The Civil War (TV Mini Series) The Universe of Battle (1863) (1990) User Reviews

Famous Battles And The Role Of Women

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 12 August 2007]

The famous year of 1863 is portrayed here, beginning with the infamous battle of Gettysburg in the first week of July. The carnage of Pickett's suicidal charge, ordered by the usually- reliable Gen. Robert E. Lee, is described vividly. It's not a pretty picture with heads literally flying in the air and other brutalities.

The women's role in the Civl War is detailed in this segment. They help the men by supplying food and medical help, as well as moral support. Women, especially in the South, were anything but casual bystanders. Once again, the South has almost no resources and the average citizen's' house is turned into a hospital.

Also interesting here was the account of the shelling of Vicksburg, where people were literally living in made-do caves to escape the intense bombing.

Mid Stride.

[rmax304823 · 6 November 2011]

This episode covers several battles, with the emphasis on Gettysburg. It also deals with the incorporation of "U. S. Colored Troops" into the Army and the role of women in providing support in various forms for the soldiers. It ends with Sam Waterston's reading of the Gettysburg Address, startling in its ambiguity and its capacity to move the listener anyway. Lincoln, in some of his efforts, is comparable to Pericles. One wonders how a self-educated jack leg lawyer from Illinois could write a more brief and powerful statement than any of our presidents could today.

The episode is quite up to par but it's easy to see how it could be such a popular success. It blends nearly perfectly the military aspects of war with its domestic features. You don't have to be a war junkie to appreciate it.

Everyday life is reflected in everyday prose, in the form of quotes from memoirs and letters and diaries. Even in his vernacular phrases, Lincoln demonstrates a certain unprepossessing kind of creativity. After General Rosecrans's failure at Chicamauga, which led to a Confederate victory, Lincoln mutters that "Rosecrans is stunned and confused, like a duck hit on the head." (A DUCK -- not a chicken!) At the same time, any historian must itch to know why some of the battles, even the calamity at Gettysburg, are sketched with some interesting details being absent. Not just tactical details either. Two very old friends, Confederate General Armistad and Union General Hancock, faced one another across the field at Gettysburg. They almost met face to face in combat, but Hancock was seriously wounded and taken off the field, just before Armistad reached the stone wall and was shot down. Armistad died, leaving his Bible to Hancock's wife. It's a well-known irony.

But any criticism is just carping. It's a magnificent production, and I'm still impressed by videos of mist rising from tranquil wooded creeks and being edged with vermilion by the low sun as it reaches treetop levels. The crew must have waited hours to catch images like these.

One of the Best of the Series

[Michael_Elliott · 6 November 2012]

The Civil War: The Universe of Battle (1990)

**** (out of 4)

The fifth episode in Ken Burns documentary spends a good portion of its running time looking at the battle at Gettysburg but it also covers such topics as: Brandy Station, VA, General Longstreet, the Vicksburg siege, Ulysses S. Grant rising through the ranks, the draft call, the Irish mob riots in New York City, black soldiers being added to the Union and the battle at Chickamauga. This episode is certainly one of the best of the series so far because it's brutal look at the horrors that the war was bringing on is just downright shocking to see today. It's just hard watching all of this stuff today and thinking that there was a time when so much death, disease and agony could be allowed to continue. Some of the harshest moments discuss the South and how they were so poor that they had to resort to eating dogs, horses and mules just to stay alive. There's also some great discussion about the diseases that were killing off most people and how many would even freeze to death from the lack of clothes and blankets. The documentary also has a good sequence taking a look at the draft that was put in and the outrage that for $300 people could buy themselves out of the war. Of course, it was only the rich who could afford to do so. Once again history buffs and film fans are really going to love this documentary as Burns does such a great and detailed job of explaining everything that was going on at the time.