Gods and Generals

Today I enjoyed this utterly long movie (3 hours 35 minutes). It is a lovely movie made in 2003, planned as a prequel to the 1993 movie Gettysburg. I've always been amazed by war movies and especially those that covers fighting tactics and techniques of another era.

Our common fighting techniques are very much different from those of the 19th century where soldiers formed up in columns and marched towards their objective. They get ready, take aim and fire, then start loading their weapons while the enemies do the same to you. It seems quite silly that they do not take cover or run around like we do now, but i think that was the best way then, and considering the reliability of the musket in killing your foe with a single shot.

The main focus of the movie was on General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, who can be considered the second most revered commander (after Robert E Lee) of the Confederate States Army (CSA) during the American Civil War. It covered from the start Jackson at the Virginia Military Institute, on to the establishment of the 1st Brigade, the First Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Fredericksburg and to his demise after the Battle of Chancellorsville. It was really a great introduction to the American Civil War for me.

You can read more about him here, here and here.

The other character covered is General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlian who was a Lieutenant Colonel then who just offered his services to the Union. I shall not cover much into this, but realised that the same actor Jeff Daniels was Colonel Chamberlian in this movie as well as in Gettysburg. How interesting that is! I shall write more after I catch Gettysburg.

You can also get the book with the same title as the movie here at Amazon.com.