Original subtitles

Narrator: The battle of Petersburg

in April 1865 marks a pivotal moment

in American history...

A night full of surprise tactics,

immense courage, and terrible sacrifice.

The breakthrough at Petersburg is the most consequential attack

of the civil war.

Narrator: After almost four years of bloody conflict,

the toll in lives and dollars is immense.

Trudeau: It's costing the federal government

millions of dollars a day to prosecute this war.

Waiting for the war to end is not a solution.

Getting it to end is what has to be done.

Narrator: In Virginia, miles of fortified trenches

are the last line of rebel defense

and the only thing preventing the union

from capturing the confederate capital of Richmond.

To really win the war, they need to take out Richmond, Virginia.

Narrator: Rebel soldiers like captain William Nicholson

are determined not to let that happen.

Relax, men.

I don't think them Yankees are stupid enough to try again.

Narrator: But what Nicholson doesn't know

is that the next union attack will be like no other.

We go tonight, after dark.

Adelman: We are talking about a massive logistical effort...

14,000 soldiers.

It's bigger than pickett's charge at gettysburg.

It will quickly devolve into hand-to-hand,

close-quarters combat... Bayonets and sabers.

Just maybe... maybe...

They could break through the enemy lines,

make Richmond fall, and compel Robert e. Lee to surrender.

Captions by vitac... www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by discovery communications

Narrator: For almost 10 months,

confederate troops near Petersburg, Virginia,

have been under siege...

Pinned down by a massive union force.

Adelman: By the spring of 1865,

the civil war has already lasted years

longer than many people figured.

It has certainly been a bloodier affair

than everybody figured.

And by march, April 1865,

confederate hopes are just running out.

Narrator: After a long, hard winter, rations are low.

Soldiers are hungry and exhausted.

And on the front lines, some are desperate.

Adelman: All they want to do is eat.

All they want to do is rest.

They have had enough.

If you are tired, hungry, cold, and thirsty,

you are thinking about food, water, warmth, and sleep.

Man: Got a runner!

Get back here!

To be a deserter

or to go over to the federal lines

was considered a blight on your family

and your family's reputation.

Too damn far.

Adelman: Many of these people were pushed to the brink,

and anybody who has left, I don't know

if they're straight-up a coward or a traitor at that point.

Shoot that man.

Still, they've got to resent

their former comrades who have left.

Cadet.

Collect his things.

Hold your fire.

Somebody get me the captain.

Narrator: Robert Pratt serves as a lieutenant

with the union's 5th Vermont infantry.

The 5th Vermont is a unit that had lots of experience

and will ultimately have some heavy responsibility

ahead of them.

Narrator: Lieutenant Pratt takes his orders

from captain Charles gould.

Adelman: Charles gould is only about 20 years old at the time.

He was known as a daredevil in his town

before he even fought in the civil war.

This guy seemed tailor-made to actually help lead

an infantry company in an assault.

Narrator: The two officers are helping lead a union advance

they hope will finally bring an end to the civil war.

[ Gunshots ]

Following the union victory at gettysburg,

federal forces launched another invasion of the south.

After months of ferocious campaigning,

large swaths of rebel territory

are now under union control.

Hardy: By late march of 1865,

most of the south has been conquered.

Sherman's army has captured Atlanta and has marched

to Savannah and has come back up through the carolinas.

Narrator: But the union advance

has not ended confederate hopes of a turnaround.

They believed that the federal soldiers

would slip up somehow,

that they could catch a portion of the federal army

and defeat that portion,

and that the north would finally get tired of a war.

Narrator: The union war effort now focuses

on one key objective...

Crushing the rebel army

that defends Richmond, Virginia...

The confederate capital.

In capturing Richmond, you would not only get

the confederate capital,

but you would deprive the south of one of its larger cities

and one of its manufacturing centers.

Narrator: The 5th Vermont is part of a large force

trying to seize Richmond.

But the advance is bogged down 25 miles from the city,

near the town of Petersburg.

Petersburg is kind of like the back door to Richmond.

And if they can capture Petersburg,

then Richmond can't stand.

The problem for the union is Robert e. Lee's lines

are more than 30 miles long around Richmond and Petersburg.

And almost all of those are guarded

by what we would call entrenchments.

Narrator: The union's already spent almost 10 months

trying to break through the Petersburg line.

It can't afford to wait any longer.

Trudeau: It's costing the federal government

millions of dollars a day to prosecute this war.

This is financial deficit spending on a scope

that has never been seen on the planet.

And so waiting for the war

to end is really not a solution at this point.

Getting it to end is what has to be done.

This one's fast.

Hm. Nah, just hungry.

Narrator: As they prepare for another attempt

on the Petersburg line,

the union's come up with a plan to undermine

the rebel defenders.

Hardy: General Grant had issued orders

where he was encouraging confederate soldiers to desert.

He had promised that if you came over,

you would not have to join the ranks and fight.

And if your home was within federal lines,

they would even pay for transportation

so that you could go back to your family.

They keep coming over like this...

There won't be many to fight.

Suits me just fine.

Narrator: Charles gould knows

the order to attack could come at any time.

When it does,

the brash young captain's courage

will be tested like never before.

Trudeau: He's the point of the sword.

When a unit is attacking,

it's the captain who will be out in front.

Narrator: Standing in gould's way

is one of the rebel's most experienced soldiers,

captain William Nicholson

of the 37th north Carolina infantry.

Captain William Nicholson had come up through the ranks

and just was really successful.

Narrator: Nicholson has fought hard for the southern cause

since the first year of the conflict.

He's endured battle wounds and personal loss.

Adelman: He's fighting for his native state,

he has made it through a whole bunch of the war,

he's wounded, as most confederates

in Lee's army were.

He loses his brother just a week before,

and here he is in a thin line

of north carolinians holding out to the last,

getting ready for this final attack.

Narrator: Despite the long union siege and a spike in desertions,

most rebel troops remain fiercely devoted to their cause.

Hardy: I think they still had faith in Robert e. Lee

and what he has done with the army of northern Virginia

over the past three years that he has been in command.

Lee repeatedly has whipped the federal soldiers.

As long as Robert e. Lee was fighting, there was still hope.

Narrator: Nicholson believes in the genius of general Lee.

But he also believes in the strength of the defensive line

they've built at Petersburg.

Confederate forces are very confident in the entrenchments

that they have built so far.

When you are thinking about Lee's lines,

imagine open fields in front of them.

Imagine those open fields covered

with what we call abatis...

Pointy branches and trees felled toward the enemy,

sometimes strung together with telegraph wire...

Very difficult obstructions to get by,

especially while you're being shot at.

The purpose of that is to slow the attack down

so that the defenders have time to shoot.

Then there's the final line

where you have men behind raised earthworks,

usually a ditch in front.

So all this is designed

to remove momentum from the assault

and to give the defenders time to exact a price.

Narrator: Abraham Lincoln is entering

his fifth year as president.

In all that time, he's known nothing but war and bloodshed.

Union troops have struck deep into the confederacy,

but the conflict isn't over yet.

He knows that to win,

they must crush the army of Robert e. Lee

currently entrenched at Petersburg.

Then they can move on Richmond.

Lincoln's actions are always push ahead, press the enemy.

Push them out of Petersburg, make Richmond fall,

and then pursue Robert e. Lee until he surrenders.

Narrator: To achieve that victory,

union forces need to find a weak spot

in Lee's defensive line,

something that's eluded them for months.

On April 1, 1865, Lincoln receives news

that could finally turn the tables.

A union attack southwest of Petersburg

near a place called five forks

has forces the rebels to move some of their troops

off the fortified line.

Hardy: Robert e. Lee had pulled confederate soldiers

from the regular entrenchments

to send against the federal advance at five forks,

so the lines had to be weak at some point.

Narrator: It's the opportunity that Lincoln, general Grant,

and the entire union army have been waiting for.

Ulysses s. Grant now knows

the confederates are stretched very thin.

He orders an attack all along the line.

All of his other corps are going to attack

the confederates.

Narrator: Leading that attack

will be the men of the 5th Vermont.

Captain, you wanted to see me, sir?

Heard from the colonel.

We're going in.

Narrator: In the spring of 1865,

union forces near Petersburg, Virginia,

are desperate to seize the confederate capital,

just 25 miles to the north.

The stakes couldn't be higher.

If they can take Richmond, Virginia,

they may finally win the civil war.

But for months, they've been unable to break through

the rebels' 30-mile-long defensive line.

Now they're about to try again.

This time with a bold, unorthodox plan.

Captain Charles gould and lieutenant Robert Pratt

served with the 5th Vermont infantry,

one of the union regiments tasked

with carrying out that plan.

Take a seat.

Adelman: The vermonters, by this time in the civil war,

had already gained a reputation as not only tough fighters,

but ones who were really good at the close-in combat.

And they could really do what was necessary

when they got in among the enemy.

So what's the plan?

We go tonight, after dark.

Once we get there, lie down and wait.

The nature of this plan is moving 14,000-plus men

into an open area under...

Right under the guns of the confederates,

where the enemy can shoot you...

And sit all night.

It's a high-risk move.

Cannon from fort Fisher

is gonna fire a single round, starting the attack.

The first wave will go in here.

The engineers with the axes will cut holes here and here.

Then we move in and we take the trench.

If all goes well, we'll get them

before we even know we're there.

Anything else?

We have been asked to lead the attack.

Adelman: The very nature of this plan

is not going to result in some sort of a traditional fight,

a stand-up fight in a field

with soldiers shooting at each other.

Rather, it will quickly devolve into hand-to-hand,

close-quarters combat... Bayonets and sabers.

Sir, that is a lot of men to move in the dark.

We're gonna have to be very quiet.

If we get trapped on these logs, we're dead men.

I need your help on this.

The word was going around,

"you know what that order means, boys."

It means death.

Narrator: Pratt has good reason to be nervous.

He's seen firsthand how futile and terrifying

a frontal assault on a fortified rebel trench can be.

It is easier to defend an entrenched position

because you are basically protected.

Adelman: Pratt had been at spotsylvania.

He had seen what happens

when you advance across an open field.

Rarely do you even reach the enemy entrenchments.

Narrator: The attack on rebel defenses at spotsylvania

is a colossal failure.

Pratt barely escapes with his life.

Hardy: He knew how many thousands of soldiers

had been lost in a futile effort.

And this bitter experience,

you know, here they are doing it again at Petersburg.

We are talking about a massive logistical effort.

14,000 soldiers?

You have to get them into position hours

and hours before the attack.

Narrator: Every assault requires careful preparation.

But for this bold nighttime attack to succeed,

they'll need something else.

They'll need to move like ghosts.

Make sure you tie down your canteens.

They make noise.

Hardy: They have to be silent.

They tuck their canteens under their belts

and make sure their bayonets were tied down securely.

You want to get at the enemy as quietly as possible.

Every step further you can get

before they know you're there is going to save lives

and increase your chance of success.

No percussion caps.

Can't afford to have any misfires tonight, gentlemen.

A civil war rifle had one sparking device,

which was a cap.

And it sparked and created the explosion

that fired the bullet.

The men were specifically instructed to load their rifles,

but to leave it uncapped.

So if they accidentally activated the trigger,

it would not fire.

The last thing you want is a gun

prematurely discharging during the attack,

thereby alerting the enemy that you're coming.

Narrator: Less than a mile away,

in the rebel fortifications,

an uneasy quiet has come with the darkness.

The army of northern Virginia

has been stretched incredibly thin.

One soldier, one rifle every 10 feet.

And when you have thousands of union soldiers

getting ready to come over that wall,

it is a thin gray line.

Narrator: There are rattled nerves in the union ranks

as well.

But captain gould does what he can

to inspire bravery among the men of the 5th Vermont.

Trudeau: Gould believed that they needed to finish the job.

He understands the cost.

It is painful to him,

but he understands victory is the most important thing.

As you men know by now...

We have been given the honor of leading the attack,

which I believe will bring an end to this war.

I have nothing but faith

in the plan brought forth by our commanders.

And I have no doubt... That when the time comes,

each and every one of you will do your duty.

Hardy: I think the biggest obstacle for the federal soldiers

who were getting ready to attack on the morning of April 2nd

is their own mind-set.

They knew the fearful cost that attacking confederate

entrenchments could ensue.

Gould: If there's anything you want to send off

to your families...

Do it now.

Mark it for mail...

And the sergeant will see to it.

Adelman: If they can be quiet enough,

if they can use the cover of darkness,

just maybe... maybe...

They could get through that abatis,

break through the enemy lines, make Richmond fall,

and compel Robert e. Lee to surrender.

It has been an honor

and a privilege to serve alongside you men.

Good luck.

May god be with each and every one of you.

Narrator: The battle of Petersburg

is about to shatter the silence of a cold April night

and forever change the course of American history.

Captain Charles gould and the men of the 5th Vermont

infantry are the tip of the spear,

the lead regiment in the impending union assault

that could finally bring four years of war to an end.

Adelman: It is a wedge of regiments.

You don't want at the tip of the wedge

some inexperienced unit.

Rather, you want a unit that has been baptized by fire,

that has tasted battle before.

And in placing the 5th Vermont at the front of this wedge,

they were recognizing the combat ability of that unit.

Take a knee, men.

It's almost time.

Narrator: As the hour of battle draws near,

the veteran fighters prepare for the worst

by carrying out a grim task.

Adelman: They are pinning their names to their uniforms

because they had seen before that their comrades

could not be identified,

and they didn't want the same sad fate for themselves.

If you were killed on a battlefield,

maybe the comrades next to you would have seen you die

and could give that information to those folks back at home.

But usually not.

You died by yourself, you died alone,

you died away from your family.

So they didn't have that assurance

that you were prepared to meet your maker.

Narrator: On the rebel line,

captain Nicholson reassures his men.

He knows a nighttime attack is almost unheard of.

Relax, men.

I don't think them Yankees are stupid enough to try again.

Hardy: 37th north Carolina was a regiment

that had a dangerous reputation.

They have seen a lot of the war.

They have been at antietam,

at fredericksburg, chancellorsville, gettysburg.

They are some of the hardest- fighting troops out there.

Narrator: What's about to unfold near Petersburg

on this cold April night will be their hardest fight yet.

[ Gunshots ]

Take cover!

Narrator: At 10:00 P.M.,

in advance of the ground assault to come,

an earth-shaking bombardment begins.

150 union guns pound the rebel line.

Hardy: It lasted about three hours,

and they threw thousands of shells

into the confederate lines.

Both armies periodically shelled each other's lines.

So it's not an odd thing

that you have to endure a three-hour bombardment

in the middle of the night.

Narrator: But what the union forces

are planning next is highly unusual.

The men of the 5th Vermont all know the time

for their daring silent advance has come.

Any night maneuver is still highly problematic.

Armies of the civil war

were not really meant to operate at night.

Narrator: After leaving the safety of their line,

gould and his men must now advance

silently in the darkness

across hundreds of yards of open terrain.

Their orders are to stop short of the rebel line

and then wait for the signal to attack.

Trudeau: Once they're out there, they're on their own.

And they don't know

what the units on either side of them are doing.

They don't know whether they're walking into a wall of Cannon

or an empty hole in the line.

I just imagine how many times these soldiers

had attacked strong fortifications before like this.

It did not work out well most of the time.

Y'all look alive now.

Narrator: Out in front of their main trenches,

the rebels have stationed forward sentries or pickets.

Wake up, boys.

Adelman: Whenever you have a strong line of entrenchments,

you don't just rely on those fortifications

to protect your soldiers.

Rather, you are going to send out troops in front of them.

They are called pickets.

Hardy: Their job,

once they have detected federal soldiers coming,

is to fire a few rounds

and then to retreat back toward the main confederate body.

They are the early-warning system.

Narrator: In the darkness, the rebel pickets

haven't spotted the advancing union soldiers.

Captain gould's men are making good progress.

They just need to keep quiet.

[ Gunshot ]

At some point, somebody fires a rifle.

Move!

Down, down!

Narrator: Despite the order to remove all firing caps,

a careless soldier has put the entire union force in jeopardy.

The confederates are pouring shot into darkness,

absolute blackness, because they can't see anything.

They still don't know we're here.

Narrator: Gould knows if they return fire,

all is lost.

Stay down. Stay quiet.

Trudeau: It was important that there be no suspicion

that 200 yards

off their nose there were 14,000 guys

laying there, getting ready to attack.

If the confederate forces know about the federals out there,

they could use their artillery to blanket

that area with shrapnel.

They just had to grit their teeth and bear it,

trying not to give their position away.

Narrator: After several agonizing minutes...

The rebel pickets ease their fire.

What do you think?

It's awfully quiet.

You go get the captain.

Eventually, things quiet down.

There are some artillery bombardment

going on on the other places of the line

throughout the night, but things do quiet down.

There was a shot, but it's quiet now.

Narrator: Union forces are now just 200 yards

from the rebel line.

Should be any minute now.

Trudeau: The assault was delayed 40 minutes.

Affix bayonets.

Imagine standing up, "get ready,"

and 40 minutes goes by...

Where you're waiting for something to happen.

[ Gunshot ]

Forward!

Trudeau: Until they fired a signal gun

from one of the forts

that started everybody moving forward.

Narrator: The union assault on the Petersburg line

is finally underway.

Trudeau: You have 14,000 men moving across territory

they've never been on before,

facing an enemy that knew the ground.

So even though they had the advantage of numbers,

it was life or death for both sides.

Narrator: A daring nighttime attack

on the Petersburg line marks

a watershed moment in American history.

A massive union charge that will test men's courage,

threaten the confederate capital,

and bring victory for the north within reach has begun.

14,000 soldiers.

It's bigger than pickett's charge at gettysburg.

With that many soldiers in that formation,

they were hoping that they can drive

into the confederate position.

Narrator: As rebel pickets unleash a barrage of musket fire

on the men of Vermont,

gun smoke and fog obscure the Petersburg battlefield.

There's not a lot to see. It's probably what they hear.

[ Gunshots ]

You hear the noise, you hear the racket

caused by the pickets firing their rifles.

You hear the thousands of feet of the federal soldiers.

Fall back!

Narrator: Gould's men overrun the rebels' forward pickets.

Man: Move that Cannon!

Narrator: But they face withering fire

from the main entrenchments beyond.

Ready!

Here they come!

Fire!

The confederate artillery is opened upon them,

which has a devastating effect on the troops.

Forward, men!

Stay here and you'll die! Forward!

Narrator: The rebel gunners cut down the attackers

with an infamous type of round called canister.

It would have been a lead container

filled full of small iron balls,

packed in sawdust.

It created a gigantic shotgun-type blast.

Their mortal remains simply disintegrate.

Narrator: Gould faces the danger head on.

Trudeau: As they reach a certain point,

gould hears someone yelling,

"veer to the left, veer to the left."

He thought they meant him, so he turns his men left.

Man: Forward!

That is going to separate Charles gould

from the bulk of the force.

Officers, identify yourselves!

Lieutenant Pratt, sir!

Anyone else?

That's it, sir!

That clearly is gonna be a stressful thing

for some of these men who are looking around,

saying, "where's everybody else?"

Narrator: Making the hellish charge even worse,

the tangle of defensive structures, or abatis.

When the union soldiers reach the abatis,

they have no hope of really

keeping their ranks at this point.

You're going to have men hacking away at the abatis.

Hardy: The federal army had actually sent men

and armed them with axes

and ordered them to go and cut their way,

to chop their way through the abatis.

Not all of them made it.

Adelman: And the union soldiers get bogged down, sure.

Some of them have axes.

Some of them are able to maneuver their way through.

But it is an individual fight with the abatis.

While you're doing that, you are being shot at.

Cannonballs are exploding around you.

It's a horrible scene

to have to try to continue to move forward

under these circumstances.

Narrator: On the confederate line,

captain Nicholson and his men fight on.

There was a persistent confederate resistance.

Adelman: They saw this mighty union host,

they knew how thinly spread they were.

But I don't know if many of them would have considered it fatal.

Narrator: The main rebel entrenchment lies just ahead.

But making it there alive seems almost impossible.

He realizes that you've got one choice,

and that's to rush it.

Forward!

Adelman: Charles gould is somehow able

to find a clear way through the abatis.

No escape!

So he begins to lead a few of his men forward.

Narrator: What happens next is one of the greatest

displays of courage and sacrifice

in the entire civil war.

Adelman: Gould is this daredevil.

He doesn't wait for the other men to come up,

he just hops on top of the works himself and starts

fighting the confederate army.

Trudeau: Gould is thinking,

"get the job done, finish the mission."

[ Screams ]

[ Shouts ]

[ Groans ]

A bayonet gets him in the face.

Adelman: Gould is still fighting at this point.

He is able to kill that particular soldier

with his sword.

That guy goes down.

Yet a third confederate shows up

with a bayonet into the back

that just misses the spine.

[ Screams ]

This man has taken some incredible hits.

Adelman: This is not the time for you to hold some

sort of a board meeting to decide

what is to be done next.

I mean, you've got gould out of the battle,

lieutenant Pratt is now in charge

of that company of the 5th Vermont.

Trudeau: I'm sure word went back.

"Captain's been killed. You're in command."

Move forward!

Charge!

Narrator: Lieutenant Pratt

follows the lead of his fallen captain

and pushes his men forward.

Adelman: Here, you have union troops swarming over the works.

The southerners fighting with whatever they had...

Hand spikes, hand weapons, pistols,

and muskets... All in this fierce melee.

It must have just been a really intense moment.

Narrator: At close range, the rebel cannons

are devastating.

Pratt knows their only hope is to silence the deadly guns.

Adelman: He sees those cannons swiveling into position...

Getting ready to fire.

And it could undo everything.

Clearly, the confederates are about to blow them away.

Narrator: Pratt has just seconds to somehow

save his men from total annihilation.

Fire!

Narrator: On a cold April night in 1865,

union troops face vicious close-quarter combat

in a pivotal battle that will shape the nation's future.

At this point, the federals were not to be denied,

and they just kept coming.

Narrator: Union lieutenant Pratt and his men

are in a precarious position.

Though they've stormed the rebel trenches,

they're still vulnerable to Cannon fire.

Adelman: Pratt would have been able to see the confederates

loading the cannons nearby.

So Pratt is gonna lead a small contingent of soldiers

over toward these cannons.

Narrator: Lieutenant Pratt knows it's do or die.

It's up to him to silence the cannons.

Adelman: As fate would have it,

Pratt and some of his men arrive

just as there's a confederate with his hand on the lanyard.

That means the gun is fully loaded and ready

to fire into the mouths of the union soldiers.

Just as he's about to pull it, Pratt is able to cut him down.

Who know how many union soldiers

were saved by just cutting down that one gunner?

Narrator: The tide of battle is quickly

turning as Pratt's men target rebels

with the captured Cannon.

Adelman: Even while their lines are being broken,

there are still southerners in there that are gonna stick

to the last, ready to lay down their lives,

just to hold one more position.

Narrator: Few fight harder than rebel captain William Nicholson.

But in the end, his brave efforts aren't enough.

A wave of union soldiers

overrun the trenches at Petersburg,

killing or capturing more than 4,000 rebels.

Within hours, the union victory is secure.

Robert Pratt and the men of the 5th Vermont

have done what many thought was impossible.

They've helped to break one of the toughest rebel positions

in the war.

Everything they had been fighting for

is now within reach.

Adelman: I think people like Pratt now can see a little bit

more clearly the end of the war.

They can maybe see getting,

capturing Petersburg and Richmond.

They don't know what's on the horizon,

but they know that this is a consequential moment.

Narrator: Sharing in the moment

is a man seemingly back from the dead...

5th Vermont infantry captain Charles gould.

And, incredibly, gould will survive

the breakthrough at Petersburg.

Narrator: As fighting continues throughout the day,

the rebels are forced to abandon the city of Petersburg.

Hardy: When the federal forces are able to break through

those lines below Petersburg on April 2nd of 1865,

it really is the last nail

in the coffin for the confederacy.

Narrator: News of the crippling defeat soon makes its way

to confederate general Robert e. Lee.

He has no choice but to withdraw all his forces

and warn his political masters that the end is near.

The federals have breached the line.

The breach is apparent to Robert e. Lee.

He sends a message to Richmond saying,

"I'm advising you you've got to get out of town."

This triggers the exodus

of the confederate government from Richmond.

The mass of the confederate government

is gone from Richmond by about midnight April 2nd.

Once Richmond falls, we know that the war is over.

Adelman: Although I think that by early April 1865,

Abraham Lincoln must have seen the capture

of Richmond, Virginia, as inevitable.

You can't help but think how happy he must have been

when finally this long-sought prize falls to the union.

The breakthrough at Petersburg is the most consequential attack

of the civil war.

Narrator: On April 9, 1865,

a week after the breakthrough at Petersburg,

Robert e. Lee and the army of northern Virginia surrender.

And, effectively, when his army surrenders,

it marks the end of the confederacy.

It had taken four years,

four long years for the United States

government to conquer the southern states.

In the end, the south did not form its own confederacy.

Slavery was abolished.

It's hard to point to a lot of ultimate success

for the south in the civil war.

But after the war, a lot of southerners did write about

how against the longest odds,

the confederates had stuck to their post

and done their duty against an enemy

that was almost impossible to beat,

you know, to begin with.

Narrator: The war claimed the lives

of over 600,000 soldiers,

more than the number of Americans killed

in world war I, world war ii,

the korean war, and Vietnam combined.

Lincoln gave a speech towards the end of the war.

He said the heavens are hung in black.

He realized that the war

had reached into every household,

had touched every community.

Narrator: Following the confederate surrender,

Abraham Lincoln immediately sets to work

rebuilding a nation for all Americans.

Lincoln wanted to solidify the union

and make it whole again.

Trudeau: Lincoln said now is the time

to put animosity aside

and to come together as a country.

Narrator: But less than two weeks after securing peace,

Lincoln would be dead...

Cut down by an assassin's bullet.

Trudeau: It really amplifies the tragedy of his assassination

the night at Ford's theatre

because he was truly working towards a reunion

of the country in a way

that would not destroy the country.

Narrator: After the war, Charles gould wins

the medal of honor for the courage

he displayed during the attack on the rebel line.

Robert Pratt moved to Minneapolis,

where he would serve as mayor of the city.

Captain William Nicholson

of the 37th north Carolina infantry

is one of over 6,000 men killed or wounded

in the breakthrough at Petersburg.

The American civil war... It remakes the United States.

It changes who we are as a nation.

Adelman: The civil war helps to correct

what people might call imperfections

with the founding of this country,

you know, that maybe all men are in fact created equal

and proves, you know, that this experiment in democracy

can not only succeed, but it can make us stronger.

Tests upon that democracy can make us stronger.

The civil war has to be one of the, if not the,

ultimate tests of our democracy.