History YMMV / TheCivilWar

* {{TearJerker}}:

* HarsherInHindsight: In a day and age where the Confederacy is constantly denounced as white supremacist, it can be a bit difficult to watch this documentary after Shelby Foote, the commentator with the most screen-time given amongst all the interviewees, expressed Confederate sympathies before he died. In the series itself, he even refers to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest as a hero. It's a bit easier as he was extremely objective in his commentary in the series, however, being complimentary of figures on the Union side like Lincoln and Grant and of the resolve of the Union soldiers over the flash of the Confederates. For what it's worth, Foote was an early advocate for integration and would ultimately come to admit that the slavery-era South was "perhaps the most racist society in the United States", though his Lost Cause sympathies remained throughout his life along with views on Jews that have been criticized as anti-Semitic.

** It wasn't just on the Union side either. Particularly eerie is the story of Benjamin Franklin Jackson, a soldier from Alabama. When his wife Martha awoke and saw a mourning dove on her windowsill, she felt it was a sign her husband had been killed and began to weep silently. Her instincts turned out to be correct.

* HarsherInHindsight: In a day and age where the Confederacy is rightfully denounced as white supremacist, it can be a bit difficult to watch this documentary after Shelby Foote, the commentator with the most screen-time given amongst all the interviewees, expressed Confederate sympathies before he died. In the series itself, he even refers to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest - a ruthless, bloodthirsty man who would become even more notorious for founding the Ku Klux Klan after the war - as a hero. It's a bit easier as he was extremely objective in his commentary in the series, however, being complimentary of figures on the Union side like Lincoln and Grant and of the resolve of the Union soldiers over the flash of the Confederates. For what it's worth, Foote was an early advocate for integration and would ultimately come to admit that the slavery-era South was "perhaps the most racist society in the United States", though his Lost Cause sympathies remained throughout his life along with views on Jews that have been criticized as anti-Semitic.

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: Burns' own father reacted to his intent to make a documentary about the entire Civil War with disbelief. Needless to say, he pulled it off.
* HarsherInHindsight: In a day and age where the Confederacy is rightfully denounced as white supremacist, it can be a bit difficult to watch this documentary after Shelby Foote, the commentator with the most screen-time given amongst all the interviewees, expressed Confederate sympathies before he died. In the film itself, he even refers to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest - a ruthless, bloodthirsty man who would become even more notorious for founding the Ku Klux Klan after the war - as a hero. It's a bit easier as he was extremely objective in his commentary in the film, however, being complimentary of figures on the Union side like Lincoln and Grant and of the resolve of the Union soldiers over the flash of the Confederates. For what it's worth, Foote was an early advocate for integration and would ultimately come to admit that the slavery-era South was "perhaps the most racist society in the United States", though his Lost Cause sympathies remained throughout his life along with views on Jews that have been criticized as anti-Semitic.

* HarsherInHindsight: In a day and age where the Confederacy is rightfully denounced as white supremacist, it can be a bit difficult to watch this documentary after Shelby Foote, the commentator with the most screen-time given amongst all the interviewees, expressed Confederate sympathies before he died. In the film itself, he even refers to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest - a ruthless, bloodthirsty man who would become even more notorious for founding the Ku Klux Klan after the war - as a hero. It's a bit easier as he's extremely objective in his commentary in the film, however, being complimentary of figures on the Union side like Lincoln and Grant and of the resolve of the Union soldiers over the flash of the Confederates. For what it's worth, Foote was an early advocate for integration and would ultimately come to admit that the slavery-era South was "perhaps the most racist society in the United States", though his Lost Cause sympathies remained throughout his life along with views on Jews that have been criticized as anti-Semitic.

** It wasn't just on the Union side either. Particularly eerie is the story of Benjamin Franklin Jackson, a soldier from Alabama. When his wife Martha awoke and saw a mourning dove on her windowsill, she felt it was a sign her husband had been killed and began to weep silently. Her instincts turned out to be correct.
* UnfortunateImplications: The series has been criticized for perpetuating the discredited "Lost Cause" mythology surrounding the south's defeat. Much of this rests on the heavy use of journalist Shelby Foote, who appeared more than any other commentator, and who argued that the chief cause of the war was the refusal to compromise, rather than slavery, as the majority of historians agree. This would lead to the publication of the 1997 book ''The Civil War: Historians Respond'', which provided a historical critique of the series' historiography (Burns was given a chapter at the end to respond).
** Even Foote, despite his embrace of the Lost Cause philosophy, had to acknowledge that slavery was a big factor in Southerners' decision to secede, referring to it as "America's original sin and stain".
-->'''Foote:''' Southerners saw the election of Lincoln as a sign that the Union was about to be radicalized, and that they were about to be taken in directions they did not care to go. The abolitionist aspect of it was very strong, and they figured they were about to lose what they called their property and face ruin.

* HarsherInHindsight: In a day and age where the Confederacy is rightfully denounced as white supremacist, it can be a bit difficult to watch this documentary after Shelby Foote, the main commentator interviewed, expressed Confederate sympathies before he died. In the film itself, he even refers to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest - a ruthless, bloodthirsty man who would become even more notorious for founding the Ku Klux Klan after the war - as a hero. It's a bit easier as he's extremely objective in his commentary in the film, however, being complimentary of figures on the Union side like Lincoln and Grant and of the resolve of the Union soldiers over the flash of the Confederates. For what it's worth, Foote was an early advocate for integration and would ultimately come to admit that the slavery-era South was "perhaps the most racist society in the United States", though his Lost Cause sympathies remained throughout his life along with views on Jews that have been criticized as anti-Semitic.

** Even Foote, despite his embrace of the Lost Cause philosophy, had to acknowledge that slavery was a big factor in Southerners' decision to secede.

* HarsherInHindsight: In a day and age where the Confederacy is rightfully denounced as white supremacist, it can be a bit difficult to watch this documentary after Shelby Foote, the main commentator interviewed, expressed Confederate sympathies before he died. In the film itself, he even refers to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest - a ruthless, bloodthirsty man who would become even more notorious for founding the Ku Klux Klan after the war - as a hero. It's a bit easier as he's extremely objective in his commentary in the film, however, and complimentary of figures on the Union side like Lincoln and Grant.

* HarsherInHindsight: In a day and age where the Confederacy is rightfully denounced as white supremacist, it can be a bit difficult to watch this documentary after Shelby Foote, the main commentator interviewed, expressed Confederate sympathies before he died. It's a bit easier as he's extremely objective in his commentary in the film, however, and complimentary of figures on the Union side like Lincoln and Grant.

* NightmareFuel: The series does not skimp on very graphic photographs of dead soldiers and descriptions of the various ways in which combatants met their untimely ends. Particularly unsettling is the tale of a private from Massachusetts who, after being wounded at the battle of Cold Harbor, managed to write, "I was killed," in his diary before he died, soaking the pages with his blood. UK broadcasts of the series edited this out.
* {{TearJerker}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VK1KcZoDu0 The Sullivan Ballou letter]], full stop. Ken Burns read it out to the other members of his filmmaking team after first receiving a copy and could barely finish. Those around him were overcome too.
* UnfortunateImplications: The series has been criticized for perpetuating the discredited "Lost Cause" mythology surrounding the south's defeat. Much of this rests on the heavy use of journalist Shelby Foote, who appeared more than any other commentator, and who argued that the chief cause of the war was the refusal to compromise, rather than slavery, as the majority of historians agree. This would lead to the publication of the 1997 book ''The Civil War: Historians Respond'', which provided a historical critique of the series' historiography (Burns was given a chapter at the end to respond).

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The use of Civil War era songs, as well as the modern "Ashokan Farewell", is ''brilliant''. Bernice Johnson Reagon's a cappella arrangement of the spiritual "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder," used in several episodes, is spine-tingling.

* HarsherInHindsight: In a day where the Confederacy is rightfully denounced as white supremacist, it can be a bit difficult to watch this documentary after Shelby Foote, the main commentator interviewed, expressed Confederate sympathies before he died. It's a bit easier as he's extremely objective in his commentary in the film, however, and complimentary of figures on the Union side like Lincoln and Grant.

* UnfortunateImplications: The series has been criticized for perpetuating the discredited "Lost Cause" mythology surrounding the south's defeat. Much of this rests on the heavy use of journalist Shelby Foote, who appeared more than any other commentator, and who argued that the chief cause of the war was the refusal to compromise, rather than slavery, as the majority of historians agree. This would lead to the publication of the 1997 book ''The Civil War: Historians Respond'', which provided a historical critique of the series' historiography. (Burns was given a chapter at the end to respond.)

* {{UnfortunateImplications}}: The series has been criticized for perpetuating the discredited "Lost Cause" mythology surrounding the south's defeat. Much of this rests on the heavy use of journalist Shelby Foote, who appeared more than any other commentator, and who argued that the chief cause of the war was the refusal to compromise, rather than slavery, as the majority of historians agree. This would lead to the publication of the 1997 book ''The Civil War: Historians Respond'', which provided a historical critique of the series' historiography. (Burns was given a chapter at the end to respond.)

* {{UnfortunateImplications}}/{{ValuesDissonance}}: The series has been criticized for perpetuating the discredited "Lost Cause" mythology surrounding the south's defeat. Much of this rests on the heavy use of journalist Shelby Foote, who appeared more than any other commentator, and who argued that the chief cause of the war was the refusal to compromise, rather than slavery, as the majority of historians agree. This would lead to the publication of the 1997 book ''The Civil War: Historians Respond'', which provided a historical critique of the series' historiography. (Burns was given a chapter at the end to respond.)

* UnfortunateImplications/ValuesDissonance: The series has been criticized for perpetuating the discredited "Lost Cause" mythology surrounding the south's defeat. Much of this rests on the heavy use of journalist Shelby Foote, who appeared more than any other commentator, and who argued that the chief cause of the war was the refusal to compromise, rather than slavery, as the majority of historians agree. This would lead to the publication of the 1997 book ''The Civil War: Historians Respond'', which provided a historical critique of the series' historiography. (Burns was given a chapter at the end to respond.)

* ValuesDissonance: The series has been criticized for perpetuating the discredited "Lost Cause" mythology surrounding the south's defeat. Much of this rests on the heavy use of journalist Shelby Foote, who appeared more than any other commentator, and who argued that the chief cause of the war was the refusal to compromise, rather than slavery, as the majority of historians agree. This would lead to the publication of the 1997 book ''The Civil War: Historians Respond'', which provided a historical critique of the series' historiography. (Burns was given a chapter at the end to respond.)

* NightmareFuel: The series does not skimp on very graphic photographs of dead soldiers and descriptions of the various ways in which combatants met their untimely ends. Particularly unsettling is the tale of a private from Massachusetts who, after being wounded at the battle of Cold Harbor, managed to write, "I was killed," in his diary before he died, soaking the pages with his blood.

* ValuesDissonance: The series has been crticized for perpetuating the discredited "Lost Cause" mythology surrounding the south's defeat. Much of this rests on the heavy use of journalist Shelby Foote, who appeared more than any other commentator, and who argued that the chief cause of the war was the refusal to compromise, rather than slavery, as the majority of historians agree. This would lead to the publication of the 1997 book ''The Civil War: Historians Respond'', which provided a historical critique of the series' historiography. (Burns was given a chapter at the end to respond.)

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The use of Civil War era songs, as well as the modern "Ashokan Farewell", is ''brilliant''.

* HarsherInHindsight: In a day where the Confederacy is rightfully denounced as white supremacist, it can be a bit difficult to watch this documentary after Shelby Foote, the main commentator interviewed, expressed Confederate sympathies before he died. It's a bit easier as he's extremely objective in his commentary in the film, however.

* HarsherInHindsight: In a day where the Confederacy is rightfully denounced as white supremacist, it can be a bit difficult to watch this documentary after Shelby Foote, the main TalkingHead interviewed, expressed Confederate sympathies before he died. It's a bit easier as he's extremely objective in his commentary in the film, however.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The use of Civil War era songs, especially "Ashokan Farewell," is ''brilliant''.
* HarsherInHindsight: In a day where the Confederacy is rightfully denounced as white supremacist, it can be a bit difficult to watch this documentary after Shelby Foote, the main historian featured, expressed Confederate sympathies before he died. It's a bit easier as he's extremely objective in his commentary in the film, however.
* {{TearJerker}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VK1KcZoDu0 The Sullivan Ballou letter]], full stop. Ken Burns read it out to the other members of his filmmaking team after first receiving a copy and could barely finish. Those around him were overcome too.

* HarsherInHindsight: In a day where the Confederacy is rightfully denounced as white supremacist, it can be a bit difficult to watch this documentary after Shelby Foote, the main historian featured, expressed Confederate sympathies before he died. It's a bit easier as he's extremely objective in his commentary in the film, however.