Posted on: January 15, 2010 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

It seems honestly as if there is disproportionate coverage of World War II at the detriment of all of the other conflicts that the United States has gotten itself into. This includes the Civil War, which caused a rift that for some has yet to be fixed. These two documentaries – covering Gettysburg and a panoply of major battles (including Antietam, Chickamauga, and Shiloh among others) – do much to rectify this lack of coverage. Each of these documentaries go into incredible levels of detail, which will sate even the most rapid of Civil War historians.

The Gettysburg two-disc set gives viewers over ten hours of coverage into every aspect of the battle. The entirety of the first disc provides insights about some of the lesser (and greater) known individuals that made their presence known in the course of the battle. For every Robert E. Lee or General John Buford that is covered with this DVD, there was an unknown individual present – Jennie Wade or Tillie Pierce – for example. After these individual-level portraits finish up, a more army-level treatment is given in “The Legends of Gettysburg”, which looks into the different sides’ commanders on the field, along with Irish contributions to the battle along with the more-specific feature on Lee’s Commanders themselves. The set finishes up with a heady discussion about each of the three days of the battle.

The Greatest Battles of the Civil War DVD works at one specific level, giving viewers detailed discussions of the happenings of each of the eight battles covered. The entirety of the set gives viewers glances into Antietam, Appomattox, Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Chickamauga, Shiloh, Petersburg, and Vicksburg. With this set topping about 7 hours, viewers will get nearly an hour on each skirmish. Taken together, these two DVD sets should be the perfect introduction that individuals will need to properly foster a love of the Civil War that will counter any of the lack of coverage that currently exists on television networks and in books about war.

Rating: 8.3/10

The Unknown Civil War Series: Gettysburg / Greatest Battles of the Civil War (3 DVD / 2 DVD) / 2009 MPI / 676 | 415 Minutes / http://www.mpihomevideo.com

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