The Divided Union: The Story of the American Civil War

From the wooden narration to the poor editing, the low budget, lack of care, and indifference to the subject matter of the production crew is obvious. When CDs became the dominant medium for software distribution, the term "shovelware" was coined, being a CD with content shoveled onto it haphazardly in the effort to make a cheap dollar. This documentary is shovelware. Massive amounts of stock footage, mostly of Civil War re-enactments, intersperses with interviews with subject matter experts whose views are often biased and sometimes contrafactual. The opening title sequence itself has a historical error: Kentucky was not a Union state. The Commonwealth of Kentucky declared neutrality when the Confederacy seceded, and was the first territory conquered by Union forces. The only reason I don't give this production a single star is that it actually has some value, although it takes a lot of slogging through mud to find the occasional garnet. There are no diamonds here. Take your money and your time elsewhere, and avoid this production.