Documentary Review: DVD: Prophecies

 This is the second part of two DVDs by Shane Kester.  In this documentary Kester explains how the coming of the Book of Mormon and the Latter-day Saint movement are fulfillment of prophecies.  I was especially intrigued by the story of the Native Americans, as well as the Mormons who were both evicted from their homes, from the East and forced to move out of the country, to Indian Territory for the Native Americans, and to Utah for the Mormons.  It is after this that the Gentiles incurred the wrath of God in the form of the Civil War, and then in other wars.  The South would seek the help of Great Britain.  Great Britain would seek the help of other nations (as in the fist and second world wars).  (See section 87 of the Doctrine and Covenants). Kester tells how Jackson County, Missouri was laid waste during the Civil War.  This was in fulfillment of prophecy from Joseph Smith.  He also explains how the westward migration of the Mormons was also fulfillment of prophecy, including the miraculous crossing of the Mississippi.

Kester has lots of knowledge and shares it here.  Many intriguing stories.  

Book Review: Prophecies of Joseph Smith and Their Fulfillment

 Prophecies of Joseph Smith and Their Fulfillment, Nephi Lowell Morris, SLC, Utah, Deseret Book Company, 1920.

This book deals with seven prophesies of Joseph Smith and their fulfillment.  The first deals with predictions of war, not only the Civil War but after.  This is in D&C 87 in which is prophesied a war in the U.S. starting in South Carolina and then a general world war.  Both prophesies of war came to pass in the Civil war and WWI.  The prediction of war further came to pass with WWII but this was after this book was written.

Joseph Smith prophesied that the CHurch would bec ome a great body in the Rocky Mountains.  This took place under the direction of Brigham Young.  The Mormon "kingdom" extended from Canada to Mexico.

Joseph Smith prophesied that America was not the "new world" but actually the cradle of civilization.  Joseph Smith told of the place of the Garden of Eden and Adam Ondi Ahman where Adam and Eve dwelt after being expelled from the Garden of Eden.  Over time sciencce is proving this to be the case.

Joseph Smith talked with and made a prophesy regarding Stephen A. Douglas.  He said he would do well in politics, but if he ever turned against the Saints his political career would be over.  Such was the case.  Douglas spoke against the Mormons.  Despite being the Democrat candidate for president in 1860, the southern Democrats nominated their own man.  Abraham Lincoln won.  Shortly after this Douglas became ill and passed away.

The coming forth of the Book of Mormon id s fulfillment of prophecy.  It also contains many prophecies, specifically that it would be a land of liberty with no outside kings.  Such was the case in the Revolutionary War.  God strengthened those seeking freedom.  A similar thing happened with Mexico and the French who wanted to take over.  The Mexicans were able to reject them.  The Monroe Doctrine reinforces this prophesy.  

Orson Hyde would visit Jerusalem and dedicated Israel for the return of thmisA  Jews.   October 24, 1841 Orson Hyde dedicated Israel for the return of the Jews.  Only after this did England take over government control from Turkey.  This facilitated the return of the Jews.

Joseph Smith proclaimed that the birth of Jesus was the first part of April.  Biblical scholars now agree with this date.  The Book of Mormon reveals that his crucifixion has at 33 years and 3 days. This too seems to be accurate.

Joseph Smith prophesied that Jackson County was under condemnation and they would undergo and expulsion similar to the way the expelled the Mormons.  This happened in 1863 with the declaration of order 11 by General Thomas Ewing Jr.  Jackson County and two other counties were completely cleared out excdept for by Kansas City.  Houses were burned, crops destroyed.  People did not return until after the war.  Even so, most residents did not return.  Because of this, this piece of historyn is mostly forgotten.

Joseph Smith made prophecies which were fulfilled.  These predictions were more than based on logic but on having insight from God.  Joseph Smith was a prophet.

 

Media Review: The Forgotten Civil War Order that No One Talks About: Fulfilment of Joseph Smith Prophecy

 The Forgotten Civil War Order that No One Talks About:, Book of Mormon Evidence interview by Rod Meldrum with Craig Dunn, 2025.  Two men talking about the Civil War as fulfillment of prophesy in D&C section 121 where the Lord indicated that the treatment that had been heaped upon the Saints would be returned again to the residents of Jackson County.  

D&C 121. 13 Also because their hearts are corrupted, and the things which they are willing to bring upon others, and love to have others suffer, may come upon themselves to the very uttermost;

14 That they may be disappointed also, and their hopes may be cut off;

15 And not many years hence, that they and their posterity shall be swept from under heaven, saith God, that not one of them is left to stand by the wall.

16 Cursed are all those that shall lift up the heel against mine anointed, saith the Lord, and cry they have sinned when they have not sinned before me, saith the Lord, but have done that which was meet in mine eyes, and which I commanded them.

17 But those who cry transgression do it because they are the servants of sin, and are the children of disobedience themselves.

18 And those who swear falsely against my servants, that they might bring them into bondage and death—

19 Wo unto them; because they have offended my little ones they shall be severed from the ordinances of mine house.

20 Their basket shall not be full, their houses and their barns shall perish, and they themselves shall be despised by those that flattered them.

21 They shall not have right to the priesthood, nor their posterity after them from generation to generation.

22 It had been better for them that a millstone had been hanged about their necks, and they drowned in the depth of the sea.

23 Wo unto all those that discomfort my people, and drive, and murder, and testify against them, saith the Lord of Hosts; a generation of vipers shall not escape the damnation of hell.

24 Behold, mine eyes see and know all their works, and I have in reserve a swift judgment in the season thereof, for them all;

25 For there is a time appointed for every man, according as his works shall be.

This prophecy was restated by Joseph Smith to Alexander Doniphan, Smith's lawyer in Liberty, Missouri.  Talking of Jackson County, and a proposed trade of land in Jackson county for a debt owed Doniphan,  Joseph Smith said to Doniphan, "“Doniphan, I advise you not to take that Jackson County land in payment of the debt. God’s wrath hangs, over Jackson County. God’s people have been ruthlessly driven from it and you will live to see the day when it will be visited by fire and sword. The Lord of Hosts will sweep it with the besom of destruction. The fields and farms and houses will be destroyed, and only the chimneys will be left to mark the desolation.”

D&C 121 and the prophecy to Doniphan were both in 1838.  The Saints were expelled from Jackson County in 1833.  

Western Missouri  had more skirmishes and battles than any other place in the Civil War.  In fact blood shed exported from Jackson County preceded the war with the Bloody Kansas skirmishes.  During the war the bushwackers and the Red Legs from Kansas fought back and forth.  It was after the raid on Lawrence Kansas that order ii was given.  Quantrill and his raiders attacked Lawrence Kansas and killed over 199 men and children--anyone who could fire a gun.  After this attack the Union said they had had enough and something had to be done.  Order 11 was the result.  Three counties were to be vacated and burned.

This video says only Jackson county was effected but there were actually three counties and part of a fourth.  A memorial in Harrisonville, Missouri shows a chimney represting only the chimneys were left after order 11 in 1863.  What a manifestation of the fulfillment of prophecy.

A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass

A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass by David A. Adler, illustrated b Samuel Byrd, Holliday House, New York, 1993.
Frederick Douglass is not his name at birth.  His given name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey.  He was born to a slave women, who only saw him a few times after his birth as they were separated by twelve miles.  The nights she walked to see him she had to walk back by morning or risk being beaten.  Frederick was introduce early to the world of slavery, lack of clothes, poor food, and beatings. 
However at age eight he was sent to live with Sophia and Hugh Auld.  Sophia didn't know better and taught Frederick the alphabet, and intended to teach him to read, until her husband informed her teaching a slave to read was illegal.  However he would carry a book with him, and poor white children helped him continue his desire to red.  Frederick attended Sunday School, and at sage fourteen taught at the Sunday School. 
Frederick was later sent to other people as a slave.  One farmer beat him regularly, until Frederick fought back.  He continued a Sunday School, and clandestinely teaching slaves to read.
Frederick's first escape attempt was discovered, and he landed in jail.  He was sure he would be sent to the Deep South, but instead returned to the home of the Aulds in Baltimore. 
From there he made good his escape.  A freed slave gave him money, and a sailor lent him documents to prove he was not a slave.  He traveled North to freedom.  He settled in New York, and sent for the woman who helped him, Anna Murray.  They were married.  Frederick changed his name to Douglas at this time for fear of being recaptured.
He eventually went to work for the Liberator an abolitionist paper.  He published an autobiography, in which he divulged his real name and slave owners.  He went to Europe for fear of capture, always talking against slavery.  He returned to America after some friends his bought his freedom.
After his return he started his own paper The Northern Star.  
Douglass continued to be instrumental in Black causes.  During the Civil War he helped raise an African American infantry unit.  He complained of the difference in wages and quality of arms, but President Lincoln asked him to be patient.  At the conclusion of the war he was invited to the White House as the president's friend. 
Douglass continued in government over the years.  After his wife passed away he married a white woman.  Frederick Douglass was an initial proponent of African American causes and rights.  He also stood for rights of women and others.

Book Review: Mighty Ironclads and Other Amazements: Civil War

Mighty Ironclads and Other Amazements by Alison Wells, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 2005

The first Ironclads are amazing enough, but this booklet talks of other advances and how they effected the Civil War.  Improvements in photography brought the war to people.  Pictures of the dead were often taken and sent to home states.  Mathew Brady sponsored a crew of photographers, who documented much of the war.  However, the first battle, Manassas or Bull Run has no surviving photographs.  In the Union retreat, the wagon of Brady was upset, and the pictures were ruined.  There of course were other photographers.  Newspapers did not always purchase pictures, and they were wold directly to the public.  Also soldiers also wanted their image taken in case they did not make it home.

The telegraph was also a major advance.  Information could travel the speed of light.  No longer were there long delays in disseminating information.  The advance of Morse Code gave a method for exchanging information.  It was not unheard to have telegraph wires lined to the battle front.  Along with the telegraph, was the use of balloons for spying on military formations of the enemy.  Telegraph wires were also wired right to the balloon.

The telegraph wire did have it drawback.  The enemy could intercept messages, or worse could fake messages.  However, telegraph operators were familiar with the patterns of those with whom they communicated frequently.  They often could tell the difference between fake and real messages. 

The Virginia against the fleet blockading Richmond was a pivotal moment in history.  The Virginia was the Confederate conversion of the ship Merrimac, a steam powered ship.  It had been lined with steel.  There was some difficulty getting enough, and in some cases rails were used, having been melted and formed into plates.  These were attached to the ship.  This ship was 263 feet long.  In addition to cannon, it was armed with a battering ram.  The first day on Hampton Roads, the ocean waterway where the James River drains, the Virginia had great success.  Cannon fire from the ships did not affect the Virginia, and it was able to ram and sink the Cumberland, one of two ships (of about fifteen Union ships) that had cannon large enough to do any damage to the Virginia.  The other ship, Congress, it had badly damaged and ran aground.  Another ship had been sunk, and two more run aground.  At the end of the day, it withdrew, with the expectation of retuning to finish the job the next day. 

The Union had heard of the Confederate plans for an armored vessel, and had made their own.  When they heard of the battle in Washington, the USS Monitor, a flat vessel with a turret had been floated to the area.  The trip had been rough.  The USS Monitor almost sunk in the high seas.  However it was there waiting the next morning, and thus the first ironclad battle took place.  The USS Monitor was smaller, but its turret made a difficult target.  It was also better able to steer because of the smaller size.  The ships battled for four hours with no clear winner.  The Virginia withdrew and steamed upriver.  The blockade held. 

Book Review: Historic Monuments of America

Historic Monuments of America by Donald Young, Portland House, New York, 1990.

This is a very good look  at National Monuments.  It is pictures with narration.  This includes some natural wonder, but also many significant places in history.  It mostly talks about places managed by the National Park Service.  It does center around the North East.  It has a fascinating look at Civil War Battlefields and Revolutionary War Battlefields.  Also all of the monuments in Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area.  A few of them I have visited, including grant's Tomb in New York, past the Statue of Liberty, The Capitol Mall is such a wonder, along with the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, WWII Memorial, Washington Monument, and much more.   Independence Hall along with the Liberty Bell are also fascinating.  Fort McHenry is another place I have visited.  The fort withstood the assault, and thus the British had to abandon their plans of going up the peninsula to Washington. 
The pictures of Gettysburg also fascinate me.  This is a battlefield I hope to visit.  Of course there are other significant battles, but this one includes a two-page mural of the battle.  The Chickamauga section is also very interesting. The Battle of Vicksburg was another significant Civil War battle.   Speaking of the Civil War For Sumter where the war started, and Appomattox where the war ended are both monuments. 
As we head west there are less monuments, but still some very significant ones.  This includes Lincoln's birth and burial places, many Native American mounds which are fascinate me.  And then the St. Louis Arch and Mount Rushmore and incomparable monuments.
Battle of the Little Big Horn site is remembered as a monument.  Also many missions in the southwest,   and the Anasazi left the four corners area dotted with monuments one can hardly fathom.  Also many old barns have been memorialized, including a beautiful structure at the base to the Tetons.  Fort Laramie, and a few other old forts are monuments.  Fort Point sits below the Golden Gate Bridge.  Scotty's Castle in Death Valley is marvelous.  Then of course in Hawaii is the monument to the attack on Pearl Harbor, including the Arizona.
This is a great coffee table book, because these pictures bring history to life. 

American Biography: Frank and Jesse James

Jesse James, Civil War

Frank James

Frank and Jesse James weren't ready for the Civil War to end.  There was too much bad blood floating around, and they took up a life of crime, mostly bank robbery as a way to still hurt the North.  Some of their robberies specifically targeted old enemies, who were often murdered during the robbery.  John Edwards, a newspaper man with Southern sympathies found in the James brothers people who could use to promote the South.  Edwards had been a Colonel in the Confederacy.  He helped turn the James Brothers into folk heroes, while he tried to instill pride into southerners.  Although Missouri had officially remained in the Union, many from Missouri fought with the South.  Frank, 21 and Jesse 16 served with William Quantrill's raiders.  This was a guerrilla outfit.  They used ruthless tactics.  Quantrill's men carried off daring raids.  Trying to stop the raids the Union went after those associated with Quantrill.  When some of the wives and women were killed, Quantrill brought all his men together, and launched an attack against Lawrence, Kansas.  A third of the town was burnt down, and over 150 men and boys killed.  Frank James was involved in this massacre.  The Union pursued the raiders, and found Frank James' unit.  Frank escaped, and when he returned Jesse was with him.  Jesse James was involved in a raid on a train.  They captured twenty-two of Sherman's men headed home for furlough.  They were stripped, shot, and their bodies mutilated.
As the war ended, Quantrill was wounded and later died.  The exact history may not be known, but one story has Jesse James trying to surrender.  Under flag of truce, he was shot through the lungs.  His life would hang in the balance for eight weeks.  He was taken home, and he would later marry one of his nurses, Zee Mimms.  Frank James surrendered in Kentucky, and on his  way home would have a gunfight with four Union soldiers, killing two of them.
The James brothers were permanently scarred by the war.  Others also scarred joined them including Cole and James Younger.  Many other raiders stayed together, and began robbing banks.  After a hold up, Arch Clement was found my a militia in a bar and killed.  Several other members were caught and hung, and some drifted away.  However the Youngers and James and a core group continued on.  They were able to get away with tens of thousands of dollars (which would be millions today.)  They moved on to trains, first in Adair Iowa, where they derailed the train, killing the engineer and injuring passengers.  The Pinkerton Detective Agency was formed to pursue the James'  They caught Reuben and Zerelda Samuels, while their nine-year-old son slept.  The surrounded the house and threw in an incendiary device.  When it exploded Zerelda's arm was almost torn off (it was amputated) and Archie was killed.  Eight Pinkertons were indicted for murder, but never tried.  John Edwards continued to promote them, railing at the carpetbaggers and sympathy for the men who fought them.
The James Younger gang erred in going north for a bank robbery, Northfield, Minnesota.  The town was heavily armed, and everyone in the gang was wounded, two were killed.  The three Younger brothers were captured.  Frank and Jesse laid low for three years.  Jesse was the person who got back into robbing first.  He was the leader of the gang now.  His brother initially declined, but eventually joined him.  New blood was needed, and Charley Ford became a part of the gang.  His brother Bob also joined.  However these two were talking to the police, and planning the demise of Jesse James.  When Jesse turned his back to hang a picture, Bob Ford shot him in the back of the head, killing him.  Rather than a $10,000 reward, the brothers received $600,  The governor divided the money between several parties, himself included.  Bob Ford was not seen as a hero, but a coward for having shot Jesse James in the back when he was unarmed.  Frank James arranged his surrender.  He was tried on only two murder-robbery charges, and acquitted in both cases.  He tried his hand at a wild west show with Cole Younger.  He would die of a heart attack.

Based on Bill O'Reilly's Legends & Lies by David Fisher.

American Biography: George Armstrong Custer

Having come upon the camps of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, Custer but have thought he was headed to a great victory.  Custer had a strategy he had used before.  He planned to get behind the encampment, capture women and children and elderly and use them as negotiating collateral or at least human shields.  This strategy had worked for him before.  Native American warriors were very protective of their women and children.  He split his 800 men into three columns.  Captain Reno was to attack from the South, forcing the encampment to respond.  He would then swoop down out of the mountains in the rear with his larger force.  He knew he was out numbered.  It wasn't until later he realized the actual size of the encampment.  Captain Reno's attack was repelled.  They only made it to within a mile of the encampment, and turned around and retreated, suffering many losses.  Worse for Custer was the the Native Americans guessed his strategy, and were waiting for him when he initiated his attack.  Custer's men did not retreat, but penetrated the Native American forces, until they were completely engulfed and their fate inevitable.  Neither Captain Reno nor Captain Benteen who had been called back from a scouting mission came to his aid.  They remained dug in on Reno Hill.
When hearing of the battle President Grant would say, "I regards Custer's Massacre as a sacrifice of troops, brought on by Custer himself; that was wholly unnecessary--wholly unnecessary."

Before these events Custer had a significant military career.  He was still a struggling student at West Point when the Civil War commenced.  He was from the lower part of the class, and often received demerits.  However they were rushed through, and Custer was with the troops at First Big Run, having found his own mount.  He became a part of General McClellan's staff.  He was also brash and aggressive, and a bit impulsive.  He was also criticized for his pursuit of praise.
Custer and his cavalry had a major role at Gettysburg.  He had been promoted to brigadier general just before the battle, and at 23 the youngest general.  His troops charged into Jeb Stuart's calvary, and repulsed their attack.  He thus protected the Union line from Stuart's flanking moves.  Stuart was forced to withdraw, the first time in the war his calvary had been stopped.
He fought with General Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley.  At the end of the war, his cavalry got in front of Lee, and prevented his escape, and thus forced his surrender at Appomattox.
Custer came out of the Civil War as a national hero.  During the war he he also married.  His wife would go with him to his outposts throughout his career rather than be left behind.  However he still wanted to fight, and used his influence to become Lieutenant Colonel of the Seventh Calvary fighting the Plains Indians.  However he discovered the same tactics would not work.  The Indians would attack and then dissipate, and they were hard to find.  At one point Custer became discouraged, and left the field of battle returning to his wife.  He was court-martialed and found guilty of desertion, and suspended for a year.  However he was recalled more quickly than this because of the need.  The Indians were becoming more bold.  He was ordered to destroy villages and kill warriors.  In pursuit of a group that had been attacking settlers, he cam upon a village of Cheyenne.  Rather than wait for his scouts intelligence he attacked, and killed Black Kettle and many of his men.  Black Kettle was a peaceful Indian and was displaying a white flag of truce.
Custer's was involved in the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, or at least protecting the prospectoers.  This was significant as this area was holy ground to the Sioux.
Custer's rush to fame would prove fatal to he and his men at the Battle of Little Big Horn.  Custer would always wear buckskin into battle.  He said this was so his men could easily identify him and gather around him.  That Custer was failed by Benteen and Reno is true.  When Benteen arrived on the scene he reinforced Reno rather than Custer.  This was an order from Reno, his commanding officer.  Reno was accused of incompetence or drunkenness. This was not substantiated.

American Biography: Kit Carson

Kit Carson ran the gamut as far as his own history.  He was a Mountain Man, scout and guide for the military, fought in the Mexican American War and the Civil War, and was an Indian fighter and Indian advocate.  He was born in 1809 and lived 59 years.  He left home at age 16.  He traveled west with a fur harvesting expedition.  He joined John C. Fremont in exploring and mapping the Oregon Trail and parts of California.  Fremont and Carson would save each other several time from Indians.  He also saved Fremont and his company from starvation when they were caught in the snow.   Again with Fremont he was instrumental in the American uprise in California which lead to California being liberated from Mexico and becoming part of the United States.  He then served as a scout for General Kearney.  He was appointed agent for the Ute and Jicarilla Apache Indians.  Carson led Union forces in New Mexico against the Confederate.  He then carried on fight Native Americans in the area, Kiowa, Apache, Navajo and Comanche.  He became the commanding force in fighting the Navajo and their forced march.  His commanded officer, general James Carleton declared that the Indians must be beat and forced to move.  And on point Carson resigned his commission; but he took it up again.  He didn't attack their warriors, but their food supplies, starving them out.  Kit Carson became a man of legend in the adventure stories written about him.  After subduing the Navajo, he was promoted to general, and put in charge of calming the Kiowa, Comanches and Cheyennes.  Carson ended up in a situation similar to Custer's Last Stand.  His scouts underestimated the force against him, and the risked being engulfed.  Carson used two howitzers and back fires to keep the Indians at bay, and his men were able to make their escape.  The Kiowa call this the time they repelled Kit Carson.
Carson had three wives, and ten children.  His first wife he one after defeating a French Man in a duel at a rendezvous.  He was forcing himself on her, and Carson took offense.  Her name was Singing Grass.  She died giving birth to his second daughter.  His first daughter was raised by his sister.  He then married a Cheyenne woman but she left him to travel with her people.  He then married a Mexican woman.  He became Catholic to marry her, and they had 8 children together.
Kit Carson became one of the most revered men in the United States.  More than 50 novels were written about him.  However Carson was never one to be overly proud of himself.  He passed away just a month after his wife due to heart problems.

Civil War Movies: Movie Summary

Civil War Movies: Movie Summary

*****Gettysburg (1993) (Jeff Daniels, Martin Sheen,
http://bwardlehistory.blogspot.com/2013/11/movie-review-gettysburg-1993-third-day.html
****^ Lincoln
http://bwardlehistory.blogspot.com/2014/04/movie-review-lincoln-2012.html
****  The Outlaw Josey Wells  (1976) (Clint Eastwood and Chief Dan George)  This movie is a bit too violent, but I have enjoyed ever since seeing it in the theater as a youth.  Clint Eastwood is really good.  The ending is a bit strange.
**** The Littlest Rebel  (Shirley Temple) (1935)
http://mmboebillywardle.blogspot.com/2014/04/shirley-temple-movie-review-littlest.html
***^ Column South (1953) (Audie Murphy)
http://mmboebillywardle.blogspot.com/2013/10/movie-review-column-south.html
***^ The Littlest Colonel (Shirley Temple) (1935)
http://mmboebillywardle.blogspot.com/2014/03/movie-review-shirley-temple-in-littlest.html
***^ Gods and Generals (2003) Author Michael Shaara.  This is a prequel to Gettysburg, but just doesn't quite hit the mark in the same way.
http://mmboebillywardle.blogspot.com/2014/08/movie-review-gods-and-generals_17.html
***^ An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge (Ambrose Bierce)
http://mmboebillywardle.blogspot.com/2014/06/movie-revie-occurence-at-owl-creek.html
*** Ambrose: Civil War Stories(2006) Three short stories: One Kind of Officer; A STory of Conscience; An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge;
http://mmboebillywardle.blogspot.com/2014/07/movie-review-ambrose-bierce-civil-war.html
** Yellowneck (1955)
http://mmboebillywardle.blogspot.com/2014/10/movie-review-yellowneck.html

Documentary Review: Civil War 360: Fight for Freedom

This is a presentation from Smithsonian Channel and this episode features Dennis Haysbert telling not only of his ancestors, but the history of slavery, and the Civil War from the perspective of an African American.  This presentation tells many different stories.  Among other things it tells where the term "Sold down the River" came from.  Slaves were considered property, not people.  In fact, the value of slaves was about $3 billion, which was an incredible amount of money at the time, worth more than all the real estate of the area.  "Being sold down the river" referred to being sold south, where the work was usually more grueling, the life expectancy much shorter, and families almost always separated.  It was against the law to teach a slave to read.  The thought was if a slave could read then he would want more.  A great fear of those living in the South was a slave revolt.  Nat Turner had actually lead a revolt, and 50 citizens were killed.  Of course 200 blacks were killed in retribution, but the South lived in fear.  Many of the African Americans risked so much.  Harriet Tubman risked her own self, spying for the Union, and directing the Union men on some occasions in their pursuit of the enemy.  This movie points out how the Ciivil War was sandwiched between two illegal events, the attack on Harpers Ferry, and the assassination of President Lincoln.  John Wilkes Booth was at the first event, and perpetrated the second.
This movie of course also talked about how General Ben Butler first refused to return runaway slaves, saying they were contraband of war.  In the end President Lincoln backed him.  It describes the Emancipation Proclamation, and lastly talks about Black troops.  The risk for Black troops was much greater, because the Confederacy did not take them prisoner, but killed them.  A Black Soldier had to be better than the rest.  There was prejudice against them.  They received less pay for the same work.

Documentary Review: Civil War 360: The Confederacy: Trace Adkins

This is a very poignant presentation of the Civil War from the perspective of the South.  Trace Adkins' great-great grandfather served for the South, and was part of the defense of Vicksburg.  He was one of the 30,000 soldiers surrender to General Ulysses Grant.  Adkins tells other stories from the South.  This includes the presentation of the superiority of the calvary, and the ability of the calvary to attack well behind enemy lines, and bring back supplies.  There is also a presentation of the music of the war.  Maryland, was written as a response to the attacks in Baltimore when civilians were rioting against federal troops.  There is also a section on Jefferson Davis, and his younger wife.
I think the most poignant part of the film was viewing a portrait of General Robert E. Lee.  Adkins points out that there is sadness in his eyes.  Lee was prepared to lead the union, and did not  want Virginia to secede.  However when it did, he decided he could not raise his sword against Virginia.

Documentary Review: Civil War 360 The Union: Smithsonian Channel

Ashley Judd is the narrator for this episode that looks at artifacts from the side of the North.  Judd tells the stories of her ancestors who were in the war.  One was wounded and lost his leg.  One of the interesting things of this film is the look at a doctor kit and what things would have been available.  there were some pain killers, there were not antibiotics.  They unfold "Old Glory" a large flag, which was hid during the war as it had stars for all the states.  There is a very nice look at some of the artifacts on display from Appomattox Court House.  This includes the table and chairs.  I remember seeing these in person when the Smithsonian came to San Jose many years ago.  Another thing that made this war more real was looking at the pictures some of the soldiers kept.  Pictures were an important part of the war, with embedded artists drawing action scenes, and photographers documented the aftermath, which often included bodies.
The New York riots as a result of the draft must have been horrendous; especially for African Americans.  A unit of regular soldiers had to but a stop to things, but over 200 people had died.  I really enjoyed this movie.  It did not rely on actors, but on artifacts which are only found in the Smithsonian.  Although there were at times actors showing what happened.
A tidbit is the presentation of molds of Abraham Lincoln's hands after his death.  he had very large hands.  We are also shown pictures of some of the women who fought in the Civil War, disguising themselves as men.  There were at least 20.