HISTORICAL FILMS

Available in Blu-ray, DVD or Digital Download in Our Store- Included in purchase is Episode I download purchase, purchase Episode II separately Rental for each episode priced separately. “ANTIETAM” The Mini-series Volume I Episode One: “Instruments of Change,” taps the constitutional roots of the Antietam Campaign: Confederate national strategy to win the war and secure peace with the North. The campaign’s role as the catalyst for emancipation is also established. The Confederate invasion of Maryland begins. President Lincoln reinstates George McClellan to command in order to forestall disintegration of the Union army. The Battle of South Mountain and siege of Harpers Ferry disrupt Robert E. Lee’s plans and timetable.

Available in Blu-ray, DVD or Digital Download in Our Store- Included in purchase is Episode 2 only. purchase episode I separately. Rental is priced separately per episode. “ANTIETAM” The Mini-series Episode Two: “The Day Everything Changed,” applies military precedent and tradition, strategic considerations, and the daily biorhythms of the body to Lee’s decision to fight McClellan at Antietam. George McClellan initiates “the bloodiest day in American history, with the attack in the famous Miller cornfield. The legend of “The Brothers” War” is compared with the true nature of Civil War combat, and the body’s chemical reactions to immediate danger. Fighting swirls around the Dunker Church and in the West Woods where “... one American is killed or wounded every single second.”

Available for purchase in Blu-ray, DVD or Digital Download in Our Store. Available for rental on our rental tab Digitally re-mastered in High Definition from the original 35 mm film negatives, this unique Civil War program was originally released as a cooperative venture between the producers and the National Park Service. The program has played at Antietam Battlefield’s Visitors Center, at a special, daily, noon showing, since 1998. A 22-minute version was donated to Antietam Battlefield in 2008. The earlier hour-long program was completely re-edited from high-definition film transfers, retaining the original music score and high-impact action scenes, while advancing the film into the 21st Century - HD era with all the rich color and detail of a theatrical presentation.

Available for Purchase Blu-ray, DVD and digital download in OUR STORE, available for Rental and download purchase on Rental tab Soldiers All is a dramatic film, with all of the educational value of a major documentary presentation. Based on the letters and diaries of the veterans of the Civil War, Soldiers All explores the expectations and motivations of the volunteers as they went to war and then faced the harsh conditions of campaigning and the brutal reality of combat. From the war's beginnings, with its eager but naive participants, we find the surviving veterans holding grimly to their earlier convictions, while fighting a different sort of war, near the end, when the two armies meet in field fortifications, launching desperate attacks and counter-attacks, and wondering if they would make it through the day, and make it home whole, and alive. On Bluray HD DVD and downloadable in HD as an .mp4. Running time: one hour and 20 minutes, stereo sound. The Bluray contains two special features and trailers from other programs.

Available for purchase in Blu-ray, DVD or Digital Download in Our Store. Available for Rental on our rental tab Imagine a film about Fredericksburg where the Union army crosses the actual Rappahannock River on a real pontoon bridge of the 1860s; where the Confederates defend Marye’s Heights from the Sunken Road – behind the actual stone wall – while facing unending waves of Union troops in their correct winter gear and carrying the right battle flags. This is what you get in “Fredericksburg,” a joint project of Historical Films and the National Park Service. Shot on 35 mm motion picture film, and again featuring the unique narrative voice of James Earl Jones, this one-hour documentary was staged on the Ferry Farm, opposite Fredericksburg, and at the Sunken Road just below Brompton Manor. Early union attempts to bridge the river, while under fire, are brought to life, as well as the thrilling riverine assault and house-to-house fighting. The pontoon bridge was a two-year, 15-boat undertaking, which culminated in a 300-foot “film prop” in exacting detail and wonderful utility. As one participant put it “Crossing that bridge was like walking through history.” The same feelings of realism will be found in the Union assaults on Jackson’s flank, and the attacks on Marye’s Heights and throughout this intense, action-packed documentary on the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Available in FOR PURCHASE Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Download or in Our Store. FOR RENTAL and digital download -see rental tab A one-of-a-kind, two-hour documentary on the Chancellorsville Campaign of May, 1863. Large-scale combat recreations bring this titanic struggle between Joe Hooker and Robert E. Lee to life, with scenes recreated in The Wilderness of Orange County, west of Fredericksburg. Narrated by Jody Powell, this in-depth program also features expert analysis from National Park Service historians Donald Pfanz and D. Scott Hartwig, as they walk the field, and describe events in a way that draws you into the action. Highly detailed animated maps complete the picture, giving you the most comprehensive and logical presentation of this complex and important battle. The action at “2nd Fredericksburg” and the Salem Church is also included, as well as the battle’s influence and impact on the battle of Gettysburg. No one has covered this huge four-day struggle, carried out over three separate battlefields, in the same depth and detail. The story is so big that it required two hours to cover it, and that’s exactly what you get with “Chancellorsville.

Available for purchase in Blu-ray, DVD or Digital Download in Our Store. Available for rental on our rental tab or digital download Imagine what it was like to be a new recruit in the Army of the Potomac after Gettysburg. Everything it takes to be a soldier – how to wear the uniform, set up camp, pack for marching, fire the weapon, follow orders, march, maneuver, fight and stay alive – must be learned, and quickly. “You are a Soldier” captures this unique experience in gritty detail, as a gaggle of new recruits are added to a veteran unit during the late summer campaign of 1863. Segeant Gordy describes the Battle of Gettysburg Sergeant Gordy describes the Battle of Gettysburg Like anyone in an established organization, the veterans are grateful for the replacements. They are helpful in guiding the recruits and imparting their wisdom of fighting and campaigning. But they are not completely accepting. “Acceptance” is something the recruits will have to earn – the respect of their comrades that can only come from keeping up with the column, and doing their duty in battle. The veteran, George, showing the new recruit how to wear the uniform. The veteran, George, showing the new recruit how to wear the uniform The full range of emotions and motivations about why men join the army, and fight a war, are explored. Soldiers’ pastimes – from devout religious observance to petty gambling – are revealed in this in-depth look at the life of a soldier. Produced for Gettysburg National Military Park’s Education Department, this program is an extraordinary classroom tool, exploring the life of a soldier from the perspective of a very young recruit – someone barely old enough to fit into a uniform and carry a rifle – as young as the students in a secondary education classroom.

Available for Purchase in Blu-ray, DVD or Digital Download in Our Store. Available for Rental on our rental tab Four years in the making, this multi-layered program follows the process of removing the Gettysburg Cyclorama painting from the old building on Cemetery Ridge, cleaning and restoring it, and re-hanging the panels in the new Visitor Center. Like the original painting itself, the restoration was a monumental effort, involving artists and experts from all over the world. This program not only captures all of the painstaking work to save and restore the painting, but also recreates the original work itself, from Paul Phillepeteaux’s first visit to Gettysburg in the 1880s to the premiere for the Cyclorama in Boston. But there is more: the event itself – Pickett’s Charge – is also included, giving this documentary a deep, rich, textured presentation that touches on all aspects of the painting, the restoration and the battle action depicted.

Available in Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download in Our Store. Available for rental or download purchase on rental tab Produced for the National Park Service at Fredericksburg, these programs take a look at war from the eyes of civilians: the men and women of the Fredericksburg area, their children, and also the slaves who became free during the hard fighting in and around Fredericksburg during the war. Nowhere was the fighting so prolonged and in such close proximity to the civilian population, as it was at Fredericksburg. With four major battles, and the area changing hands repeatedly, friendships and loyalties were tested – confirmed or destroyed by the wastage of war and the bitterness of change, of losing, and the occupation by Federal forces. The diversity of these feelings – so different for pro-Union residents and slaves – is covered in great detail and respect for all perspectives. “Virginia Desolate, Virginians Free” completes the story of the Civil War in Virginia, filling in the experience of those who were there before the armies came, who stayed on through battle and occupation, and who endured the “unendurable”: defeat - long after the war was over.

Available in Blu-ray, DVD or Digital Download in Our Store. Available for Rental on our rental tab and for download The Gettysburg Electric Map was a large terrain map, which remained in operation for almost eighty years at Gettysburg National Military Park. The original map was researched, designed and constructed in the late 1930s and featured electric lights of red and blue to represent the positions and movements of Union and Confederate armies. When the visitors center was moved in 2008 the map was placed in storage. This program is based on the original electric map concept and uses “electrical lights” in the same manner. The map is three-dimensional and was computer generated from the original terrain map. Photographs, graphics and combat action have been added to enhance the viewing experience. The narration is an adaptation of the original script for the electric map from 1938 and the program is narrated by John O’Grady.

Available in DVD or Digital Download in Our Store. Available for rental and digital download purchase on rental tab A massive two-day battle is covered in detail in this two-hour documentary of the Battle of the Wilderness. Filmed in the actual Wilderness, west of Fredericksburg, Virginia, The Battle of the Wilderness is the complete story of the beginning of the Overland Campaign of 1864. Hosted by Gordon Rhea, the author of the definitive work on the Wilderness, the program also features commentary and analysis by James I. “Bud” Robertson, National Park Service historian John Heiser and historian David Finney, with original animated maps that make the complex story of this battle easier to follow. Standard definition DVD and download. 110 minutes

Available in DVD or Digital Download in Our Store. R.E. Lee’s last offensive against the Union army around Petersburg is recreated in “The Assault on Fort Stedman.” Confederate General John B. Gordon’s elaborate plan to capture a portion of the Union siege lines is explored, including the making of white strips of cloth, used to identify Confederate assault teams during the night attack. Elaborate earthworks, including chevaux de frise, and a water-filled moat bring the action of the assault to life, as the breach succeeds beyond Gordon’s “most sanguine expectations.” But the follow-up formations fail to materialize, and the Union counter-attack in the morning recaptures the fort and two nearby artillery batteries. Union commander John Parke’s quick reaction restores the Union siege lines, virtually sealing the fate of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. “The Assault on Fort Stedman.” SD video; 47 mins.