The Civil War is an epic nine-episode series by the award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.  Heralded as an unforgettable introduction to a four-year conflict fought in 10,000 places, the film vividly embraces the entire sweep of the war: the complex causes and lasting effects of America's greatest and most moving calamity, the battles and the homefronts, the generals and the private soldiers, the anguish of death in battle and the grief of families at home.

We will be screening this entire Civil War series over the course of this week.  Join us on Monday, April 21st at 1pm in the Hermann room as we screen the first episode, 1861 The Cause.  

Episode 1: The Cause
"Beginning with a searing indictment of slavery, this first episode dramatically evokes the causes of the war, from the Cotton Kingdom of the South to the northern abolitionists who opposed it. Here are the burning questions of Union and States' rights, John Brown at Harper's Ferry, the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the firing on Fort Sumter and the jubilant rush to arms on both sides.  Along the way the series' major figures are introduced: Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant and a host of lesser-known but equally vivid characters. The episode comes to a climax with the disastrous Union defeat at Manassas, Virginia, where both sides now learn it is to be a very long war."

Can’t make it to our Ken Burns Civil War screening but still want to watch it?  You can watch the entire Civil War series from the convenience of your own home using Kanopy, a free streaming service with your Falmouth Public Library card.