The idea came from loss. Recent goodbyes to several friends and loved ones had me coping by looking back, not only at a place where I spent five formative flying years, but further in time to a war I knew little about. Touring the battlefields and cemeteries of the most momentous event in American history was an occasion to learn, to contemplate, and to give thanks. In wandering that hallowed ground, trying to grasp the magnitude of the struggle, the sacrifice, and the aftershocks, I mused to those fallen as to my own lost souls: I’m sorry you are gone, but I’m glad you were here.

The movie is in two distinct parts: The first a travelogue and the second a history lesson. There is no modernity visible in that half, and only people from the past. It covers some of the largest battles of the Civil War, but barely scratches the surface of that war or the era as a whole. I hope it is an enjoyable, enlightening exercise that will have you appreciating those who "shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."