The Greatest Moments Of the Greatest Battles Of the Civil War

From the producers of Gettysburg (VL-/94)--not the TNT movie--this excellent anthology of re-enactment highlights from key battles during the Civil War, combines impressive re-enactment footage, sturdy narration, and excellent visual effects to take viewers into the battles of Shiloh, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and Brice's Crossroads. "Most had never shouldered a rifle at anything more than their dinner," says the narrator of the men, young and old, who fought at Shiloh, where Confederate soldiers continually stormed-a Union position appropriately dubbed the Hornet's Nest. In one example of the somber poetry bred by the war, one observer remarked that the field resembled a "pavement of dead men," and noted that one's foot wouldn't ever touch ground while traversing the field. That was in April of 1862. The battle of Gettysburg, the following year, would write a new record in the story of dead men, claiming some 51,000 lives in three days of fighting. Finally, on April 9, 1865, it was over, and in a telling finish, the video concludes with the memorable statement: "war's greatest moment is peace." Sure to be popular among Civil War buffs, this stirring overview is highly recommended. (R. Pitman)