"Simply Murder - 1863"--This episode begins with the nightmarish Union disaster at Fredericksburg and follows two clashes that spring: at Chancellorsville in May, where Lee wins his most brilliant victory but loses Stonewall Jackson; and at Vicksburg, where Grant is prevented from taking the city by siege. Also covered is the fierce northern opposition to Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, the miseries of regimental life and the increasing desperation of the Confederate home front. As the episode ends, Lee decides to invade the North again to draw Grant's forces away from Vicksburg. "The Universe of Battle - 1863"--The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the war. For three days, 150,000 fought to the death in the Pennsylvania countryside culminating in Pickett's legendary charge. This extended episode goes on to chronicle the fall of Vicksburg, the New York draft riots, the first use of black troops and the western battles at Chickamauga and Chattanooga. At the dedication of a new Union cemetery at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln struggles to put into words what is happening to his people.
