The Civil War

A Very Bloody Affair: 1862

Season 1    Episode 2
September 24, 1990    69m    TV-14
72%
1862 saw the birth of modern warfare and the transformation of Lincoln's war to preserve the Union into a war to emancipate the slaves. Episode Two begins with the political infighting that threatened to swamp Lincoln's administration and then follows Union General George McClellan's ill-fated campaign on the Virginia Peninsula, where his huge army meets a smaller but infinitely more resourceful Confederate force. During this episode we witness the battle of ironclad ships, partake of camp life, and watch slavery begin to crumble. We meet Ulysses S. Grant, whose exploits come to a bloody climax at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee. The episode ends with rumors of Europe's readiness to recognize the Confederacy.
Directed By
Ken Burns

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Cast of A Very Bloody Affair: 1862
  • David McCulloughNarrator
  • Sam WaterstonAbraham Lincoln
  • Julie HarrisMary Chestnut
  • Jason RobardsUlysses S. Grant
  • Morgan FreemanFrederick Douglass
  • Paul RoeblingJoshua Chamberlain
  • Garrison KeillorWalt Whitman
  • George BlackRobert E. Lee
  • Arthur MillerWilliam Tecumseh Sherman
  • Christopher MurneyElisha Hunt Rhodes
  • Charles McDowellSamuel R. Watkins
  • Horton FooteJefferson Davis
  • George PlimptonGeorge Templeton Strong
  • Philip BoscoHorace Greeley
  • Terry CourierGeorge B. McClellan
  • Jody PowellStonewall Jackson / Various
  • Studs TerkelBenjamin Butler / Various
  • Hoyt AxtonVarious
  • John HartfordVarious
  • Colleen DewhurstVarious
  • Shelby FooteVarious
  • Ronnie GilbertVarious
  • Jeremy IronsVarious
  • Gene JonesVarious
  • Derek JacobiVarious
  • Kurt Vonnegut Jr.Various
  • Laurence FishburneVarious
  • Pamela ReedVarious
  • M. Emmet WalshVarious

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