By far the finest movie about a Civil War battle, Gettysburg (1993) takes us back to the bloodiest battle of the War, a battle, if lost by the Army of the Potomac, which might have led to two successor states in place of the United States of America. A superb recreation of the battle of Gettysburg with endless good performances. One of my favorite is given by Sam Elliot who portrays Brigadier General John Buford, a Virginian who fought for the Union, and who, probably more than any one man, won the battle of Gettysburg by holding off Lee’s army long enough for the Union army to arrive and seize the high ground. Buford died of typhoid fever in Washington DC on December 16, 1863, his well earned promotion to Major General of Volunteers being given to him on his death bed.
A good film to watch this Fourth of July weekend as we observe the 160th anniversary of that great struggle.
Bonus:
An excellent film. For a longer, documentary style version of the events, I recommend the nine part PBS series The Better Angels of Our Nature. Made in 1990 and available on Amazon Prime, it goes into more detail for those interested in more of the small things that are sometimes overlooked in shortened versions. Shelby Foote was a contributor and lends his knowledge to the accuracy of the presentation.
Gettysburg, such an awesome sacred moment in our history, becomes even more sharply focused, despite the shallow distractions of the present times, as a result of great films like this one mentioned above or Donald Link’s “The Better Angels..“. Add to that vivid eyewitness accounts like “Twilight at Little Round Top,” Glenn LaFantasie, [2005] “ or any of Shelby Foote’s works. One must imagine how the battlefield ran red with blood at places like The Cowpens, Devil’s Den, or Little Round Top; surely bodies were stacked like a woodpile (estimated 50,000 casualties).
I try to remind myself that the cost of Gettysburg had to be for some great divine purpose, notwithstanding the evil age of the Republic at present.