Documents the history of the Civil War, exploring the causes of the conflict, following the course of the war on the battlefields and in politics, examining the motivations and actions of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and other key figures, and following events through Lincoln's assassination.

Live action and iconographic. Originally produced for television in 1989. Copyright date on container: 1990. Includes Civil War reconstruction production featurette; interviews with Ken Burns, Shelby Foote, George Will, Stanley Crouch, Jay Ungar & Molly Mason; "Ken Burns: making history" featurette; Ken Burns interview; optional commentary by Ken Burns; battlefield maps; Civil War challenge trivia games; biographies; and PBS web address.

disc 1.episode one. Cause, 1861 -- disc 2. episode two. Very bloody affair, 1862 ; episode three. Forever free, 1862 -- disc 3. episode four. Simply murder, 1863 ; episode five. Universe of battle, 1863 -- disc 4. episode six. Valley of the shadow of death, 1864 ; episode seven. Most hallowed ground, 1864 -- disc 5. episode eight. War is all hell, 1865 ; episode nine. Better angels of our nature, 1865.