"Impressive, informative and moving." 
Los Angeles Times

"Learned yet entertaining. A historical achievement" 
Philadelphia Inquirer

"Victorious, stirringly alive. Grade: A." 
Entertainment Weekly

"Unreservedly recommended. Crackles with urgency and immediacy, like W.W.II newsreels. Has a greater impact than the PBS series."
Great Battles Magazine

"Copiously filmed reenactments complement quickly-paced battle descriptions." 
Civil War Times Illustrated

 "A treasure trove of historical information and great visuals." 
Buffalo News

 Smithsonian’s Great Battles of the Civil War is a visually stunning, provocative history unlike any other Civil War program you've ever seen. This critically acclaimed television and video series from the National Museum of American History is a sweeping and compelling look at the war's military, political and social history. Each episode features dramatic reenactments of important campaigns; first-hand accounts of eyewitnesses and participants read by distinguished actors; period photographs, paintings and artifacts; intriguing expert challenges to traditional historical thinking; original contemporary illustrations; computer enhanced maps; and music of the time. The strategies and motivations that created this devastating and heroic period come alive in this comprehensive reference. The DVDs and a laptop together can be a mobile history tour during your battlefield travels.

Historical Advisory Board Appearing On-camera: Dr. James M. McPherson, Princeton University and author of the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning "Battle Cry of Freedom;" Edwin C. Bearss, National Park Service; Dr. Edward C. Ezell, Smithsonian Institution; Craig L. Symonds, U.S. Naval Academy; Col. Robert A. Doughty, USA, U.S. Military Academy; Col. Larry H. Addington, The Citadel; and Lt. Col. Keith E. Gibson, Virginia Military Institute.

Narrated by Richard Dreyfuss

CONTENTS

DVD I (1861-1862): Fort Sumter * First Manassas * Ft. Donelson * Ironclads and Navies * The War in the Far West * Shiloh * The Battles for New Orleans and the Mississippi River * Shenandoah Valley * Peninsula Campaign * Second Manassas * Antietam * Corinth * Perryville * Fredericksburg * Intervening Campaigns (3 Hours)

DVD II (1862-1863): First Drive on Vicksburg * Stones River * Chancellorsville * Brandy Station * Gettysburg * Sieges of Vicksburg and Charleston * Chickamauga * Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain * Intervening Campaigns (3 Hours)

DVD III (1864-1865): New Market * The Wilderness and Spotsylvania * Cold Harbor * Kennesaw Mountain * Battle of the Crater * Mobile Bay * Battles for Atlanta * Destruction of C.S.S. Alabama * Cedar Creek * Franklin * Fort Fisher * Siege of Petersburg * Bentonville * Sailors Creek * Appomatox * Intervening Campaigns (3 Hours)