A comprehensive account of the American Civil War, with large-scale re-enactments of battles, contemporary photographs and haunting period music. The Divided Union is a gripping account of the bloodshed and horror of the American Civil War, the birth of democracy and the beginning of modern day America. From the origins of the unrest between North and South, to the specific events of the War and the eventual assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the programme focuses on the far-reaching implications for black civil rights. Together with lavish infantry and cavalry battle re-enactments, the DVD includes a collection of photographs from the Civil War and from the twentieth century.