The Civil War - A Film By Ken Burns 1990 (Pts 1-3 of 9)

"The Civil War" is an acclaimed documentary film created by Ken Burns about the American Civil War. It was first broadcast on PBS on five consecutive nights from Sunday, September 23 to Thursday, September 27, 1990. Forty million viewers watched it during its initial broadcast, making it the most-watched program ever to air on PBS, to this day remaining one of the most popular shows broadcast by PBS.

Burns' Emmy® Award-winning documentary brings to life America's most destructive - and defining - conflict. "The Civil War" is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one.
The film took five years to produce, longer than the four years it took to fight the Civil War - April 12, 1861, when the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter, S.C., until April 9, 1865, when General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House.

The film was co-produced by Ken's brother Ric Burns, written by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ric Burns, edited by Paul Barnes with cinematography by Buddy Squires.

Episodes:

Episode 1: The Cause - 1861
The stage is set for war as the nation begins to tear apart. Opposition by the North to slavery in the South fuels a bitter debate, and the country wrestles with conflicts between the Union and States' rights. Commanding center stage are towering figures - Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee.

Episode 2: A Very Bloody Affair - 1862
The war to preserve the Union becomes a war to free the slaves, and political fights become as a fierce as those on the battlefield. The chains of slavery begin to crumble while the Confederacy struggles for recognition, and its resourceful army hands the Union critical defeats.

Episode 3: Forever Free - 1862
Defeat hovers over the Union Army as President Lincoln prepares the landmark Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves. While Lincoln waits for a victorious moment for this announcement, Union troops lose repeatedly. Finally with a victory at Antietam Creek, the bloodiest day of the war gives way to the dawn of emancipation.