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 Friday, April 25th at 1pm in the Hermann room as we screen the last episodes of the series, episodes eight and nine, 1865 War Is All Hell and The Better Angels Of Our Nature.

Episode 8: War Is All Hell
"The episode begins with William Tecumseh Sherman's brilliant march to the sea, which brings the war to the heart of Georgia and the Carolinas and spells the end of the Confederacy. In March, following Lincoln's second inauguration, first Petersburg and then Richmond finally fall to Grant's army.  Lee's tattered Army of Northern Virginia flees westward towards a tiny crossroads town called Appomattox Court House. There the dramatic and deeply moving surrender of Lee to Grant takes place. The episode ends in Washington where John Wilkes Booth begins to dream of vengeance for the South."

Episode 9: The Better Angels Of Our Nature
"This extraordinary final episode of The Civil War begins in the bittersweet aftermath of Lee's surrender and then goes on to narrate the horrendous events of five days later when, on April 14, Lincoln is assassinated. After chronicling Lincoln's poignant funeral, the series recounts the final days of the war, the capture of John Wilkes Booth and the fates of the Civil War's major protagonists.  The episode then considers the consequences and meaning of a war that transformed the country from a collection of states to the nation we are today."

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.