In April, 1865, after four years of bloody internecine conflict, the Civil War finally came to an end. In that one month, Richmond fell, General Lee embarked on his harrowing retreat and the Confederate States surrendered at Appomattox. Only half way through the month of April, President Lincoln was assassinated. But, as author Jay Winik argues in the bestselling book April 1865, these turns of events were anything but inevitable.

General Robert E. Lee's first invasion into the North ended in the Battle of Antietam--the bloodiest single day in the Civil War--and in all US history. Just 12 hours of fighting resulted in nearly 23,000 casualties. On September 17, 1862, two determined armies gathered near Sharpsburg, a quiet backwater near Antietam Creek in western Maryland. Union forces were desperate to repel the South's invasion of their territory. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, its back to the Potomac River, was fighting for its very existence. Much was at stake. But just why was Antietam such a terrible killing field? Now the latest forensic techniques are shedding new light on the question. Experts from the fields of archaeology, geology, weapons technology, and pathology investigate this uniquely horrific moment in American history.

Over three hot days at the beginning of July 1863 the forces of the Union and the Confederacy fought an epic battle in and around a small town in Pennsylvania. When the Battle of Gettysburg was over, the two exhausted sides had inflicted more than 50,000 casualties upon one another. To this day it remains the largest ever battle fought on American soil. The third day of the battle has always been thought of as "the high water mark of the Confederacy", the day when Confederate General Robert E. Lee lost the decisive battle of the American Civil War. But scientific battlefield evidence is mounting that by the time the artillery began firing that day, the Confederate fight was already doomed. And when Pickett's Charge - the famous full frontal attack against the Union lines - got under way, the Battle of Gettysburg had effectively already been lost.

More than the spoils go to the victor; sometimes they win silence as well. That is certainly the case when it comes to the Civil War prison at Camp Douglas in Chicago, Illinois. While the Confederate camp at Andersonville, Georgia is infamous, the tale of Camp Douglas has long been overlooked. Eighty Acres of Hell reveals that the Union was more than capable of matching the Confederates atrocity-for-atrocity. While 12,000 prisoners entered Camp Douglas, only 6,000 left. The rest were victims of calculated cruelty, torture and neglect. And southern soldiers were not the only targets of this treatment--many prominent Chicago citizens were incarcerated under the banner of martial law, unjustly convicted of imagined offenses by ruthless military tribunals. From the establishment of the camp to the terrible toll it ultimately took, Eighty Acres of Hell is a troubling look at a long-ignored chapter of the Civil War.

The common view of the American Civil War has always been largely black-and-white: North versus South, rural versus urban, slaveholders versus abolitionists. However, from the conflict's origins to the complicated progression of its major events, the reality of what took place is far more complex. In this illuminating documentary, discover one of the more obscure, yet fascinating aspects of the Civil War era: the contribution of thousands of Native American soldiers. With the help of respected authors Thom Hatch and Lawrence Hauptman, this compelling program reconstructs the forgotten stories of such men as Ely Parker, the Seneca leader who fought alongside General Ulysses S. Grant; Stand Waite, a highly skilled confederate general and member of the Cherokee Nation; and Lumbee Indian Henry Berry Lowrie, who led a group of philanthropic outlaws during the conflict.

During the American Civil War, hundreds of women cast convention aside, disguised themselves as men, and covertly enlisted in the Union and Confederate armies. Like every other Civil War soldier, these mothers, daughters, and sisters fought on the front lines, putting their lives on the line for their country. While some of them were praised for their patriotism and bravery, most were heavily ridiculed and ultimately thrown out of the army in disgrace. In this feature-length special, THE HISTORY CHANNEL ® explores the fascinating stories behind these little known heroes of the Civil War. Discover how these pioneering women went undetected while fighting alongside their male counterparts, and see how they risked everything for a chance to do their part for a changing America.

They are the fields and forests where countless Americans surrendered their lives. Their names echo throughout history. They are the Civil War Battlefields, and they are facing a crisis. For over a century, they have stood as quiet reminders of the greatest horror this nation has ever faced. But the ever-increasing suburban sprawl along the eastern seaboard is rapidly, and literally, paving over these hallowed sites. SAVE OUR HISTORY® travels to the most threatened sites to witness firsthand the forces that are arrayed against them. We'll hear from the developers who are hoping to build on these historic sites, and meet the preservationists who are working to save and restore what is left of them. What does it mean when we choose not to preserve our most historic sites? Can we fully comprehend, or honor, the sacrifice of the fallen soldiers without saving the soil where they surrendered their lives?