There’s not a war that’s been fought by Americans or in America that has ever been called glorious by anyone without a touch of irony being attached to the word. The Civil War was a horrible time in this nation when people were divided by their ideals, their loyalty, and would fight their brothers if need be in order to push forth what they believed. Such movies do the war justice only in the sense that they depict a time when the nation was truly divided and seeking to wound itself even those that desired peace tried to find a way to seal the breach. Too many lives were lost and too many were forgotten in this horrible time since the death count rose to a tally that is rumored to have been beyond measure. It’s hard to say really how many were buried in unmarked graves or who were simply lost to memory during this time. All that is remembered in movies is that a country went to war with itself and while much was won, a great deal was lost as well.
Here are a few of the best movies that touch upon the Civil War.
5. The Gangs of New York
Martin Scorsese’s movie definitely took a lot of liberties when it came to showing what life was like in New York at this time, what with the constant gang violence and the overabundance of discontent. But the draft was all too real and the outcry against it was just as real since the Irish were essentially forced to register for the draft and had no choice at times. It was hard living since American customs were so foreign to those just arrived from Ireland, but being required to fight in what amounted to a rich man’s war was a horrid insult to those that came to America seeking a home the possibility of making a life for themselves.
4. The Outlaw Josey Wales
If anyone thinks that the Union was completely innocent during the Civil War then they’ve no concept of how a war really goes. Both sides have their own heroes, and in this case however Josey Wales wasn’t a hero so much as he was a man that had joined up with the Confederacy to avenge his wife and son. Once it was time to leave he didn’t really hesitate, but of course the sins of the past tended to follow those that fought around for quite a while, and despite not wanting to get into it with anyone Josey had to be on his guard continuously after the war, especially since he was being actively hunted.
3. Dances With Wolves
Honestly the opening scene in this movie is about the only time you really get a good glimpse of what the war was like, but it’s enough. In the surgeon’s tent the protagonist of the story was close to losing his foot after he’d been shot and dragged onto the table. Instead of accepting his fate however he did what might have amounted to suicide had it not provided a much-needed distraction for the Union soldiers to finally overrun the Confederate soldiers and ferret them out of their hiding hole. He might have gone in thinking to end it, but Dunbar ended up gaining a new lease on life that he hadn’t expected.
2. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Out of all the picks on this list this one is the most interwoven of the bunch since the gist of the story is wound up tightly with the events of the Civil War, but it doesn’t focus directly on it for that long, even if it shows hints of the effects that the war is having on the world that encapsulates it. This is perhaps one of the greatest westerns ever written, but it’s also one of the most iconic since not only did influence a great deal of pop culture that would come later, but it showed the war in a way that wasn’t so glamorous, allowing the grit and blood to peer through the glamour as people finally got a good idea of just what the war did to the nation.
1. Glory
Some could say, and rightly so, that there is no color in war that matters save for red. Those that fight and die at each other’s side are brothers in the same cause when it comes to war, or brothers fighting and dying because of differing ideals. Glory is the story of the 54th Infantry Regiment that ended in glorious disaster but did so in a manner that showed that all men are equal when thrust into a situation where life or death, triumph or defeat, are the only ends that matter. It was a great movie, and one that left a great many with teary eyes at the end.
The Civil War was anything but Civil, as history will reveal, and it can’t be allowed to be repeated.
