Making The Civil War: 25 Years Later
Ken Burns, Ric Burns, Buddy Squires, and Allen Moore discuss the making of The Civil War.
Episodes
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1865: "War Is All Hell"/"The Better Angels of Our Nature"
S1 E5 - 2h 14m
Follow Sherman’s March to the Sea, Richmond’s fall to Grant’s army, and Lee’s surrender to Grant. Follow the events of Lincoln’s assassination and burial, and Booth’s capture, as the war finally comes to a close. Explore the consequences and meaning of a war that transformed the country from a collection of states to the nation it is today.
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1864: "Valley of the Shadow of Death"/"Most Hallowed Ground"
S1 E4 - 2h 18m
Visit ghastly hospitals in the North and South and follow Sherman’s Atlanta campaign. While causalities mount, Lincoln’s re-election chances dim. Learn why the stakes were high for the 1864 presidential campaign, where Lincoln faced George McClellan. Also follow Union battle victories at Mobile Bay, Atlanta and the Shenandoah Valley, and the creation of Arlington National Cemetery.
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1863: "Simply Murder"/"The Universe of Battle"
S1 E3 - 2h 34m
Follow Lee, Jackson and Grant through battles and northern opposition to the Emancipation Proclamation. Watch the Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the war, unfold. See Vicksburg’s fall, New York draft riots, the first African-American troops, western battles at Chickamauga and Chattanooga — and Lincoln’s dedication of a new Union cemetery at Gettysburg.
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1862: "A Very Bloody Affair"/"Forever Free"
S1 E2 - 2h 21m
See the birth of modern warfare and Lincoln’s war to preserve the Union transform into a war to emancipate the slaves. Follow the battle of ironclad ships, camp life and the beginning of the end of slavery. Re-live the war’s bloodiest day, on the banks of Antietam Creek, and the brightest: the emancipation of the slaves.
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1861: "The Cause"
S1 E1 - 1h 40m
Beginning with a searing indictment of slavery, this first episode dramatically evokes the causes of the war, from the Cotton Kingdom of the South to the northern abolitionists who opposed it. Here are the burning questions of Union and states' rights, John Brown at Harpers Ferry, the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the firing on Fort Sumter, and the jubilant rush to arms on both sides.
Extras + Features
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A Thousand Mile Front
S1 - 3m 27s
General George McClellan takes command of the Union army with an elaborate plan to destroy the Confederacy, but does nothing. U.S. Grant is assigned to desk duty; William T. Sherman resigns, close to suicide.
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Official Trailer
S1 - 30s
Preview The Civil War, which was restored and remastered in high-definition in 2015. The film was rebroadcast that year to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the series’ initial broadcast in September 1990.
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Sherman's March
S1 - 10m 51s
In late 1864, Sherman decides to march his army from Atlanta to Savannah, living off the land, and destroying everything along the way that could aid the Confederate army. On the march, Sherman's army causes $100 million of damage "the South would never forget." John Bell Hood moves his forces into Tennessee, and at the Battle of Franklin clashes with Union troops under General George Thomas.
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Battle of Cold Harbor
S1 - 4m 37s
At Cold Harbor, Virginia, 7,000 Americans fell in 20 minutes.
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A House Divided
S1 - 3m 16s
By mid-century, the country was deeply divided. Southerners feared the North might forbid slavery. Northerners feared slavery might move west. As each new state was added to the union, it threatened to upset the delicate equilibrium of power.
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Q & A: The Civil War Today
S1 - 2m 36s
Ken Burns shares his thoughts on the state of our country since the Civil War.
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Bottom Rail on Top
S1 - 7m 49s
Lincoln issues the first federal draft call, but for $300, men can hire substitutes and most of the wealthy elite do so. Resistance to the draft causes riots throughout the North. Lincoln authorizes the first African-American troops. The 54th Massachusetts regiment, under Robert Gould Shaw, attacks Fort Wagner, South Carolina.
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In the classroom with The Civil War
S1 - 4m 45s
English and Social Studies teacher Eden McCauslin discusses how she uses The Civil War series when teaching her students at Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C.
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Honorable Manhood
S1 - 3m 25s
A week before the battle of Bull Run, Sullivan Ballou wrote a letter to his wife.
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Q & A: Typical Day
S1 - 1m 12s
Ken Burns describes a typical day of filmmaking and production.
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Lincoln's Troubled Re-Election
S1 - 4m 46s
Long after Lincoln was nominated, politicians in his own party still hoped to reconvene.
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Secessionitis
S1 - 3m 20s
In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President, and the South was horrified. Seven Southern states seceded in the time between Lincoln's election and inauguration. The Confederacy inaugurated Mississippi senator Jefferson Davis as President. Introduction to Mary Chesnut, wife of a prominent Southern planter and diarist.
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