Why explore that place? Through stories, you can magnify a portion of life, examine it in detail, and hope to understand something about it. In the struggles of a story, you see the struggles of your life. If you find answers to the problems of a story, you find answers to something about life. An immense story about a bloody battle with its extremes of emotion, conflict, and action may provide answers to some of the larger and more universal questions everyone faces.
Why the particular framework, events, and people? The framework allows the author to tell the story through the words and emotions of the men themselves. By fictionalizing the characters, Shaara can use their words, deeds, and thoughts to make them real and meaningful.
Shaara indicates that he avoided using any historical or military commentaries on the battle when he researched the novel. He wanted, instead, to feel it through the people that were there, so he used their letters and personal documents as sources.
The events selected are a result of the characters Shaara focuses on. Gettysburg was a huge battle with thousands of participants and hundreds of things happening at once. To try to show them all would make it impossible for the reader to feel any personal or emotional connection.
Instead, Shaara picks a few key characters to represent and portray the struggles, emotions, and story of the entire battle. The characters he chooses show the battle from both sides, from all levels of command, and from the sidelines as well as the middle of the fighting.
