As in the first episode of this nine-part series, there are so many facts and memorable statements in here it would make your head swim.
The statistics of the Civil War are staggering and unprecedented. To this day, more Americans were killed in that war than ALL the wars combined. After awhile, one almost gets numb hearing the list of physical damage done to the people of this country from this horrific time in our history.
One of the biggest losses of course, came five days after the war was officially over when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. John Wilkes Booth shooting Lincoln at the theater and Lincoln's death the following day was not described in detail here, as I assumed it would be. There were a couple of moving tributes, however, to this great man and it was interesting to hear a little about the long train trip with his casket from Washington to Springfield, Illinois, his final resting place. Little was said, too, regarding Booth's escape and end.
The rest of this concluding segment dealt with what happened afterward. Oddly, the final skirmish of the war wasn't until the following month and the South won that battle.
A large segment at the end dealt with what happened to other principal characters of this war and opinions of the war in general, and whether we are still fighting it. I was particularly moved by the tribute to Robert E. Lee and by the comments made by historian Barbara Fields. It was interesting to see the white-bearded veterans of both sides embracing years later.
I came away from this series with a great of sadness for all the suffering it brought.
The statistics of the Civil War are staggering and unprecedented. To this day, more Americans were killed in that war than ALL the wars combined. After awhile, one almost gets numb hearing the list of physical damage done to the people of this country from this horrific time in our history.
One of the biggest losses of course, came five days after the war was officially over when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. John Wilkes Booth shooting Lincoln at the theater and Lincoln's death the following day was not described in detail here, as I assumed it would be. There were a couple of moving tributes, however, to this great man and it was interesting to hear a little about the long train trip with his casket from Washington to Springfield, Illinois, his final resting place. Little was said, too, regarding Booth's escape and end.
The rest of this concluding segment dealt with what happened afterward. Oddly, the final skirmish of the war wasn't until the following month and the South won that battle.
A large segment at the end dealt with what happened to other principal characters of this war and opinions of the war in general, and whether we are still fighting it. I was particularly moved by the tribute to Robert E. Lee and by the comments made by historian Barbara Fields. It was interesting to see the white-bearded veterans of both sides embracing years later.
I came away from this series with a great of sadness for all the suffering it brought.