When the Civil War began, Oscar Jackson raised a company of Union volunteers to form Company H of the 63rd Ohio, which subsequently saw action in Corinth, Mississippi--where Jackson was left for dead by Union corpsmen. But he recovered and later joined Sherman's March to the Sea and eventual turn north for the capture of Columbia, South Carolina and Raleigh, North Carolina. Jackson, who kept a field diary during all of these campaigns, was part of the grand review that paraded in Washington D.C. at war's end…and was still alive 50 years later to attend the reunion parade. Director Mark Bussler's Left for Dead tells Jackson's story primarily through re-enactment footage, which--considering there are a total of nine actors to represent both the Union and Confederate armies--is not too bad. Unfortunately, the job of narrator seems to be one task too many for Michael Kraus (who also co-wrote and costars): his mechanical narration includes distracting mispronunciation of place names (“Cor-INTH” for “COR-inth” and “Bo-fort” for Beaufort, SC, which is pronounced “BEW-fort”). Still, given that Jackson's life and experiences are interesting, and Civil War materials are in constant demand, this is recommended. Aud: P. (R. Reagan)
Left for Dead
(2002) 50 min. VHS: $24.95, DVD: $27.95. Inecom. PPR. Color cover. ISBN: 1-931295-69-7 (vhs). Volume 17, Issue 4
Left for Dead
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