Perhaps overwhelmed by the task of compressing such a vast topic of the Civil War into a single program, the filmmakers resort to generalizations and themes, as opposed to incisive analysis.
The main point made in the program is that under the leadership of President Lincoln, the North took full advantage of a modern industrial economy, a superior railway system, and sophisticated uses of the telegraph to finally defeat the Confederacy. Sherman's practice of "total war" (a term he coined) helped to deliver the final blow in a scorched earth policy and the march to the sea.
The program opens with a description of the minié ball and how devastating the new technology of warfare could be. This was the first truly "modern war" that combined the newest in mechanized killing with outmoded tactics of battlefield maneuvering, tactics, and strategy.
The result: 600,000 deaths due to killing on the battlefield or disease. This would be the equivalent of 6 million today. When it was clear that the bodies could not even be identified, the soldiers began pinning their names to their uniforms in crude, early version of dog tags.
One of the strengths of the program was the dramatic impact of the railroad in transporting soldiers and supplies to a given location. Lt. George Benedict, a Union officer, wrote home about the rapid troop transport that could include 25,000 fresh soldiers sent to the front.
Clara Barton works her magic as a battlefield nurse, delivering fresh bandages and first aid. Triage now becomes the norm. Gangrene is now prevented by the swift application of new chemicals. Embalming permits the remains of soldiers to be returned home for proper burial. New rituals of death are evolving. Barton eventually found the American Red Cross.
The war for public opinion now includes war photography with gruesome reminders of the horrors of war. But the more substantial contributions come from Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and his Gettysburg Address.
The main point made in the program is that under the leadership of President Lincoln, the North took full advantage of a modern industrial economy, a superior railway system, and sophisticated uses of the telegraph to finally defeat the Confederacy. Sherman's practice of "total war" (a term he coined) helped to deliver the final blow in a scorched earth policy and the march to the sea.
The program opens with a description of the minié ball and how devastating the new technology of warfare could be. This was the first truly "modern war" that combined the newest in mechanized killing with outmoded tactics of battlefield maneuvering, tactics, and strategy.
The result: 600,000 deaths due to killing on the battlefield or disease. This would be the equivalent of 6 million today. When it was clear that the bodies could not even be identified, the soldiers began pinning their names to their uniforms in crude, early version of dog tags.
One of the strengths of the program was the dramatic impact of the railroad in transporting soldiers and supplies to a given location. Lt. George Benedict, a Union officer, wrote home about the rapid troop transport that could include 25,000 fresh soldiers sent to the front.
Clara Barton works her magic as a battlefield nurse, delivering fresh bandages and first aid. Triage now becomes the norm. Gangrene is now prevented by the swift application of new chemicals. Embalming permits the remains of soldiers to be returned home for proper burial. New rituals of death are evolving. Barton eventually found the American Red Cross.
The war for public opinion now includes war photography with gruesome reminders of the horrors of war. But the more substantial contributions come from Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and his Gettysburg Address.
