The History Channel's acclaimed series, Civil War Journal, takes viewers beyond the battles and into the personal stories of the War Between the States. Drawing on diaries, photographs and dramatic re-enactments, the intimate side of the epic conflict is exposed. This episode looks at prisons where life for POWs was more horrible than battle. Although precise figures may never be known, an estimated 56,000 men perished in Civil War prisons, a casualty...

Beginning with a searing indictment of slavery, this program dramatically evokes the causes of the war. Here are the burning questions of union and states' rights, John Brown at Harper's Ferry, the election of Abraham Lincoln, the firing on Fort Sumter, and the jubilant rush to arms on both sides. Along the way the war's major figures are introduced: Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and a host of lesser-known but...

Little Round Top was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left flank on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Considered by some historians to be the key point in the Union Army's defensive line that day, Little Round Top was defended successfully by the brigade of Col. Strong Vincent. The 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, commanded by Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, fought the most...

The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6 - 7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing on the west bank of the river. Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard...

Between 1790 and 1860, thousands of slaves fled the South for liberation on the "Underground Railroad," a system of invisible tracks and anonymous conductors who gave shelter to fugitive slaves. Through interviews with national experts, and examination of archival records and artifacts, this program provides an overview of the underground movement. In addition to interviews with descendants of slaves, conductors, and abolitionists, the program includes...

Although slavery was abolished in New York State on July 4th, 1827, America's slave-based cotton trade was not, as bales from the South continued to enter New York City for transshipment to Europe. In this program, James Oliver Horton, historian emeritus at the Smithsonian, talks with NewsHour correspondent Gwen Ifill about slavery's impact on New York City during the first half of the 19th century. Economically dependent on King Cotton, it was a...

For more than a century, Civil War battlefields have stood as important reminders of a time when America, tearing itself apart over sectional differences, nearly ceased to be. But the ever-increasing suburban sprawl along America's eastern seaboard is rapidly encroaching on these hallowed sites. This program travels to the most threatened sites to draw attention to a new war: a struggle between developers hoping to pave over Civil War battlefields...

The great abolitionist Frederick Douglass comes back to life in this acclaimed theatrical performance featuring Fred Morsell, as he dramatically re-creates Douglass's famous speech on slavery and human rights. With an eloquence and intelligence rarely matched, Frederick Douglass became a giant in the struggle against racial injustice. He called upon all Americans of every color to work to fulfill the vision of a just society that was proclaimed in...

"A riveting adventure of how America was invented. 'America the story of us' focuses on the people, ideas and events that built our nation, covering 400 years of America history in the most extensive and in-depth television series ever produced by History. Sharing their thoughts on the building of America, and what it means to be an American, are a world-class group of individuals including Tom Brokaw, Michael Douglas, Meryl Streep, Buzz Aldrin, Colin...

The challenge of genealogical research is even more evident as Henry Louis Gates, Jr. continues back through the Colonial period of American history in this program. The film takes us on a journey to fill in the family trees of each of the series participants, through war service records and various records of property during slavery's apogee - including inventories, sales, or gifts of slaves. In West Virginia, Professor Gates finds a court transcript...