Year One-1861
Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election with 1.7 million votes out of a total of 4.5 million, but seven Southern States (South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas) had already elected Jefferson Davis president and voted to secede before he took office on March 4. The war started when Fort Sumter (named after Thomas Sumter, a South Carolina partisan leader during the Revolution) surrendered on April 13 after being shelled for a day. Actually, it took a while for all of the states to decide, but in the end, 11 states (the original seven plus Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina) with a population of 9 million (including almost 4 million slaves) seceded, leaving 23 states with a population of 22 million in the Union.

Lincoln's presidency did not have an auspicious beginning. Warned by detective Allan Pinkerton of a plot to assassinate him when he changed trains in Baltimore, Lincoln snuck into Washington disguised as the relative of a female Pinkerton operative, which embarassed even his own supporters.
The Tall Target (1951)
Directed by Anthony Mann, starring Dick Powell and Adolphe Menjou
A discredited detective learns of a plot to assassinate Lincoln as he travels by rail through Baltimore to his inauguration.
Abraham Lincoln (1930)
Directed by D.W. Griffith, starring Walter Huston and Una Merkel
Tells the story of Licoln's life from his early romances, life as lawyer, debates with Stephen Douglas and presidency through to his assasination.

With every newspaper in the Union screaming at him to take Richmond, Virgina, the capital of the Confederacy, Lincoln turned to Irwin McDowell, who had no battlefield experience, but was one of the few regular army officers remaining following the wave of defections to the Confederacy. McDowell planned to lead the majority of the Union army against the Confederate army, which was massed 30 miles south of Washington, while General Robert Patterson would block Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston. Unfortunately, Patterson retreated, Johnston learned of McDowell’s march, and shipped most of his men by train to join General Pierre Beauregard for the Battle of Bull Run on July 21. Good luck on the Union side had forced the Confederate army to retreat by noon, until troops under Brigadier General Thomas Jackson held the line long enough for reinforcements to arrive and then counterattack, pushing the Union troops into a retreat that became a rout. The Union took 3,000 casualties, the Confederacy 2,000. While this would seem like a monor skirmish when compared with later battles, the casualties shocked the previously complacent Union government.

Newly commissioned Major-general George McClellan had won a minor victory in West Virginia in June against a Confederate army that he outnumbered 4 to 1, but it was a victory when the Union needed victories, so Lincoln replaced McDowell with McClellan as both sides settled into winter camps.

Winfield Scott, chief of staff, suggested a blockade to strangle the Confederacy’s economy. Although the Union fleet had fewer than 20 ships available for the blockade, the Secretary of the Navy began a wave of shipbuilding, and commissioned anything that could float, even tugboats. Nicknamed the Anaconda Plan in the press, it failed to win public support but it made a key contribution to the Union's eventual victory.
Gone With the Wind (1939)
Directed by Victor Fleming, starring Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh
Follows the love affair between a manipulative woman and a roguish blockade runner through the Civil War and Reconstruction, as she eventually loses her plantation.
So Red the Rose (1935)
Directed by King Vidor, starring Margaret Sullavan and Randolph Scott
Examines the effect of the war on the lives of an aristocratic family that owns a large plantation.
Raintree County (1957)
Directed by Edward Dmytryk, starring Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor
A young schoolteacher leaves his high school sweetheart for a tempting Southern belle but discovers that insanity runs in her family. Frustrated by a loveless marriage, he joins the Union army.

Year Two-1862
McClellan drilled the men and held grand reviews throughout the winter, while brushing off all of Lincoln’s inquiries concerning his plans. Actually, each side concentrated its attention on the Potomac since both capitals were near each other, and ignored the Western theater. However, Union general Ulysses Grant advanced into Tennessee, where he won the Union’s first real victory when General Simon Bolivar Buckner surrendered on February 16.

In late 1862, the Union navy learned that the Confederate navy was secretly building an ironclad warship, the Merrimac, that would be unstoppable. The Union navy began building its own ironclad, the Monitor, but the Merrimac, renamed the Virignia, was completed first, and it rampaged through the Union fleet blockading Hampton Roads on March 8. However, the Union's ironclad, the Monitor, arrived that night and drove off the Virginia the next day. Neither ship played any further role in the war; the Virginia was destroyed after running aground two months later and the Monitor foundered off Cape Hatteras on December 31, 1862.
Hearts in Bondage (1936)
Directed by Lew Ayres, starring James Dunn and Mae Clark
Early in the war, the USS Merrimac is sunk by Confederate warships but the officer ordered to set fire to the ship disobeyed orders and sank her in the hope of raising her later. When she is raised by the Confederate navy and transformed into an unstoppable armorclad warship, he helps his uncle develop the Monitor and serves aboard her during her historic battle with the Merrimac.

Generals Albert Johnston and Beauregard caught Grant unawares at Pittsburgh Landing on April 6. Johnston died of a wound that he received while leading an attack and refused to have treated, but Beauregard assumed command, and forced the Union army to retreat. However, his troops were too exhausted to pursue the Union forces, so Major General Don Carlos Buell was able to reinforce Grant during the night. This time it was the Union army that attacked, forcing Beauregard to retreat after a bloody battle at Shiloh that claimed 14,000 Union casualties, and 11,000 Confederate, thus ending any hope of a short war filled with glory but few casualties.
Journey to Shiloh (1968)
Direcrted by Michael Hale, starring James Caan and Michael Sarrazin
Seven young friends leave Texas to join the Confederate army in search of glory but the men die one by one during the journey, which finally ends with the savage battle of Shiloh.
How the West Was Won (1962)
Directed by John Ford and Henry Hathaway, starring James Stewart and George Peppard
America's westward expansion from 1830 to 1880 is seen through the eyes of two families.

On April 25, Union Flag Officer David Farragut captures New Orleans, a vital Confederate port.

By this time, it had become clear that McClellan loved every part of army life except for fighting. He had appointed Pinkerton his head of intelligence and he believed Pinkerton's reports that they were vastly outnumbered by the Confederate army, when it only had 75,000 troops against McClellan’s 155,000. Lincoln's repeated prodding finally convinced McClellan to lead an army of 125,000 into Virginia, where six miles from Richmond he ran into Major-general John Magruder, who only had 20,000 troops, but had built fake fortifications to make his army look larger than it was. McClellan was all too willing to believe in a huge Confederate army, so he decided to besiege the fake line for a month instead of attacking. McClellan continued to believe that he faced an army of equal or greater size, even when General William “Baldy” Smith pushed into the Confederate lines on April 16, and found them empty. In fact, McClellan recalled Smith, and forbade any further attacks until May 5, by which time Johnston had already organized a smooth retreat.

Operator 13 (1934)
Directed by Richard Boleslawski, starring Marion Davies and Gary Cooper
A Union spy poses as a Confederate sympathizer to learn military secrets but falls in love with a Confederate officer who is assigned to track down and kill the spy.

The Union army reached Richmond by late May, and outnumbered Johnston’s army 5-3, although McClellan still believed Allan Pinkerton’s reports, and refused to attack. Apparently, he did not find it odd that the rebels had numerical superiority but remained on the defensive. When Johnston was wounded during the inconclusive battle of Seven Pines, Davis replaced him with Robert Lee, who ignored the fact that he was outnumbered, and prepared to attack. What became known as the Seven Days Battles began on June 26, when Lee’s attack was successfully resisted by a much smaller Union force. McClellan seized this opportunity to retreat, which naturally confused the hell out of Lee. An attempt to trap the Union army near Frayser’s Farm on June 30 failed and the Union army continued to retreat. The final battle was a direct attack on fortified lines on July 1, which ended with the rebels taking heavy casualties. However, once again, McClellan had won a battle but still chose to resume his retreat back to Washington. Lee may not have defeated the Union army, but it no longer threatened Richmond.

Realizing that the war will be a long, drawn-out affair, in July Congress authorized the formation of black units. In the end, almost 200,000 blacks served in the Union army, and given manpower shortages, they played a crucial role in keeping the Union in the war. 37,000 died to help win the war.
Glory (1989)
Directed by Edward Zwick, starring Matthew Broderick and Denzel Washington
Col. Robert Shaw commands the first all-black 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Realizing that their performance will determine whether more black regiments are raised, the men and their white officers endure racism during training and losses during combat, until they finally have the opportunity to win glory during the assault on Fort Wagner in South Carolina.

Lee gradually realized that McClellan intended to remain where he was, so he brought much of his army to support Jackson against General John Pope in the Western theater. Both sides had roughly 55,000 troops, so Lee sent Jackson with half of the army around Pope’s rear, cutting off his communication and supply lines, gambling correctly that Pope would dither, rather than take the offensive. By the time that Pope decided to attack Jackson near the old Bull Run battlefield, Jackson was dug in, and Lee came up fast behind Pope. Caught between two armies, Pope had to retreat. The Union army in the West resented being badly led by Pope so much that Lincoln packed him off to fight the Sioux, and McClellan was put in charge of his army.
Fighting Caravans (1931)
Directed by Otto Brower, starring Gary Cooper and Lili Damita
In 1862, a young frontier scout guides a wagon train from Missouri to California, while fighting off Indians stirred up by a renegade white trader.
Two Flags West (1950)
Directed by Robert Wise, starring Joseph Cotton and Linda Darnell
The commander of a remote cavalry post hates Indians and Confederates equally but is forced to accept Confederate prisoners who have volunteered to fight Indians rather than rot in prison. His resentment is projected against local Indians which stirs up more trouble than he can handle.
The Last Outpost (1951)
Directed by Lewis Foster, starring Ronald Reagan and Rhonda Fleming
The commander of an outpost on the Sante De Trail must deal with his brother's ex-fiancee, the threat of an Apache attack and a band of Confederate guerrillas led by his brother.
Dances With Wolves (1990)
Directed by Kevin Costner, starring Kevin Costner and Mary McDonnell
A Union officer is sent to a remote frontier outpost during the Civil War and befriends a local Sioux tribe. As he falls in love with a white woman raised by the tribe, he gradually abandons his white-man thinking to embrace the Sioux way of life.

In early September, Lee decided to take the war to the enemy in the hope of inflicting a clear defeat. McClellan was as reluctant as ever to actually fight until a copy of Lee’s orders fell into his hands. When the two armies found each other near Antietam on September 17, Lee had 40,000 men, and McClellan 90,000. Lacking a clear plan from McClellan, his corps commanders made their own plans, which quickly became a series of frontal charges. By mid-morning, the Confederate army had been completely worn down, but McClellan never landed a killing blow. Fresh Confederate reinforcements smashed into the southern end of the Union army, and sent them into retreat. At the end of the day, Union casualties were 12,000 (15% of the army), and Confederate 14,000 (22% of the army). McClellan claimed a victory, but did not attack the next day, allowing Lee to slip away.

Lincoln used the goodwill generated by the victory to announce emancipation, and suspend habeus corpus. McClellan was a Peace Democrat, and his open opposition to the President's policies combined with his glacial pace, caused Lincoln to fire him on November 5. General Ambrose Burnside was made his replacement despite protests that he was not up to the job.

Burnside had 120,000 men against Lee’s 85,000, but Lee had Jackson and General James Longstreet as his corps commanders, with Jeb Stuart in charge of his cavalry. Burnside hoped to sneak his army across the Rappahanock near Fredericksburg, but moved too slowly, so Lee was able get his troops dug in. Division after division was thrown against the Confederate line on December 13 until Burnside’s generals refused to continue, which is understandable since there were 12,700 Union casualties against 5,300 Confederate.
The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
Directed by John Huston, starring Audie Murphy and Bill Mauldin
Set in the fictional Rappahannock campaign (based on the 1862 Peninsular campaign), a young Union soldier runs away during his first battle but claims to be a hero. Plagued by self-doubt, he finds real courage during a second battle.

Year Three-1863
On January 1, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which contrary to popular belief, freed all of the slaves at the time but did not actually abolish slavery.

Band of Angels (1957)
Directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Clark Gable and Yvonne De Carlo
A young Southern belle is shocked to discover that she is actually mulatto and is sold to pay off the family's debts but she is bought by a plantation owner, who regrets his former career as a slave trader and treats her well.

Grant was the only one of Lincoln’s generals willing to fight, so he was assigned to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, which was surrounded by swamps, and controlled the Mississippi River. After three and a half months and seven attempts, including two failed attempts to dig a canal to the city, the Confederates were still in Vicksburg, and the Union army wasn’t. Grant finally got fed up, and spent a month marching around the city to attack it from the south, finally reaching Vicksburg by May. Realizing that his communication line was not secure, Grant abandoned it on May 11, and told his army to live off the land. After two frontal attacks were beaten off, Grant settled in for a siege. He had 70,000 men, which was enough to keep the Confederate troops bottled up inside, and fend off any relief attempts. The defenders were shelled regularly and gradually starved in the summer heat until they surrendered on July 4.

Tired of Confederate cavalry playing havoc with Union troops, several raids were launched against Confederate territory, the most important of which was commanded by Colonel Benjamin Grierson, who led 1,700 men on a two week rampage through the Confederacy that started on April 17, and ended in safety in Baton Rouge. Much of the Confederate railroad system in Mississippi was wrecked and Confederate generals in the area were unable to focus on Grant's campaign against Vicksburg.
The Horse Soldiers (1959)
Directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne and William Holden
A large unit of Union cavalry rides through Mississipi tearing up railroad tracks and disrupting supply lines while heading towards a vital railroad center. Unfortunately, a Southern belle learns of the destination and must be taken along to preserve secrecy.

Friendly Persuasion (1956)
Directed by William Wyler, starring Gary Cooper and Dorothy McGuire
A community of Quakers in Indiana in 1863 struggle to remain true to their belief in non-violence when Confederate raiders under General John Hunt Morgan arrive.

Anger against the Conscription Act of March 3, 1863 fuels rioting in Boston, Portsmouth and other cities from July 13 to July 16. The worst rioting takes place in New York City where Irish laborers lynch a number of blacks until suppressed by Union troops.
Gangs of New York (2002)
Directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio
The son of an Irish gang leader killed ten years earlier returns to the Five Points Area in New York City to seek revenge against his father’s killer, the leader of a native gang, and finds himself drawn into politics. The showdown between the two gangs is overshadowed by growing dissatisfaction with the war that culminates in the Draft Riots.

After Fredericksburg, everyone, including Burnside, realized that the army needed a new head, and Lincoln chose Joe Hooker, who quickly got the army back into shape, as well as formed a separate cavalry corp. Knowing he outnumbered Lee, Hooker attempted to trap Lee between two armies, but Lee left a delaying force to face the smaller amry, and attacked Hooker with his main army at Chancellorsville on May 2. Hooker’s army was still larger, and he might have won but he was unwilling to try, and withdrew against his commanders' protests. However, Lee wanted a fight, and sent Jackson on a lengthy roundabout to attack Hooker from behind, smashing regiment after regiment until the attack ran out of steam. Unfortunately, Jackson was shot in the dark by mistake, had his arm amputated, and died of pneumonia on May 10. Hooker remained on the defensive, so Lee was able to retreat over the river. While it was a brilliant victory for Lee, he could not afford his 13,000 casualties, while the Union could bear its 17,000.

However, Lee decided to invade the Union to obtain badly needed supplies, and to show the Northerners that the Confederacy was here to stay. The invasion threw the North into a panic, and, realizing that he was no match for Lee, Hooker resigned his command in favor of George Meade. Learning that Meade was leading the Union army to block his northern advance, Lee selected Gettysburg in Southern Pennsylvania as the battleground because it controlled several roads. Unfortunately, Union General John Buford reached the town first and he held on long enough for reinforcements to arrive, so the situation was stalemate by dark, with each side receiving more reinforcements that night. Jeb Stuart had been given too much of an independent command, so Lee was deprived of cavalry support for the first two days of the battle. Lee had a plan, but without Jackson, his other corps commanders were unable to implement it, and the Union still held out after a bloody day-long battle. The next day, July 3, Lee decided on a frontal assault, while the recently returned Stuart was sent on a lengthy run around the Union right that failed to penetrate the enemy line. Confederate General Pickett sent his men off on what became known as Pickett’s Charge, but instead of a weakened center, they faced a solid line. It was brave, and it almost worked, but in the end, the regiments were shredded. Lee took 28,000 casualties (1/3 of his army), Meade 23,000 (1/4 of his army), and although Meade was the first Union general to beat Lee, he still would not pursue Lee.

Meade eventually followed Lee, but the Confederate army was already entrenched on the other side of the Rappahonack, so the two sides stared at each other until they broke for winter quarters.

On August 21, 450 Missouri guerrillas under William Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson sacked Lawrence, Kansas, killing 182 men and teenaged boys, and torching most of the town.
Dark Command (1940)
Directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne
Bob Seton, a Texas cowboy, beats out local schoolteacher Will Cantrell (William Quantrill) for the job of marshall of Lawrence shortly before the Civil War starts. The bitter Cantrell forms a band of lawless guerrillas that rampage through Kansas until Seton learns that they plan to attack Lawrence. (please click here to read the review)
Kansas Raiders (1950)
Directed by Ray Enright, starring Audie Murphy and Brian Donlevy
Jesse James joins Quantrill's band to seek revenge for his parents' deaths but eventually becomes disillusioned by the constant killing of civilians.
Ride With The Devil (1999)
Directed by Ang Lee, starring Tobey Maguire and Skeet Ulrich
A young Missouri man joins the Bushwhackers, irregular guerrillas loyal to the South, but as he sees his friends die, he gradually tires of the killing and savagery. (please click here to read the review)

By the end of 1863, it was obvious that the Confederacy could not defeat the Union, and would not receive foreign recognition. The South’s main hope was that the North would tire of the war, and Lincoln would lose the 1864 election.

Year Four-1864
Lincoln finally had a fighting general so he promoted Grant to commander-in-chief in March 1864, and Grant made Halleck chief of staff of the 550,000 man army, which was the position he was best suited for. Grant then told Meade and Sherman to seek out Lee and Johnston respectively, and destroy them. Banks was sent down to clear Kirby Smith out of Texas, and establish a Union presence in order to prevent a grab by Napoleon III’s troops in Mexico. Grant’s biggest worry was not Lee, but the three year enlistments of much of the Union army that would expire in 1864, and threatened to deprive him of most of his army. Despite generous re-enlistment offers, only half, 136,000 men, decided to re-up.

By the Spring of 1864, Sherman had three armies totaling 90,000 men in Tennessee against Johnston’s 60,000. Meade had 118,000 against Lee’s 64,000. The lead elements of Meade and Lee’s armies blundered into each other in the Wilderness on May 5, and a messy, confused battle developed. Plans were made for a real battle the next day, and the Confederate army would have lost but Longstreet’s troops showed up, and the battle became a slug fest. After two days, the casualties were 7,500-11,000 for the Confederacy, and 17,500 for the Union. At a heavy cost, the Army of Virginia had once again stopped the Army of the Potomac, but not for long, since Grant continued to move south, and for the first time, Lee did not have the initiative.

Grant set Sheridan loose, and he headed straight for Richmond, until Stuart tried to block him at Yellow Tavern, six miles north of Richmond. Sheridan had 10,000 men, Stuart 4,500, and they fought most of the day, until the Confederates were forced to retreat. Stuart took a bullet in his stomach, and died the next day. This occurred the same time as the battle for Spotsylvania Court House, where a powerful Union attack almost destroyed Lee’s army, but they rallied during a frenzied battle for the main trench with men literally standing on piles of dead and wounded as they fought. The Union lost 11,000, and the Confederates were too tired to count.

However, Lee was not ready to give up. He matched every move Grant made, and finally set up a killing ground at Cold Harbor, where the Union army lost 7,000 men in thirty minutes.

It was a hundred miles from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and they were connected by a railway, so taking Atlanta would cut the Confederacy in half for the second time. Johnston was less aggressive than Lee, so Sherman had trouble getting him to fight. As Johnston continued to retreat towards Atlanta, Sherman sent his cavalry out burning and destroying supplies, as well as destroying Confederate trains. When Hood's constant criticism of Johnston got him the command, Sherman was even happier than Hood because he knew that Hood would fight. Hood did fight, and lost at Peachtree Creek. Hood survived the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, but it was clear that he could not drive off Sherman.
Drums in the Deep South (1951)
Directed by William Cameron Menzies, starring James Craig and Guy Madison
Two friends graduate from West Point together but end up on opposite sides of the war during Sherman's March on Atlanta as a woman who loves both of them tries to stop them from killing each other.

Despite a series of military losses, the Confederacy still had hope that the Union population was fed up with the war, and would not re-elect Lincoln. Even some Republicans thought that Lincoln would lose, and suggested replacing him, but they failed to unite behind a single candidate, so Lincoln won the nomination. McClellan was the Democrat candidate, and the war was not seen as going well.

The Beguiled (1971)
Directed by Don Siegel, starring Clint Eastwood and Geraldine Page
A wounded Union soldier is taken in by a girls' boarding school in Confederate territory and charms his way into each woman's heart but finds that they are not as innocent as they seem.
Escape From Fort Bravo (1953)
Directed by John Sturges, starring William Holden and John Forsythe
A group of Confederate prisoners assigned to a prison commanded by a Union officer famous for his toughness arranges for a Southern belle to arrive and distract the commander.

Grant needed to take Petersburg to cut off the railway lines to Richmond, and the siege lasted nine months. Lee managed to resist every attempt by Grant to break into Petersburg. Some Pennsylvania miners serving under Grant dug a textbook tunnel, and detonated a huge bomb that blew a huge crater in the Confederate lines, killing hundreds of troops. Unfortunately, the Union attack was mismanaged, troops charged into the crater, instead of around it, and took 4,000 casualties. This was followed by a never ending series of battles, as Grant probed for weak points, and did not find any.

Meanwhile, Jubal Early rampaged through Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, and threatened to take Washington, but Grant sent reinforcements in time. Early evaded every Union army sent to catch him, so Grant gave in, and told Sheridan to take him out. It took five weeks but Sheridan finally caught Early near Winchester on September 19. Union casualties were 5,000, Confederate 4,000, but Sheridan could afford them. Realizing that a decisive battle was impossible, Sheridan decided to deny Early popular support by burning every farm in the area. Sheridan could turn a phrase, “I will soon commence on Loudon County, and let them know there is a God in Israel.”
Shenandoah (1965)
Directed by Andrew McLagen, starring Jimmy Stewart and Doug McClure
Believing that it is not his war, a strong-willed patriarch living in the Shenandoah Valley struggles to keep his family out of the war until the war comes to him when Union troops under Sheridan and Confederate troops under Jubal Early battle for control, and his youngest son is mistaken for a Confederate soldier and taken prisoner by Union troops

Realizing that military victory was increasingly unlikely, one Southern strategy had been to work with Copperheads, Southern sympathizers in the Union, to create chaos behind the Union lines. The most successful attempt occurred in October when a group of Confederates based in Canada captured the small town of St. Albans, Vermont and stole $200,000 in gold before returning across the Canadian border. However, later attempts proved to be failures and the strategy was abandoned.
The Raid (1954)
Directed by Hugo Fregonese, starring Van Heflin and Anne Bancroft
A group of Confederate prisoners escape to Canada and plan to rob banks in the small town of St. Albans, Vermont. However, when the leader visits the town to plan the raid, he ends up falling in love with a local widow.

At the same time, the Union blockade was slowly tightening, and by 1864, the Navy was intercepting one in three Confederate ships. In addition, Admiral Farragut finally took Mobile, the last remaining Confederate port, that summer.
Sherman finally lured Hood out of Atlanta by destroying the surrounding rail lines, which enabled Union general Slocum to seize the city, thus completely transforming the election. Soldiers were allowed to vote, and 78% chose Lincoln, who won with 55% of the popular vote.

Virginia City (1940)
Directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Errol Flynn and Randolph Scott
A Union officer escapes from a Confederate prison and is assigned to stop the commander of the prison, who is planning to smuggle a huge shipment of gold from Virginia City, Nevada to the nearly bankrupt South
Rocky Mountain (1950)
Directed by William Keighley, starring Errol Flynn and Patrice Wymore
A Confederate officer is sent to California to raise resistance against the Union and force it to divert troops but finds himself in an Indian uprising.
Springfield Rifle (1952)
Directed by Andre De Toth, starring Gary Cooper and Phyllis Thaxter
A Union officer pretends to be discharged from the army for cowardice in order to catch the Confederate raiders who have been capturing shipments of badly needed horses, and find out who is their secret informant.

Sherman forced an unwilling Grant to allow him to lead 60,000 men towards Savannah with the simple goal of destroying the Confederate infrastructure. Sherman had given up hope of catching Hood in battle, but Hood obliged by launching a frontal attack against dung in Union troops at Franklin that wrecked Hood’s army. Despite being outnumbered, Hood then besieged Thomas at Nashville, who eliminated the Army of Tennessee as an organized army during a two day battle from December 15-16. At the same time, with Lee bottled up, Sherman was free to march through Georgia, after first burning much of Atlanta. Sherman knew that he would face little opposition, but he was still careful, and divided his army into two wings spread out over a front that was 20-50 miles wide. The troops were told to destroy anything of military value, and forage for what they needed. Complaining women were frequently told by Union soldiers to “call their men home, and stop the war, if you don’t like it.” Sherman’s army marched 250 miles along a path 60 miles wide, causing 100 million dollars of damage, and effectively knocked Georgia out of the war, reaching Savannah on December 20.

Year Five-1865
By early 1865, the Confederacy seemed to be on its deathbed after having received defeat after defeat. However, as a nation it still refused to give up. Lee held on at Petersburg, but the siege forced a steady stream of Confederate deserters.
Alvarez Kelly (1966)
Directed by Edward Dmytryk, starring William Holden and Richard Widmark
A Mexican cattleman has no interest in the war, just money, but after delivering a herd of cattle to Union troops beseiging Richmond, he is kidnapped by a Confederate officer and forced to help smuggle the cattle across enemy lines.
Cold Mountain (2003)
Directed by Anthony Minghella, starring Jude Law and Nicole Kidman
A young man falls in love with the local minister’s daughter just before leaving to fight in the war. While he grows increasingly disillusioned with the carnage that he witnesses, she is forced to give up her pampered existence as she struggles to manage a farm with the help of a scrappy drifter.
Major Dundee (1965)
Directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring Charlton Heston and Richard Harris
During the last winter of the Civil War, faced with a tribe of Apaches based in Mexico that regularly cross the border to raid American posts and settlements, the commander of a Union prison leads a force of Union soldiers, Confederate prisoners, and civilians into Mexico to eliminate the Apaches. Unfortunately, the commander's zeal leads them into French controlled territory and they have to face French lancers.

After Georgia, Sherman moved on South Carolina, although he was completely disinterested in freeing blacks, despite his later reputation. He rampaged through South Carolina, but his troops had a higher opinion of North Carolina, and treated it better. Johnston tried to stop him but Sherman simply steamrolled over him.
The Outriders (1950)
Directed by Roy Rowland, starring Joel McCrea and Arlene Dahl
Late in the war, three Confederate prisoners escape a Union prison in Missouri and fall in with a band of pro-Confederate raiders who arrange for them to lead a wagon train transporting Union gold from Santa Fe, New Mexico to St. Louis, Missouri into a trap. However, one of the men doubts the raiders' intentions.
Red Mountain (1951)
Directed by William Dieterle, starring Alan Ladd and Lizabeth Scott
Towards the end of the war, Confederate units under General Quantrell make a last-ditch effort to survive by forging an alliance with Plains tribes to carve out a new country in Colorado. Realizing that Quantrell no longer serves the South, one of his top officers turns against him.

When Grant finally took Petersburg on April 2, he outnumbered Lee 125,000 to 57,000. Davis and his cabinet left Richmond, as Grant focused on pursuing Lee’s army, refusing to let them rest. Lee was finally boxed in at Appomattox, and surrendered on April 7, but it took another month before the rest of the Confederate army surrendered.
A Time for Killing (1967)
Directed by Phil Karlson, starring Inger Stevens and Glenn Ford
The leader of a group of Confederate prisoners who have just escaped from a Union prison learns that the war is over but does not ell his men, while they are pursued by Union soldiers who are also unaware that the war has ended.
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
Directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Clint Eastwood and Chief Dan George
When Missouri farmer Josey Wales’ family is killed by Redlegs, Union guerrillas based in Kansas, he joins a band of Missouri guerrillas that continues to fight even after the war ends. When the band finally surrenders, they are massacred by Union soldiers, he is the only witness and becomes hunted.

620,000 men died, 360,000 Union and 260,000 Confederate.

Further Reading:
A Short History of the Civil War-James L. Stokesbury, New York: Quill & William Morrow, 1995.

It is a good general work that gets to the heart of each issue. An excellent introduction to the Civil War, it is written as if he was giving a series of lectures to restless undergrads, so it gets to the point quickly.

Don't Know Much About The Civil War-Kenneth C. Davis, New York: Perennial, 2001.

This is an ideal introductory book, although those seeking an-depth one volume history of the Civil War will not be satisfied, and nor should they be. After all, it is designed to be consulted rather than read from cover to cover. As a reference book, it succeeds admirably, and more important, it cuts through the myths of America's most destructive war to provide concise, informative answers to pretty much any question you might have about the Civil War.

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