gettysburg, the main reason being, that the movie has been based on a historical novel. Therefore, most of the specific speech in the movie, whilst following almost exactly that of the novel, is either fictional or assumed from the events that are known to have occurred. ...
Overall however, ‘Gettysburg’ is a brilliant movie with real historic worth, being as the actual dates, characters, and events are all followed so closely.
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