The Civil War is a very popular topic when it comes to American history. Every person who has read a book about the Civil War instantly becomes a self-proclaimed Civil War buff. Naturally, Hollywood has taken advantage of America's interest in the war through numerous portrayals. Unfortunately, Hollywood doesn't care much for the accuracy of their films as long as they sell. This apathy towards the facts often results in Civil War movies that fail to grasp the overall purpose of the Civil War, ending slavery. In this article, I will list some of the most popular Civil War movies and explain what they got right, and what they got wrong.

1. "Gone With The Wind"

"Gone With The Wind" is, by far, the most well known movies surrounding the Civil War era. Not only is it the most famous Civil War film, it is often considered one of the greatest films of all time, and the most successful film. Entertaining as this film might be, its revisionist portrayal of Southern life is far from the truth. The movie opens with this quote, "There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South. Here in this pretty world, Gallantry took its last bow. Here was the last ever to be seen of Knights and their Ladies Fair, of Master and of Slave. Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered, a Civilization gone with the wind...” This quote is exactly what members of the Lost Cause movement wanted people to think of the South, and Gone With The Wind does a marvelous job of portraying it. In this movie, the South was not a backwards society that continued to hold four million people in bondage instead, it was this storybook civilization that was destroyed by the Civil War. Slaves in this movie are jovial and always faithful to their masters. Some of the slaves who worked on Scarlett O'Hara's plantation are shown marching off to dig trenches for the Confederate army in Atlanta. In reality, slaves did do this, but they were not proud to defend the Confederacy like they are shown in this movie. The only time a Union soldier is shown, he is portrayed by the ugliest actor in the entire film, and is made out to be a criminal. Historians have criticized this movie for its inaccurate and offensive portrayal of southern life and slavery, yet this movie still remains at the forefront of Civil War movies.

2. "Gettysburg"

"Gettysburg", based off of Michael Shaara's novel Killer Angel's, is not a bad depiction of the war. Slavery is mentioned by both the United States and Confederate armies. Joshua Chamberlain, the main Union protagonist, does state that the purpose of the war was to set all men free. When his brother, Thomas, is asked why he is fighting he responds, "To free the slaves of course." So the movie does accurately show that some of the United States soldiers were fighting for the slaves. However, the movie was critiqued for its sympathy towards the Confederates. This is most clearly displayed when the Confederates mention slavery. One of the most clear denials of slavery as the root of Southern secession is in a scene with James Longstreet and a British observer. Longstreet states that he wished the South had freed the slaves before it had fired on Fort Sumter. I'm sorry General Longstreet, it the South had done that, they would not have needed to secede in the first place and their would not have been a war. After the war Longstreet did admit that the war was fought to preserve slavery, and he even became a member of the Republican Party; an action that alienated him from his former comrades. Gettysburg does attempt to mention slavery, but its accuracy is not consistent.

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3. "Gods and Generals"

"Gods and Generals" came out ten years after Gettysburg and served as Gettysburg's prequel. One would think that the filmmakers would take the criticisms that Gettysburg was too pro-Confederate and fix it for this movie. The complete opposite is true. Gods and Generals is almost entirely a Confederate movie. Chamberlain is once again featured as the main Union protagonist, but he doesn't even get screen time until about an hour into the movie. The main focus of the movie is Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. One scene that is absolutely horrid is when Jackson and his African American servant, Jim Lewis, are talking prior to the Battle of Fredericksburg. Jackson tells Lewis that he wishes that the Confederate government would abolish slavery, so Jim's family could be free. Another way this could be done, is if Jackson stopped fighting the war to preserve slavery, but this is never mention. All of the battles featured in the film are Confederate victories: First Manassas, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. Aside from Chamberlain at Fredericksburg, Union soldiers are usually depicted as the faceless enemy. Fortunately, critiques agreed that this movie was way too pro-Confederate, and it was almost universally panned.

4. "Glory"

Centered around the 54th Massachusetts, the first African American regiment, "Glory" obviously does one of the best jobs at depicting the Civil War with slavery. Some of the inaccuracies of the movie help to further the portrayal of slavery in the war. The real 54th Massachusetts was comprised of mostly free African Americans, but the movie has most of the main African American soldiers as former slaves. Although it embellished the amount of former slaves in the regiment, it furthered the point that these African Americans joined the Union army to help free themselves. Glory could have even gone a little farther in its portrayal. All of the movies I have listed seem to have a hard time depicting Confederates as villains, and Glory is no different. The main antagonists of the movie are not the Confederates who are fighting to keep the men in the 54th enslaved, but instead the white Union officers who are discriminating against the new regiment. Confederates are only shown twice in the battles of James Island and Fort Wagner. During these battles, the Confederates are just a faceless enemy who pale in comparison to the racist Union men that the 54th dealt with throughout the movie. Hollywood has yet to make a perfectly accurate and entertaining Civil War movie, but it came the closest with Glory.