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 The
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.
In March, following Lincoln’s second inauguration,
first Petersburg and then Richmond finally fall to Grant’s
army. Lee’s tattered Army of Northern Virginia flees
westward towards a tiny crossroads town called Appomattox
Court House. There the dramatic and deeply moving surrender
of Lee to Grant takes place. The episode ends in Washington
where John Wilkes Booth begins to dream of vengeance for
the South.
Detailed Episode Description
with time code:
Prologue :00.
- :01:55
Shelby Foote discusses one of the main importances of
the war: the Southerner's sense of defeat - of having
lost a war.
8.1 Chapter 1 - THE CIVIL WAR Series Title :01:56
- :05:26
The Confederacy is dying. Robert E. Lee assumes command
of all the Southern forces, but the Union is closing in
on all sides.
8.2 Chapter 2 - War Is All Hell :05:27
- :07:10
William Tecumseh Sherman - the first modern General -
purposely makes war against civilians to deprive the enemy
of what kept it going. "War is cruelty ... the crueler
it is, the sooner it will be over," he says.
8.3 Chapter 3 - Sherman's March :07:11
- :18:07
In late 1864, Sherman decides to march his army from Atlanta
to Savannah, living off the land, and destroying everything
along the way that could aid the Confederate army. On
the march, Sherman's army causes $100 million worth of
damage "the South would never forget." John
Bell Hood moves his forces into Tennessee, and at the
Battle of Franklin clashes with Union troops under General
George Thomas. Hood loses 7,000 men. At the battle of
Nashville, Hood's army is destroyed. Joseph E. Johnston
is put back in command.
8.4 Chapter 4 - The Breath Of Emancipation
:18:08 - :23:41
25,000 slaves flee to Sherman's army during the march,
jubilant that he has come to liberate them. On December
25, Sherman emerges near Savannah and starts for South
Carolina, where secession began.
8.5 Chapter 5 - Died Of A Theory
:23:42 -:29:03
The situation in the South becomes desperate. Hundreds
of soldiers desert. As a last resort, the Confederates
decide to use slaves as soldiers. Earlier in the year,
Congress had passed the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery.
8.6 Chapter 6 - Washington, March 4, 1865
:29:04 - :34:45
Lincoln is inaugurated for a second term. John Wilkes
Booth hatches a scheme to kidnap Lincoln. Lincoln travels
to City Point, Virginia to meet with Grant and Sherman
and discuss the final campaigns of the war and the Union's
plans
for peace.
8.7 Chapter 7 - I Want to See Richmond
:34:46 - :49:11
Grant finally conquers Petersburg and moves quickly towards
Richmond. Jefferson Davis is forced to evacuate the Confederate
government. The retreating Confederate army sets fire
to much of the city and mobs loot what remains. The Union
army enters the city. Lincoln arrives in Richmond. Lee
and the remains of the rebel army flee westward, with
Grant in hot pursuit.
8.8 Chapter 8 - Appomattox :49:12
- 1:04:00
April 7, 1865 - Grant writes to Lee. April 9, 1865 - Lee
sends word that he will surrender. Robert E. Lee and Ulysses
S. Grant meet at Appomattox to work out the terms of the
surrender. The formal surrender comes three days later.
In Washington, Lincoln quietly rejoices. A few blocks
away, John Wilkes Booth plots.
Click here for the Educator's
Index PDF (208k)
[The Educator's Index is an alphabetical and timecode specific listing of topics covered in each episode.] |
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