Conflict Resolution in The Killer Angels
A distinct method for resolving conflicts has been suggested in the book Getting to Yes. The first part of the method is to separate the people from the problem, making an effort to view the problem from the other side's perspective and understanding why the other side may feel strongly about the problem (Fisher & Ury 17-39). The second part requires that both sides focus on the interests of each party rather than the positions, looking past the positions established before negotiations and determining the true interests of each party (Fisher & Ury 40-55). The third part of the method requires the parties to invent options for mutual gain, coming up with new and inventive solutions to problems and gaining the trust of the other side (Fisher & Ury 56-80). The last part involves insisting upon the use of objective criteria when making the final decision, especially when the previous three parts were not successful in arriving at a mutually acceptable solution (Fisher & Ury 81-94).
In the book The Killer Angels, the characters are the men and officers of the Confederate and Union Armies and the setting is the battle of Gettysburg. The individual conflicts which will be examined in the following paragraphs are those between Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the survivors of the 2d Maine Regiment, the disciplining of General J.E.B. Stuart by General Robert E. Lee, and the series of exchanges between General James Longstreet and General Lee throughout the battle.
On the morning of May 29, Colonel Chamberlain, the commanding officer of the 20th Maine Regiment, was given command of 120 men from the disbanded 2d Maine Regiment. Signed up for three years, they mutinied when those who had enlisted for two years were sent home and the 2d Regiment was disbanded. Given the task of integrating these men into the 20th Maine, Chamberlain was forced to somehow persuade the men that they should figh...