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Just put one man behind a tree. You can hardly see him from two hundred yards away, but he can see you. And shoot. And shoot again. How many men do you think it will take to get to that man behind the tree, in a ditch, defended by cannon, if you have to cross an open field to get him? How many men? Well, I've figured it. At least three. And he'll kill at least two.

— Michael Shaara The Killer Angels (1974)

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More quotes by Michael Shaara

"General Meade has his son as adjutant."
"That's different. Generals can do anything. Nothing quite so much like God on earth as a general on a battlefield."

The Killer Angels (1974)

They are volunteers: last of the great volunteer armies, for the draft is beginning that summer in the North. They have lost faith in their leaders but not in themselves.

The Killer Angels (1974)

The Frenchman may fight for France, but the American fights for mankind, for freedom; for the people, not the land.

The Killer Angels (1974)

"It's no good trying to get yourself killed, General. The Lord will come for you in His own time."

The Killer Angels (1974)

"It is unbecoming to a soldier, all this book-learning."

The Killer Angels (1974)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Michael Shaara (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.