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Description
Following Abraham Lincoln's election as President of the United States in 1861, eleven states withdrew from the Union to form the Confederate States of America, sparking a bitterly contested war between North and South. The casualty figures of 1861-1865 exceed those of American soldiers killed in every other war put together. With maps, portraits, and artifacts from the Smithsonian's unrivaled collections, The Civil War traces the major engagements,...
Description
"Combining expert historical insight with the eyewitness accounts of soldiers and civilians, A Short History of the Civil War offers a brilliant summary of the key events and wider context of the hostilities between North and South. Profiles of influential military and political leaders, and thought-provoking features on themes and experiences, from the evils of slavery to the treatment of wounded soldiers, bring the story dramatically to life."...
Description
This episode concludes the series with Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Lincoln's assassination and the capture of John Wilkes Booth, and the fate of the series' major characters. Finally, the episode considers the consequence and meaning of the war that transformed the country from a collection of states to the nation we are today.