Plot
Gettysburg is centered around three major battle scenes: Buford's Battle, the Defense of Little Round Top, and Pickett's Charge. Many find fault with only showing 30% of the full battle in the movie -neglecting notable turning points like the battle of Culp's Hill- in favor of the idealistic oratories of the war's causation presented from both the Northern and Southern actors. Both the book and movie lean southern by underplaying slavery in favor of states rights as the cause of the civil war. Few of the Southern characters acknowledge its economic necessity and England's strong aversion to its practice is underplayed as well. One can easily point out examples of brilliant historical accuracy, however it is far more difficult to find the inaccuracy; it is a commendation to the movie that this is what I will focus on. While some of these errors were created during the production of the movie, many are simply transposed from The Killer Angels by Jeff Sharra, on which the movie is based.
The biggest error found in the presentation of Buford's Battle was that Buford was actually not present at the beginning of the battle as he is shown in the movie. The initial part of the fight was actually led by Commanders Gamble and Devin. This error was actually originally in the novel and then transposed to the movie.
The biggest error found in the presentation of the Defense of Little Roundtop was that Chamberlain did not actually call the bayonet charge; it was his second in command, Spear (Movie Mistakes). Most see this as an artistic license taken by Burns.
The biggest error found in the presentation of Pickett's Charge is that the scene in which Robert E. Lee is swarmed by excited troops prior to the charge, did not actually occur. This was again artistic license taken by Burns.
The biggest error found in the presentation of Buford's Battle was that Buford was actually not present at the beginning of the battle as he is shown in the movie. The initial part of the fight was actually led by Commanders Gamble and Devin. This error was actually originally in the novel and then transposed to the movie.
The biggest error found in the presentation of the Defense of Little Roundtop was that Chamberlain did not actually call the bayonet charge; it was his second in command, Spear (Movie Mistakes). Most see this as an artistic license taken by Burns.
The biggest error found in the presentation of Pickett's Charge is that the scene in which Robert E. Lee is swarmed by excited troops prior to the charge, did not actually occur. This was again artistic license taken by Burns.