Review of "The Civil War: The Story and the Artillery," History Channel DVD

 Review of

The Civil War: The Story and the Artillery, History Channel DVD

Five out of five stars

Focus on two aspects not commonly covered

 The American Civil War was an incredibly bloody conflict and is arguably the first war of the industrial age. Giant factories in the north turned out enormous quantities of weapons, and some of those weapons had been improved so that they were more efficient killing machines. One of those weapons was the cannon, which is one of the topics of this video.

 The other topic deals with the press coverage of the war. Since the first amendment guarantees freedom of the press, there was a delicate balancing act between allowing reporters to cover the war and prevent them from revealing military matters. Some, such as General Sherman, simply locked them down so that no information about what he was doing as his forces moved through the Confederacy was released.

 The information regarding the advanced role the artillery played in this war is fascinating. It is also saddening to understand that no lessons were learned by military leaders. In the Civil War, men marched in formation to attack fixed artillery positions and were slaughtered by the thousands. In the First World War, something similar was done with the same results.

 A great deal has been written about the battles of the American Civil War and the political and military leaders. This video covers two aspects of the war that are rarely mentioned. The power of massed artillery and how the press brought accounts and images of the war to the public for the first time. It was grisly and gross, in other words factually accurate.