The Civil War
A documentary on the American Civil War narrated by Ken Burns, covering the secession of the Confederacy to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Sign in to add to your listWhat critics are saying
Verdicts use the same scale as your list: highly recommended through avoid — plus optional scores and blurbs.
Nobody on Critic, Sir! has logged a verdict for this title yet. The silence is either respectful or suspicious.
Sign in and use Add to My List below to share your own verdict.
Where to Watch(AU)
Streaming data provided by JustWatch via TMDB.
Cast
Seasons
Photographs, period paintings, lithographs and headlines of the Civil War are combined with moving newsreel footage of Civil War veterans, interviews with distinguished historians and first-person accounts in this award-winning documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns. The miniseries vividly embraces the entire sweep of the war: the complex causes and lasting effects of America's greatest and most moving calamity, the battles and the homefronts, the generals and the private soldiers, the anguish of death in battle and the grief of families at home.
1.The Cause: 1861
6.223-09-1990100mBeginning with a searing indictment of slavery, this first episode dramatically evokes the causes of the war, from the Cotton Kingdom of the South to the northern abolitionists who...
2.A Very Bloody Affair: 1862
5.924-09-199069m1862 saw the birth of modern warfare and the transformation of Lincoln's war to preserve the Union into a war to emancipate the slaves. Episode Two begins with the political infigh...
3.Forever Free: 1862
6.524-09-199077mThis episode charts the dramatic events that led to Lincoln's decision to set the slaves free. Convinced by July 1862 that emancipation was now morally and militarily crucial to th...
4.Simply Murder: 1863
6.525-09-199063mThe nightmarish Union disaster at Fredericksburg comes to two climaxes that spring: at Chancellorsville in May, where Lee wins his most brilliant victory but loses Stonewall Jackso...
5.The Universe of Battle: 1863
6.525-09-199097mThis episode opens with a dramatic account of the turning point of war: the Battle of Gettysburg, the greatest ever fought in the Western Hemisphere. For three days 150,000 men wil...
6.Valley of the Shadow of Death: 1864
6.526-09-199071mEpisode six begins with a biographical comparison of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee and then chronicles the extraordinary series of battles that pitted the two generals against...
7.Most Hallowed Ground: 1864
6.526-09-199073mThe episode begins with the presidential election of 1864 that sets Abraham Lincoln against his old commanding general, George McClellan. The stakes are nothing less than the survi...
8.War Is All Hell: 1865
6.727-09-199070mThe episode begins with William Tecumseh Sherman's brilliant march to the sea, which brings the war to the heart of Georgia and the Carolinas and spells the end of the Confederacy....
9.The Better Angels of Our Nature: 1865
6.527-09-199070mThis extraordinary final episode of The Civil War begins in the bittersweet aftermath of Lee's surrender and then goes on to narrate the horrendous events of five days later when,...
Watching Lists
Sign in to create and edit public lists.
Loading lists…
Purchase & Discovery
Find this title on Amazon
Digital
Prime Video & digitalAmazon mixes rent, buy, and Prime in one place — one search covers the usual options.
Physical edition
4K Blu-ray & physical releasesSearch on AmazonOfficial merchandise
Official-style merch searchApparel, collectibles, and moreAs an Amazon Associate, Critic, Sir! earns from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure