All language subtitles for Abraham Lincoln s01e02.A President at War

- You think anyone will
know mom's in there?

Abraham Lincoln, I'm
running for state assembly.

It's not certain I will succeed.

- You planin' on pourin' that?

- I would like to dance
with you in the worst way.

- I'm not like other
ladies, Mr. Lincoln.

- I'm afraid this might
be my one and only term.

- A nation guilty of practices
more shocking and bloody.

- Gonna be a big
argument in this country.

I intend to be ready for it.

Let us have faith that
right makes might.

- Yes, Lincoln!

- The government
will not assail you.

How long can Sumter
to hold out for?

- Wait for cooler heads.
- You must send more ships.

- I say we withdraw.

- Fire!

- Ladies and gentlemen,

some of you may
have heard of him.

- His story
has been passed down

from one generation to the next.

- Four score and
seven years ago.

- He felt that democracy
in its purest form

is for all people.

- All persons held as slaves
shall be thence forward

and forever free.

- But there's something
deeper than what he did.

It's about who he was.

- Lincoln grew up
in the poverty.

- Haven't done anything

to make anyone remember
that I ever lived.

- He's living proof

that Americans can rise
from obscurity to power.

- With that wit and that
charm and that intellect.

- It's better to stay
silent and be thought a fool

than to speak up and
remove all doubt.

- He has this deep
sense of empathy.

- He takes the
Declaration of Independence.

- All men are created equal.

- And turns it into
a nation's moral compass.

- As the country
is breaking apart

there's a turning point

where he's gonna
have to take a stand.

- Charge!

- Blood will be on your hands!

- Blood is already on my hands!

- He had to learn how to
be a Commander in Chief.

- I can't have a
war on two fronts.

- He was willing to admit
he was wrong and to change.

- We can attack immediately.

- He was the right
person at the right time.

- If we let this stand
for one minute longer,

we might as well say
goodbye to the whole thing.

Union, democracy, all of it.

Whoa!

- Pa, I'm stopping the rebels!

- Well that's good, tadpole,

we can't let 'em get
Washington, can we?

- Pow!

- You mustn't look like a
bumpkin for the cabinet.

I've seen two soldiers
camped in the east room.

Oh, they're so young.

- Don't mistake me, I'm
grateful they're here,

with the rebels at
our very doorstep.

Is there any word
on reinforcements?

- They're due to arrive
in Baltimore any moment.

Mary, I'll be late.

- There.

- The cabinet's waiting,
this just came in.

- Got nowhere to run.
- Ain't lookin' good for you.

- After Fort Sumpter,

Washington DC is
basically defenseless.

There aren't a lot of
troops in Washington DC,

and for the volunteers
that Lincoln has called up,

they must get to Washington.

As the 6th Massachusets is
marching through Baltimore,

a mob arrives and
there's a massive riot.

- Baltimore was a very
pro Southern city.

It's the largest city in
the slaveholding south

and proud of that.

- Soldiers opened fire.

People are killed,
soldiers are killed.

It's a shocking moment.

Here at the moment
of national peril

when the president calls out
troops to suppress a rebellion

rioters in the streets
attempt to prevent them.

- You talk about coming in
the office with full plate.

Lincoln's immediately tasked

with trying to preserve
a union together

that is already falling apart.

- By the time Lincoln
comes into office,

seven states have seceded.

The United States
doesn't even have

a sizeable military force.

There's only about
15,000 total troops

in the United States army.

- So the day after the
firing on Fort Sumpter,

Lincoln will call
for 75,000 troops.

- And with that four other
Southern states will secede.

Problem for Washington DC is
just to the south is Virginia.

They've just seceded.

It's surrounded by
Maryland, a border state,

that has secessionist tendencies

and we don't quite know what
direction they're gonna go yet.

- So Lincoln had to wonder,

is the Capitol in Washington
now an isolated island?

A federal jurisdiction in a sea

of insurrection and rebellion.

- You severely underestimate
rebel sympathies.

Southerners are resigning
from my Navy every day.

- The army is losing too many
of its best officers too.

- We lost Virginia
we lost Robert Lee.

We need a commander.

- First we need soldiers
for him to command.

- And how do you propose
to pay for all these men?

- You're the one holding
the purse strings.

- I cannot imagine the
pressure that he was under.

Nobody's sure that this country

is actually even gonna
last through his term.

- He was in a
very weak position.

The Republican party
is only six years old.

It has never had a president.

- He lands in the White House

and he has to
construct a cabinet

that includes people who were
previously his political foes

and who are absolutely confident

that they should be
president instead of him.

- Samuel Chase
still was upset

about losing the
Republican nomination.

Edward Bates of Missouri,
basically the same thing.

William Henry Seward
is a very famous

Republican Senator from New
York and a former governor.

- He's the favorite child
of the Republican party.

Seward is kind of angling
to try and be the,

the puppeteer, if you will.

- The first thing we should do

is blockade the southern ports.

- Don't let supplies
in or cotton out.

- A blockade will be seen
as an act of war by Europe.

- We are at war.

What's stopping us, we
have a Navy and ships.

- Ships?

Right now I don't have
any at my disposal.

Oh, and please tell
me, Mr. Seward,

what can we do with ships if I
don't have crews to man them?

- Gentlemen, a secessionist mob

has attacked the 6th
Massachusetts in Baltimore.

Some dead.

And we don't know when troops
will make it to Washington.

- So what do you
propose, Mr. President?

You find every rebel sympathizer
we can and you hold 'em,

without charge if you have to.

- Sir, that would be illegal.

- We don't know who's
loyal, Mr. Bates.

We have to keep control.

This is no time to be timid.

And where are the troops from
Rhode Island and New York?

Now I reckon we should
have a full blockade.

- What about Congress?

- I'll call a special session
of Congress in due course.

But we have to act now.

Is there another choice?

A third of our country
is in rebellion

because they don't like
the laws we all agreed on.

If we let this stand
for one minute longer

we might as well say
goodbye to the whole thing.

Union, democracy,

all of it.

- Lincoln is not
allowing the south

to just go its merry old
way without challenging it,

because the democracy
that America had created,

was unique in the world.

- It's important to remember,

Lincoln's just one
generation removed

from Washington and
Adams and Jefferson.

He feels his generation
has the responsibility

to keep that experiment going.

- Lincoln believed
deeply in the sanctity

and the spirit of
what this country was

and what it represented.

And so the idea that states
would secede was infuriating

because he was like,
well, we can't just

let them hold out the
threat of secession

anytime they don't
get what they want,

'cause they'll just
do this forever.

- So the war was a war
to preserve the union,

first and foremost.

They're going off to protect
this great experiment

that was incredibly fragile.

- So Lincoln assumed a
new presidential power,

which he called the war power.

- Lincoln declares the
suspension of habeas corpus

in Maryland, in Pennsylvania.

The military can now
arrest people at will

and imprison them without the
necessity of a court hearing.

- And he also
declares a blockade

to prevent the south from
exporting things like cotton

and importing all of the things
they need such as weaponry.

The north has the advantage
in terms of population,

in terms of industrial capacity.

- But the south had an
almost invisible army

and that was the army of slaves.

These were the people who did
the drudge work of the army.

These were the people who
performed all the camp duties.

This would benefit the
Confederate army a great deal.

- Now, wherever there was a
substantial Union army presence

enslaved people were
pretty much doing

what they had done even
before the Civil War,

which was to seek freedom.

And it creates a
logistical problem.

What is the status
of these people?

- In Virginia, enslaved
African-Americans

began taking boats in
the dead of the night

to the federal
installation at Fort Monroe

commanded by General
Benjamin Butler,

a New England politician.

- These are the Negroes.

They came across
Union lines, general.

- These runaways are mine.

My bosses that is, I'm
here to bring 'em back.

- That true?

Y'all runaways?

- You have to hand
them over, its the law.

- I'm aware of the law.

- Sir, if me and these
boys is gonna dig holes,

we'd rather dig 'em for Yankees.

- Your employer hire these
men out to dig entrenchments?

Were they secession?

- He's got every right.

There his property.

- Consider them confiscated.

If they're gonna contribute
to the war effort,

it'll be on the
side of the Union.

- You're gonna hear about this.

- Sir, what
do I do with them?

- Put 'em to work.

- Well, come on.
- Come on, boys, come on!

- According to the
fugitive slave law,

which is still on the books,

we're supposed to
return these people.

Butler said, I declare
you contraband of war.

You're here in camp,
you may stay in camp.

And Lincoln did nothing to
countermand the decision,

which led to the
self emancipation

of tens of thousands
of African-Americans.

- Right to the start, enslaved
people view the union army,

Lincoln, as their liberators

before they viewed
themselves in that role.

'Cause Lincoln is very nervous
at the start of the war

to keep the border slave
states within the union.

Maryland, Delaware,
Missouri, and Kentucky.

He said, we can't afford
to lose the states.

- He kind of stakes
the future of the Union

on his ability to keep
those slave states.

Because as long as those
border states are still there,

this is not a war about slavery.

Because there are
still slave states

who are part of the union.

- But the people
who clearly see this

as a war about slavery

are abolitionists,
are African-Americans.

- Frederick Douglass was a
few years ahead of everybody,

including Lincoln.

He had moved the family
to Rochester, New York

to publish the North
Star newspaper,

which became the leading
abolitionist voice.

Douglass believed
that the Civil War

was about ending slavery,

ridding the country of
this horrific institution.

- More eggs, please, mama.

- Now that's it, I can't go
to the office this morning.

- But the issue's coming
out tomorrow, love?

- Yes, but before it does,

I have to write a
response to that.

- Lincoln's speech to Congress?

- Mm-hmm.

- He calls the war
a people's contest.

- Keep reading, son.

He doesn't mention
our people once.

Lincoln's for the Union,
I'm for the Union too.

But this war is about slavery

and he's trying to
pretend it isn't.

- But you supported him.

- The man needs to be pushed.

The whole country does.

The only way he wins this war

is by using the strength of our
people against those rebels.

And I got three warriors
right here to help him do it.

- Up in the north,

in order to not lose support,
particularly from Democrats,

it's important to frame the war

as being essentially only
about saving the Union.

- The most important
thing to recognize

is it's not just the
north against the south.

It's the north itself that is
divided by different factions.

There are peace Democrats

who want to stop
the war immediately.

Those are the Copperheads.

On the other hand, you
have war Democrats.

The war Democrats
are willing to fight,

but only to restore the
union, not for emancipation.

- There are radical
Republicans, someone like Seward

who believed in
emancipation from the get-go

thought that the war
should be about that.

And then you have more
moderate Republicans

who simply want to
preserve the Union.

- And so all of those
different interests

are trying to push Lincoln
in their particular thing.

But let's not forget, he's
a very shrewd politician.

- And so even though Lincoln
thought slavery was wrong,

he wasn't even thinking
about the idea that

freeing black people
would be necessary

in the project of
preserving the Union.

- The loss of Fort
Sumter was in April.

Now we find ourselves in June.

There is a growing public
belief in the north

that we need to do
something, we need to act.

- And so by June, the
largest field army

the United States has ever
seen with about 35,000 men

under the command
of Irvin McDowell

is stationed in Washington.

- So Lincoln meets with McDowell
and general Winfield Scott,

the Commanding General
of the Union army.

He had been a hero
in the Mexican War,

but Scott was over
70 and he was ill.

- Now, Lincoln's not
trained in military science.

He will check out books from
the Library of Congress,

but he's really
trying to figure out

what it means to be
Commander in Chief.

- He had to learn how to
be a Commander in Chief,

just like he had to
learn to be a president.

And he had to
develop experience,

'cause the president has
to make some decisions

to fight the war,

as opposed to the general
fighting the battle.

- Richmond is the
key, Mr. President.

Isn't that right, General Scott?

- Indeed.

They've claimed it
as their capitol.

We take it, they're so called
Confederacy, will fall.

- I see the merit.

Can you move now?

- Let's not be too eager, sir.

- But I am eager.

Our enlistment period
is almost over.

We have got to end this
thing before it begins.

- The troops who are young
and barely in uniform.

We need time to train them.

- Well, if we are green
then so are the rebels.

We'll move on Richmond.

Immediately.

- Charge!

- I hope you boys all re-enlist.

- Yeah!

- Because I need every
single one of you.

- What can I do for you?

- It's about that army of yours.

Came by to find out when you
were intending to use it again.

- Why don't you leave military
matters to military men.

- Is it McClellan?

Replace him.

- With who?

This war has nothing
to do with generals.

- The rebels fight
on their own land.

- They have something else to.

- Make this a war for abolition,
we'll lose every election.

And the rebels will
only fight harder.

- We have played
every other card.

It is time to change our
tactics or lose the game.

- To everything,
there's a season,

a time to love and
a time to hate.

A time of war and a time

of peace.

- In July, 1861, only a few
months after Fort Sumter,

Union forces under
McDowell marched south

into Northern Virginia for the
first encounter of the war,

very close to Washington.

It happens around
the town of Manassas.

The battle is alternatively
called Bull Run

because that was a creek
on the battlefield.

- Lincoln's expectation

going into the first
battle of Bull Run is that

the war will be settled
in this one battle.

The south will win
its independence

or the north will put
down the rebellion.

Both armies are green,
not a lot of experience.

When Abraham Lincoln calls
for 75,000 volunteers

to put down the rebellion,

they are limited to a
three month enlistment.

The militia act of 1795, by
which he calls them forward,

says it's only three months.

- That's the way
we've always done it.

You know, the crisis comes along

and we call in all the farmers

to get your musket
over the fireplace.

And when the war's over,

we send 'em home to
be farmers again.

- Lincoln recognizes

that his men are
not well-trained,

but politically it would
have been an abject sin

to send all those
soldiers back home

if they hadn't been
used in the first place.

- The reality is
the overwhelming

sentiment on both sides

was let's get an army out
there and get it done.

And so Lincoln and other leaders

were pressuring the Union
army under Irvin McDowell

to get up there and let's fight.

- Even though it seems
so foreign to us,

there was a great
deal of excitement.

There was a great deal
of war enthusiasm.

Keep in mind, the
technology of the time.

We had no way to
see a battlefield.

People had seen
paintings and sketches.

And the notion was that
these men are in formations

and firing at each other, but
it must be relatively safe.

- There are people who
literally showing up there

with picnic baskets
on their wagons

to look at the armies
fight down on the hill.

- Congressmen and senators

and the social
elite of Washington

had come out to view the battle.

This is a major spectacle,
this is major entertainment.

- And
people really thought

this would be their only
chance to see one battle.

The Union army cross creek.

They wage an attack

against this very formidable
force of Confederates.

- Even during
these difficult times,

these trying times of war,

we must remain strong and
keep our faith in Him.

- Sir, news from the field.

What does it say?

- Lincoln is waiting
to hear how it's going.

Seems like good news.

- And it starts as a union
advantage early in the morning.

After church, Lincoln
spends the rest of the day

in the telegraph office.

This will be his
source of information.

- The arrival of the telegraph,

what Lincoln used to
call lightning messages,

changed the nature
of information.

Suddenly what was
known in one place

could be known in other
places almost instantaneously.

- Before you'd get up,

a dispatch would come in
every few weeks or something.

And so you really had to
give almost complete autonomy

to military leaders
in the field.

Now he's connected by a wire.

- The day began very
well for the Union.

They routed Confederate
forces and pushed them back

and not until the late afternoon

did the Confederate
forces counter attack.

- General McDowell has
a pretty good plan.

The problem was he
had a very green army.

And so on the battlefield,

they had a difficult
time maneuvering.

The south had many
of the same problems,

but then the south was fortunate
because during the battle,

the railroad allowed the south
to move reinforcements up,

which reached the battlefield
at a critical moment.

- Federal troops hear the
terrifying rebel yell.

This high pitched yelping.

Union troops described
it as otherworldly.

It had enormous results,
let's put it that way.

- The Confederates
start pushing back

and the federals cross back
across the creek in a mad dash.

They have been
completely routed.

- Citizens of Washington

who had gone down
in their carriages

and set up picnic baskets

on the bluffs overlooking
the battlefield,

they were having a high
old time for lunch.

And then when the battle turned,

their picnic baskets were
upended, they fled in disarray.

And the union troops
had to march back

in this searing, July
heat, humiliated.

- For Lincoln now the defeat
is not something that happens

hundreds of miles away
that you read about,

you see wounded soldiers,
defeated soldiers,

soldiers who've thrown
away their arms,

come streaming right
back into the Capitol.

So the idea of a
disaster became tangible.

You could see it,
you could smell it.

- What does McDowell say?

- That the day is lost.

- It was probably his
first military error.

And on that day,
Lincoln realized

that this was not going
to be a brief war.

It was gonna be a long war.

- The uncertainty in
Washington is palpable.

It's not clear that
the remaining defenses

around Washington

can handle a Confederate army
breaching the Capitol city.

What if they do manage to
capture the White House?

- McDowell's to blame.

- I'm responsible,
I gave the orders.

- What kind of soldier
runs from the field?

- One who's barely trained.

- Mr. President, I must
offer my resignation.

I should have insisted- - No.

This is my fault.

You warned me and
I didn't listen.

Now, how soon can we
reinforce the city?

The rebels are bound to
move quickly now that-

- I thought you
might need coffee.

There are rumors circulating

of an attack here in Washington.

Is that possible?

- My dear, you must take
the children north at once.

Washington is not safe for you.

- Will you come with me?

- You know I can't leave.

- Then I won't either.

- In the summer of 1861,

after the Union loses
the Battle of Bull Run,

the volunteers are
really depressed,

their morale is low

because they've lost the
first encounter of the war,

which they were not
only expected to win,

but to end the rebellion
in a single day.

- The Confederates
could have followed up

and might have made their
way into Washington DC.

They don't.

- The problem is the
victorious Confederate army

is just as shot up as
the defeated Union army.

- The only way you grow

is by being able to acknowledge
the mistakes you've made.

So Lincoln gets out
of the White House

and he goes and
sees the soldiers.

- He's trying to teach himself

what he's gonna need to know

as Commander in Chief of
the United States Army,

quickly, on the fly.

And after the
Battle of Bull Run,

he talks to William
Tecumseh Sherman.

- My men fought well enough.

But we did not expect the
strength of the counter attack.

There was a lot of bragging
before the fighting started,

but what we need
now are cool-headed

serious minded, hard
fighting soldiers.

And we need them for
more than 90 days.

Most of these boys, their
enlistment are up already.

So if you don't mind, sir,

I prefer you don't do
too much hoorahing.

- Yes.

- Boys, we've got
a special visitor.

At ease.

- Hi, hello, how are you, sir?

Good to see you.

Thank you, thank you.

No, no, no, no, no,
don't cheer, boys.

I like it myself, but
a Colonel Sherman here,

he tells me that
it's not military.

So I'll just say this.

We fought a tough battle
and we came in second,

but brighter days are coming.

If you need anything, please
just feel free to speak up.

- Mr. President.

Mr. President, can I
really ask you anything?

- Yes, go ahead.

- Well, my 90 days are
up and I gotta get home.

I spoke to the Colonel
sir, but he said-

- What did the colonel say?

- Well, he said, he'd shoot me.

- Shoot you?

Well, if Colonel Sherman
threatened to shoot,

I'd trust his word, cause I
believe he might just do it.

No, if your 90 days are up
of course you're free to go.

But just know this,
this isn't over.

Your country still needs
you, and I need you.

I hope you boys all re-enlist.

- Yeah!

- 'Cause I need every
single one of you,

every single one of you.

- The soldiers felt a bond
with this man, Lincoln.

When he came on reviews,
he's not distant from them,

he's not some
monarch on a throne.

Now, he is common,
Abraham Lincoln,

and he comes from places
that they have come from.

This surprised soldiers.

And they loved him for it.

- At the beginning of the war,

you have the professional
United States Army.

Many of the men had
all gone to West Point.

But the army that Lincoln
creates is a volunteer army.

Individual companies tended to
come from towns or counties.

- There was such an
incredible war spirit

that really people
of all grades of life

were volunteering
for the military.

Lawyers, teachers, politicians.

- Even Lincoln's
friend, Edward Baker,

who's a sitting
Senator, volunteers.

And Baker like a lot of people,

wanted to uphold the principles
of what America meant.

- And after the debacle
at First Bull Run,

Lincoln will call
for 500,000 troops.

So we've gone from a pre-war
time army of 15,000 men

to a call for 500,000 men.

- When Lincoln first
goes to visit the troops

through talking to
them he realizes

they're going to need
better leadership.

- So in 1861, George B.
McClellan is a 34 year old,

very successful
railroad manager.

He had gone to West Point.

He had a distinguished career
in the Mexican American War.

- Lincoln wanted an
aggressive general

and George B. McClellan
is phenomenal on paper.

- The last time we met,

you were stomping for our
late friend, Stephen Douglas.

- I am a Democrat, after all.

- What had reached
my ears was a,

a certain railroad
executive chose to

reroute a train full of citizens

bent on casting
their votes for me.

That's all in the past,
General McClellan.

What I need now is someone

to grab the army of the
Potomac by the shoulders

and give it a shake.

- Mr. President,
if you'll let me,

I'm going to take those boys
and make them into soldiers.

They will have the best
uniforms, the best rifles,

the best artillery, and
when they have the best

they will become
the most magnificent

and the largest army
the world has ever seen.

And then I'm going to march

this magnificent
army into Virginia

and those so-called
rebels will know

what power has struck them.

- Lincoln is no soldier.

He was elected captain
in the Blackhawk War,

but he hasn't seen real action.

And he's very cognizant of that

as he's suddenly the
president during a Civil War.

- By late October, Winfield
Scott decides to retire.

And so Lincoln will
tap McClellan as the

general and chief.

Lincoln says to him,

you are in charge of all
the United States forces,

including those out west.

You need to come up with
the strategic plan for that,

but you are also in charge

of the principal
field army in the east

and McClellan and his
ever confident way says,

I can do it all.

- By the fall, the war
is all around Washington.

There was a huge
infusion of soldiers

camping in its public spaces,

ringing the city to protect
it from Confederate attack.

And the war comes home
to the White House

in a deeply personal way.

- Six months into the war

at the Battle of Ball's Bluff,

Lincoln's good friend,
Edward Baker dies,

which is crushing
to Abraham Lincoln.

- Lincoln's second son was
named Edward Baker Lincoln.

They were that close.

- Lincoln and Baker
had known each other

since those days in the
back room in Speed's store,

a quarter of a century earlier.

It was said by a reporter that
his chest heaved with emotion

when he got the
telegram in the office

and that he just stumbled
out onto the street

with tears streaming
down his face.

- The death of someone
so close to you,

that responds to your call

by offering their
life and their service

has to leave an
indelible mark on you.

And you wonder, does
Lincoln blame himself?

- The day before Edward
Baker would lose his life,

He came to the White
House to see Lincoln,

and it was a
beautiful autumn day

and Willie was
playing in the leaves.

-Thank you.

And as Edward Baker
got up to leave,

he put his arms around
him and kissed Willie.

Willie loved him.

- Willie spent a whole
day working on a poem.

About Edward.

- Is that so?

I would dearly love to hear it.

It might do us all
a world of good.

Would you read it for us?

- There was no
patriot like Baker.

So noble and so true.

He fell as a soldier
on the field,

his face to the sky, blue.

- Come here.

- Well, it's been 20 minutes.

- He works for you, doesn't he?

- Sitting here all day
is of no concern to me.

I'd hold McClellan's
horse to get a victory.

- Apologies, I am quite busy.

Rebuilding several new roads

and we have over 50,000
men to equip and to train.

It's endless.

- How are the new
boys shaping up?

- Splendidly.

- Hmm, I'm glad to hear that.

You know, General, I
only served a few months.

Never saw any fighting,

but I did have a good
many bloody struggles

with those mosquitoes
though, ha!

- I'm sure you're not here
to talk about mosquitoes.

What can I do for you?

- Well, it's about
that army of yours.

Came by to find out when you
were intending to use it again.

- When it's ready.

As you know, I'm planning
a major offensive,

and these things
take time to prepare

if you know how to
do them properly.

And I do.

Respectfully, Mr. President,

why don't you leave military
matters to military men?

- Very well, General.

I have complete
confidence in you.

Look forward to a
successful campaign.

- At first, McClellan
does a stellar job.

He was great when it
came to organization.

He had the army of
the Potomac drilled,

their camps were clean,

and McClellan's men are
very dedicated to him.

There's lots of support
from the northern press

and all of this adulation
goes to his head.

- Lincoln turned to McClellan

because Lincoln is a man who
can look at somebody and say,

you know things I don't,

and I'm willing to
lean on your expertise.

But McClellan sees
Lincoln as this frontier,

backwater, uneducated ruffian.

- He would write
letters to his wife

and describe how he was
selected to be the savior.

And he would describe
President Lincoln

as the baboon or the gorilla.

And he would pretty
openly tell people

that this guy
doesn't understand.

He needs to get out of my
way and let me handle this.

- The Confederates are
still about 30 miles away

from Washington DC
in the Fall of 61.

McClellan has decided that he's
gonna wait until the Spring

to launch a campaign,

but he doesn't bother
telling Lincoln this.

At this point,
there is a committee

called the Joint Committee
on the Conduct of War,

and it is filled with
radical Republicans.

Men who want to move fast,

who are certainly
pushing for emancipation,

and they're becoming
increasingly frustrated

with McClellan as well.

- Lincoln is again, navigating
those difficult waters.

He knows he sent a very
green army to Manassas

and they were defeated.

McClellan's asking for more
time to train his army.

And Lincoln says, okay,
I will protect you

from the political pressures

of people saying that you
should get into action.

However, at the same
time he recognizes

the political pressure
to act can't be ignored.

- I mean, the strain is clear.

He was feeling pressure
from many sides.

- At the same time,

the Confederates were
actively pursuing

formal recognition on
the international stage.

And in 1861, they're
in the process

of sending their emissaries
to England and to France.

And they are on the
British ship, Trent,

which is stopped by
a US naval vessel.

They're taken off of
that ship and detained.

- You have to keep in mind

that the British
Navy was supreme.

And part of the tradition
and maritime law says,

if you board a ship illegally,

you are invading the
country who owns the ship

and the British demanded
they be released

or else this is an
act of war, they said.

- Lincoln is in a classic
dilemma situation.

Republican northerners
who had voted for him

want trial for
treason for these men.

But he also had to keep
England on the sideline.

So he's ultimately gotta
release these diplomats

and let them go
about their business.

- However, President Lincoln

had to build up public
support to do that.

Because the public
perception is everything.

For a president, your
ability to maintain morale

becomes the essential thing.

If you can't do that,

whatever you're doing with
the army becomes irrelevant.

- And so the courting
of newspapers really

helped his cause.

And I should make the point,

newspapers were not just
independent journals of the day.

They were part of the
political machine.

John Wayne Forney was
a Washington editor,

very influential politically,

and Forney became a frequent
visitor to the White House.

- John, we're in a tight spot.

So was the Queen of England.

Both of us are
clamoring for a fight

that neither of us wants.

- British wouldn't dare
go to war over this.

- You might think so.

You know it reminds
me, there was a,

there was a bulldog back home.

He used to growl all the time.

My neighbors were convinced
that there was nothing to fear.

And so was I.

And this fellow got me to
think twice, he tells me,

I know that bulldog won't bite

and you know that bulldog bite,

but does the bulldog
know it won't bite?

- I'm listening.

- Tomorrow I want you to
write an article about how,

how it would be good
for the country to,

to give those two
rebels over to England.

- My readers would rather
see those two hanged.

- I trust you to
change their minds.

I can't have a
war on two fronts.

I know, I know, it's,
it's a lot to ask.

But as a friend, I'm asking you.

- By the
end of December,

editorials written by
people like John Forney

reflected the opinion that
the Confederate diplomats

should be released

and started to mollify
the public reaction,

should that happen.

- One of Lincoln's great talents

is to keep focus in
the midst of crisis.

This focus is what members
of his cabinet like Seward

came to really respect.

- In early 1861, 1862 Winter,

very little is happening
in terms of fighting,

particularly in Virginia,

where McClellan is continually
training the troops.

- All these soldiers
are gathering together.

This costs money,
this takes time,

there's no action taking place.

- At this point,
Lincoln is feeling like

the war isn't being
pressed hard enough.

And so he's going to
take more direct control.

- Lincoln has to manage the
war sittin' there day-to-day

trying to plot where supply
is going and who's doing what,

what maneuvers are being run.

These days a modern president
would be frowned upon

to be micromanaging like that.

It's bad management practice,

but he didn't have an option.

- Eventually
Lincoln gives

one of his first general orders.

- The famous General
Orders Number 1,

which requires all
of his commanders to

go on the offensive

and to attack actually
by Washington's birthday,

on February the 22nd.

McClellan just ignores this,
makes no movement whatsoever.

And the only one
actually to move

is Ulysses S. Grant out west.

- Ulysses S. Grant had
gone to West Point,

not performed especially well.

When the war begins
he is clerking

in the small town
of Galena, Illinois.

- When the Civil War
starts he volunteers

to help train troops

and pretty quickly he shows
that he's got competence,

not just in training,
but in leading in battle.

- Ulysses S. Grant will
take Fort Henry and Donelson

in the beginning of February.

So there's the Western theater,

which is largely the theater

between the Appalachian
Mountains in the

Mississippi River,

where the Union is actually
starting to make progress.

With this Grant becomes
a national hero.

It's the first great
Union victory of the war.

- It's a little
bit ironic though,

with the jubilation
of the capture

of Forts Henry and Donelson,

because the Lincoln is
in major crisis mode

because it's this
same time period

that his little boy,
Willie catches typhoid.

- I hear cannons.

- It's a salute, Grant
took Fort Donelson.

He's a western man like your Pa.

Seems like he can fight.

Just like you.

All right.

Back to sleep now, okay?

- How is he?

- He's gonna be fine.

- In February of 1862,
Willie had fallen ill.

He probably contracted
typhoid fever

from bad water pumped
into the White House.

At first, they think
that he'll be fine,

but on February
20th, 1862, he dies.

When Willie died, Lincoln
put his head in his hands

and simply began to
sob and then said,

my boy is gone, my boy is gone.

- After the
death of Willie,

Abraham Lincoln put a
silk ribbon on his hat

so that he would always
remember the loss of his son.

- When I lost a son,

it was Mrs. Lincoln
who wrote me a letter

full of comforting words.

Look around, sir.

In her time of grief,
ain't no friend

no lady or Washington
society by her side.

She a outsider.

- I am very grateful
for you, Mrs. Keckly.

- Thank you, sir.

- Mary was of course distraught.

Took to her bed and
never really recovered,

I think, from the loss
of her beloved son.

- They had a private funeral

because Mrs. Lincoln couldn't
tolerate a public reception.

Her grief was volcanic.

She could not stop wailing.

She locked herself in her room.

We also know that Mr. Lincoln
was completely devastated.

He had been, many thought,
his father's favorite.

He'd been a boy with
great talent and promise,

and therefore his passing
was a matter of deep sadness.

- He wrote poetry,
he loved reading.

He had those
qualities of empathy,

sensitivity, intelligence,
that Lincoln had.

So he was like a
miniature Lincoln,

I think there's
something to that.

- When you look at all
the people who died

that were close to him, his
mother, then he lost his sister.

His beloved son Eddie,

his very, very close
friend, Edward Baker,

the death of Willie then
compounds the misery.

But the fact is, is that
Lincoln had a country to run.

- Now, as of March,

McClellan still hasn't
moved this massive army.

So Lincoln is going to
issue another war order

telling him to move.

And by March 17th, McClellan
has finally ordered his army

to the tip of the
Virginia peninsula.

- McClellan's plan is one

that Lincoln
initially objected to.

An amphibious operation,

moving down the
coast of Virginia,

landing on the peninsula,

and threatening
Richmond from the south.

- This is about 120,000
men on 400 boats.

- It was well-executed to move
this huge force down there,

but they get to Fort Monroe

and then they start moving
too slowly, like molasses.

And they're
essentially bottled up.

- Even though things hadn't
been going well in the east,

Lincoln has heard about Grant

with the two surrenders at
Forts Henry and Donelson.

And after that,
the western armies

were continuing
to make progress.

The Battle of Shiloh
ends up being an amazing,

if incredibly bloody victory.

- Actually the reaction
to Grant at Shiloh

was largely negative.

All of a sudden he
loses 13,000 troops.

There are unfounded rumors
of Grant being drunk

and people are calling
for his ouster.

- But Lincoln says, I cannot
spare this man, he fights.

- And that was the beginning
of Grant's ascendancy.

And Lincoln's
recognition in Grant,

someone who would not go
back, who would not wait,

who would not delay.

- Now, in previous months,

Lincoln discovered that
his secretary of war,

Simon Cameron is hopelessly
inadequate to the task.

And so then he's place Lincoln
nominates Edwin Stanton.

Stanton was a Democrat.

Stanton would get along nicely

with other Democrats
in the army,

especially George McClellan.

- McClellan's got
plenty of troops,

but still he sits
outside Yorktown.

He's got to attack.

- I'm sure he's as skittish
as a long tailed cat

in a room full of
rocking chairs,

but he's the best we have.

You said so yourself.

- I've sung his praises,

but he makes new enemies
each day he doesn't fight.

- What's your advice?

- Fire him, at once.

- If McClellan can just capture-

- He won't capture
anything at this rate.

- Well, he's got his
orders, he'll move.

He has to.

- Right after George McClellan,

the army of Potomac
land on the peninsula,

they will start to
work their way up.

About the same time
that they're advancing,

Abraham Lincoln arrives.

- Lincoln will
meet with McClellan

more than any
other Union general

over the course of the war.

Between July of '61
and April 1st, 1862,

he met with him
at least 57 times.

So very much a hands-on.
There's a lot of communication.

But we see him
increasingly frustrated

that McClellan isn't
doing the things

that he's asking him to do.

- This time when Lincoln
arrives down at Fort Monroe

McClellan's not there and it's
one more insult to Lincoln

and his responsibilities.

And so Lincoln's now
looking around going,

okay, well, I can't
meet with McClellan,

what else is going
on down there?

Hey, isn't that Norfolk?

What he's gonna realize is

that Norfolk is still
occupied by the Confederates.

Norfolk, which is
a major naval base,

and currently it's also the home

of the Confederate
Ironclad, the CSS Virginia.

This is a threat
to the Union army,

as well as to the blockade.

It's also a threat
to McClellan's effort

to get up the river.

- General Wool, would
I be wrong in saying

that since the rebels
have left Yorktown,

that Norfolk is vulnerable?

- No, sir, you
would not be wrong.

- Then why haven't we taken it?

- Well, there's the small matter

of the Virginia being
stationed there.

It's just destroyed
two of our best ships.

- What if we don't
attack it directly?

We'll take the Fort below
Norfolk, by water landing.

And bombard the rebel batteries
here at Sybil's Point.

And bring our boys ashore
somewhere near this area.

- You don't know
these waters, sir.

- It's feasible except for
the Virginia coming out

and destroying
our landing craft.

- We have a Navy too, don't we?

- Yeah, but we need solid
ground to land our troops.

- Let's find some.

- Right here, along the
south bank of the James.

- I'll go scout it myself.

- Mr. President, that
is enemy territory.

- This is the thing
about Lincoln.

All the experiences
that he had in his life,

they become part of who he is.

And he's got a
real physical sense

of how to operate on a river.

I mean, he has a
physical sense of knowing

the way rivers wind,
knowing geography.

- Be careful.

- Commodore, I saw some canal
boats back at the Wharf.

What if we furnished
some of our boys on them

and land in the shallows here,

they can float in
only a foot of water.

- That could work.

The bigger boats need
someplace deeper.

- What about there?

That looks like it

could be at least eight
feet come high tide.

- What you're saying,
if we get back now-

- We can attack immediately.

- There's the Virginia.

- Lincoln when he
arrives down at Norfolk,

it's a massive overreach.

President of United States,
the Commander in Chief

should not be in
tactical operations.

- Was I too rash?

Perhaps we should've
waited to attack.

- He has basically undercut
his entire chain of command,

almost as if to say
even a non-professional,

all it takes is a little
bit of initiative.

All it takes is a
little bit of activity.

All it takes is a little
bit of a watchful eye

to see where those
opportunities exist

and we can start making progress

at a faster pace than
we currently are.

- Troops have been
on shore for hours.

- We should have news by now.

- A dispatch from Norfolk.

The rebels are evacuating and
they've scuttled the Virginia.

- Are you sure?

- The city is ours.

- Oh, easy, Stanton,
you'll crush him.

Well,

we've done it.

- No, sir, no no.

You have done it.

- After some preliminary
bombardment by the Navy,

they will land Union troops
over on the Confederate side.

When the Confederates
see the Union troops,

they're gonna leave Norfolk.

They'll destroy as much of
the equipment as they can,

including sinking the CSS
Virginia, their ironclad.

And effectively Abraham Lincoln
has taken the initiative.

He's literally leading
from the front.

- There was a certain
method to his madness.

He was impatient.

He was trying to send a
message to General McClellan,

get moving.

- So McClellan will
move very slowly.

He'll move forward
up the peninsula,

fighting small battles like
big Bethel and Williamsburg.

- But the entire movement
up the peninsula is

slower than it should have been,

less aggressive than
it should have been.

The uncertainty of
the battlefield,

the idea that you're rolling
the dice on the battlefield

every time was very
upsetting to him.

And so it would cause
him to hesitate.

- It isn't so much in my
view that he's indecisive,

he is choosing to do what one
might call light sparring.

He doesn't want to
have a high body count.

He just kind of
wants to sneak in,

slap somebody
around a little bit,

step on back and keep on moving.

You know, he's
sending advance scouts

to the plantations and
farms along the way to say,

Hey, I'm coming through,

but I'm not gonna
mess with your slaves

and I'm not gonna burn anything.

We're just gonna be
moving my army through.

- Eventually the
Confederate forces retreat back

all the way till within earshot

of the churchbells of Richmond.

- And then at the end of May
at the Battle of Seven Pines,

Joseph E. Johnston,

who was in command of
the Confederate army,

is grievously wounded.

Jefferson Davis turns to
his formal military advisor,

Robert Edward Lee of Virginia,

and Lee is rushed out to
the field to take command.

- Robert E. Lee is
probably the most

iconic soldier in
American history.

He had had tremendous service
during the Mexican War.

And so on the eve of secession,

president Lincoln sought
to have Robert E. Lee

take command of the
United States forces.

Robert E. Lee makes
the decision instead

to go with Virginia.

- So Lee takes command
of what he christens

the Army of Northern
Virginia on June 1st.

And for the next three weeks,

it's going to be
incredibly rainy.

And McClellan's not
able to do much.

If you can imagine moving
an army of 120,000 men

with all of their mules
and horses and wagons.

But Lincoln believes that
this capital can be taken.

McClellan has more men

than has ever been
fielded in North America.

This could all be
ended right now.

- The weight of this
war fell on Lincoln

from almost the first day.

And that sense, that wearying,
nagging, never ending,

always draining sense of
responsibility, haunts him.

- Put your light out
soon, you're too weary.

- He asked for you.

- I'm with him when I can be.

I'm busy at the hospitals,

those boys so appreciate
when I read to them

and write their letters.

I need to be useful.

- Well, you can
sit with him now.

- Is it McClellan?

- As if Robert E. Lee didn't
have to march through mud too.

He could end this.

- Replace him.

Everyone says you should.

- With who?

Leave me with it.

- I think what kept Lincoln
up at night sometimes

was just knowing how many
soldiers had died that day.

And that he was the leader

that was in charge of this
decision to keep the war going.

And that these people had died,

their families were suffering
under the terrible loss.

- But Lincoln
understands the idea

that it was gonna cost a
lot of lives to win the war.

And I think President
Lincoln hit the point

where he had just lost patience
with General McClellan.

It just felt like he
wasn't aggressive enough,

he wouldn't fight.

- So despite all of the
men that McClellan has had,

he's able to make his
way outside of the

gates of Richmond,
but not into Richmond.

Meanwhile, Lee is
reorganizing his new army.

- And ultimately
at the end of June,

Robert E. Lee will launch
a series of battles

known as the Seven Days.

Throughout these
fights Robert E. Lee

will only win one
of those battles.

But what he does
is drive McClellan

back from the gates of Richmond

and pins him against
the James River.

McClellan will write
vicious telegraphs

to say that if I lose,
this is not my fault.

It's your fault.

You haven't given
me the men I need.

You haven't given me
the supplies I need.

And this is grating on Lincoln.

- So by July 1st,

this peninsula campaign has
essentially come to an end.

Lincoln will come
down to visit him

at a place called
Harrison's Landing.

It's there that McClellan
will hand him a letter.

- It talks about
civil military policy

for the fighting of this war.

What he says is that
it should be executed

with the highest
Christian principles.

That they should take
no Southern property,

that they should not
try and subdue the South

and that whatever we do,

let's not talk about
the issue of slavery.

And perhaps if he had
written it months earlier,

Lincoln may have
agreed with him,

but Lincoln doesn't
agree with him now.

The war has already
turned more resolute.

The war has already
turned more violent.

He's already now even
considering other ways

that they might be able
to put more pressure

on the Confederacy that
they might win the war.

- In the last weeks of June,

McClellan's army has
suffered a crushing defeat.

They were only like
four miles from Richmond

when Lee attacked them and
they were forced to retreat.

So the mood of the North was
really at its lowest point,

lower even than after Bull Run.

Enlistments were going down,

desertions were gonna happen.

And Lincoln felt that
something had to change.

- Now every summer from 1862 on,

Lincoln would find
some measure of escape

from the White House

in the high cooler grounds
of the Soldiers' Home.

This was a rambling
series of cottages

built by the Old Soldiers'
retirement complex in the 1850s,

but always, always
there was the war.

- There were so many times

when it looked like
the war would be lost.

After Bull Run it
certainly looked that way.

After the peninsula campaign,

it looked like the war
could easily be lost.

But he was the one who kept
the spirit of the army,

keeps the spirit of
the people going.

He absorbed those losses
and it just makes him think,

what can I do differently, how
can I change what's going on?

- The rebels still control the
Mississippi up near Vicksburg

and, well, we're back where
we started in Virginia.

- My Pa could've
made this chair.

He could make most
furniture with his hands.

- Abe.

We've got to make decisions.

We know McClellan's
not the answer,

but do you think General Hallock

can turn things around for us?

- This war has nothing
to do with generals.

They alone can't win it for us.

We have more men, more
supplies, more money.

Yet it seems we're always
tugging at the end of the rope.

- The rebels fight
on their own land.

- Well, that can make
a man fight harder.

They also have
something else too.

- Yes.

Slavery.

- If slavery's not
wrong, nothing is.

I must have everyone on board.

The military, public,

the cabinet.

- Over the summer,

Lincoln is talking
to people about

what will become the
Emancipation Proclamation.

He's talking to
his War Department,

he's talking to
State Department.

- Abolitionist, were clamoring
for Lincoln to do something.

They were saying, the
Confederacy has these black men

impressed into
military laborers.

Free these people, you know,

we can use them to
help us win the war.

Black men had been
saying it all along,

white men and women
started saying it as well.

Lincoln still believed
that the Constitution

made it impossible
for the government

to emancipate the slaves

because Constitution
protected property

and property was slaves.

- For political figures
who have a moral compass,

there is a constant
warring inside you

of when do I just
blurt out what I think

versus when do I bite my tongue

and see if I can
work something out.

Am I betraying the
ideals that I care about?

Or am I playing a long
game to advance them?

- There's a clear learning curve

as he learns the strategy
of what will be necessary

to win a war of this
magnitude and this complexity.

He exercised war powers
like few presidents

have ever in our history.

And they were pretty
upsetting to people,

but he understood that he
wasn't just the president,

he was the Commander
in Chief as well.

- So that's when he begins
to think about the fact that

I don't have the
constitutional power

to emancipate the slaves
in the Union as president,

but maybe as Commander in Chief,

I can emancipate the
slaves in the south

as a military necessity.

But Lincoln would have to
persuade the cabinet, the army,

and the people that the
Emancipation Proclamation

was the right thing to do.

- That on the first
day of January

in the year of our Lord, 1863,

all persons held as
slaves within any state

or designated part of the state,

shall be then thence
forward and forever free.

Now, I have made up
my mind about this,

but I want to hear
your opinions.

- Now is not the time
for something so rash.

- Where does your authority
come from to do this?

- I think it's exactly
the right time.

Doesn't the rebellion
give me authority?

I am no general, but I
am Commander in Chief.

Aren't I allowed to lick
the enemy anywhere I can?

- Make this a war for abolition

and we'll drive
Kentucky to the rebels.

- I've left it alone
in the border states.

This is a military order.

- Shift the manpower of
slaves from them to us.

If that's true, I'm all for it.

- Well, good for you, Stanton,
but the people won't be.

- Black and white
can't live together.

But if we push colonization,
people might swallow that.

- Well, it's overdue
but wrong headed.

You say there's a way
out for the rebels,

but this is an ultimatum
they'll never submit to,

unless that's what you intended.

- Everyone will see you gave
them a chance to act sensibly.

- They have their chance.

- This, this is madness.

I demand to be put on
record in opposition.

If this gets out, we'll
lose every election.

Congress will be lost.

It'll lead to
insurrection in the north,

massacre in the streets,

and the rebels will
only fight harder.

Blood will be on your hands!

- Blood is already on our hands!

We have played every other card.

It is time to change our
tactics or lose the game.

Now, I need your support.

- I think this proclamation
is what the country needs.

But don't release it now,
when we're beaten down,

the public will see it
as an act of desperation.

Wait for a victory,
however small.

Then the public will see your
proclamation for what it is,

a noble act.

- Well, if it's noble,

I'd rather it be
noble now than later.

But the governor is right,
public sentiment's everything.

We'll wait, we'll wait
for a Union victory.

- Have you included
my last changes?

- Yes, sir.

I hear Lincoln's meeting
with the Negro leaders.

- I hear the same.

It's a great opportunity.

After all his foot draggin',

to have a Negro
delegation come see him.

It's never happened before.

- Why' don't you go?

- I wasn't invited.

- I guess old Abe might not
wanna hear what you have to say.

- That's true enough.

But I sure would like to
know what he has to say.

- What I want is a
way out for everybody.

To that end, I've had
Congress secure some land

in Central America.

You and I, are of
opposite races,

physically speaking, we
couldn't be more different.

I fear it might take a
hundred years for you

to find equality
in this country.

Agree to my proposal

and my people will stop
killing each other.

And your people will be free.

That's my proposition.

Take your time to consider it.

As long as you'd like.

- Well, Mr. President-

- We'd be happy to
consider it, sir.

- Lincoln's favorite
politician, Henry Clay,

was a very prominent
member and president

of the American Colonization
Society that was formed in 1817

for the purpose of sending
free black men and women

outside of the country.

- Lincoln thought
slavery was wrong.

But he's also someone
who believed in

what he imagined as nuance.

And Lincoln frames
this like, he's like,

even if I wanted
black people to stay,

there is no way that
the average white person

would ever allow
black people to exist

without the threat of violence

hanging over them at all times.

They we don't want to
live next door to you.

They don't want you to vote.

They don't want you
on their juries.

They don't want you to go
to school with their kids.

They don't want you
anywhere near them.

And Lincoln said the
way to make people

feel less physically threatened
and socially threatened

is to say, after we
get rid of slavery,

this is gonna again be
a white man's country

and black people are
gonna go somewhere else

so we won't have
to worry about it.

- Keep in mind, the
free north is 99% white.

And so there is a palpable fear

among white northerners
of slavery being ended.

- Especially those who felt

that they were going to have
to compete with black men

for the same jobs,
for the same housing.

Now there were black
men and women as well,

who believed that the two
races could not co-exist.

They're just thinking, I am
tired of dealing with this,

I want out of this country.

But the majority of
African-Americans

were not at all interested.

We sometimes think that by
the time of the Civil War,

the people who are enslaved

are people who were
captured in Africa

and brought to America.

These are Americans,
they're not citizens,

but they are native
born Americans.

And their ancestors had
been here in some instances

before the Mayflower.

- Then in August, 1862, Horace
Greeley's New York Tribune

publishes an editorial called
the Prayer of 20 millions.

It basically says,
why, Mr. Lincoln,

are you delaying on issuing
a proclamation of freedom?

So Lincoln did write,

I think the most famous
letter to the editor,

in American history.

He said, I want to remind you,

my paramount object in this
struggle is to save the Union.

If I could save the Union
by freeing all the slaves,

I would do it.

If I could save the union by
freeing none of the slaves,

I would do that.

If I could save the
union by freeing some

and leaving others
alone, I would do that.

Lincoln is by this time
determined to be a liberator,

but congressional
elections were coming up.

So first he has set the stage

among an exclusively
white electorate

for emancipation to be accepted.

But his cabinet had
said, you've gotta wait

for a Union battlefield
victory or people will think

that this is what
William Seward called,

a last shriek on the retreat.

- Meanwhile, Robert E. Lee
will take the initiative.

From the time he takes command,

he will drive Union soldiers

back from the gates of Richmond.

By the end of August he'll win

the Second battle of Bull Run.

And now Lee is looking at
the spires of Washington DC.

And then what he will write
back to Jefferson Davis is,

now seems to be the
most propitious time

since the beginning of this war

for this army to
enter into Maryland,

a change of policy
for the Confederacy

to now invade the north.

- We're a little over
a year into the war,

and you're starting to get into

the effects of public sentiment

and what people are
thinking and morale.

- So the idea is Lee
would put pressure

on President
Lincoln politically,

and it might lure the Union
army out into a battle

in which it could be destroyed.

So he was able to
maneuver his force

to force a battle at a
place called Antietam.

- The Battle of Antietam will
unfold on September 17th, 1862

on beautiful rolling
farmland of Western Maryland.

The morning fighting will happen

on the right flank of the Union.

- The union army
will go to the north,

they will attack across famous
places like the cornfield.

- The
fighting that occurred

in Miller's cornfield
was so severe

that the cornstalks were
cut all the way down

to their bottom.

- Then the battle shifts to
the middle of Lee's line,

a sunken road.

This is a farm lane that
connects the Hagerstown turnpike

and the Boonsboro turnpike.

And after wagons going
across it had eroded

to become a trench line.

Two under strength
Confederate brigades

will defend that sunken road

and two divisions
of the Union army

will attack that
sunken road repeatedly.

- Sir, we should fall back.

- No, sergeant, we're
gonna end this now.

On your feet, men!

Charge!

Come on, boys, go go go!

- After two and a half
hours of fighting,

that Confederate line
will finally break.

But McClellan will commit
no more forces to it.

- By the time all is
said and done here,

the road is simply
littered with bodies.

It is more or less a graveyard.

And that's why it's
called Bloody Lane.

- Antietam was horrible.

The thing about Antietam,
though, that becomes important

is that Lincoln needed a win.

He's not doing really well

in the Spring and
the Summer of '62.

Antietam gives him
permission to issue

the Emancipation
Proclamation to the south

and change the
course of the war.

- Antietam's the first battle
that will be photographed.

The scenes of the sunken road
are absolutely heartrending.

People can't believe the
carnage that has happened

from this one battle.

Once these images are produced,

the reality of
war sets in fully.

- McClellan had 12,000
fresh troops in reserve.

He could have used
them to destroy Lee.

Instead he let him escape
over the river to Virginia.

Papers want his head.

- Well, McClellan has never
been one to embrace opportunity,

but we chased him out of
Maryland, still a victory.

- It is.

- Now I can release
the proclamation.

John, I want the cabinet
here as soon as possible,

for final remarks on the draft

in time for the
afternoon additions.

- Yes, sir.

- What kind of villain you think
the papers will make of me?

- It won't be pretty.

- I expect abuse from
the Democrat papers,

but the friendly ones,
they'll see the wisdom.

- I'd worry about enlistment.

They'll say it's a war against
slavery, not for the Union.

- My word is going
out to the people.

I won't take it back.

- Lincoln's the master of this.

At taking battles and
being able to spin them

for his needs politically.

So that was enough for Lincoln

to be able to issue the
Emancipation Proclamation

from a position of strength,
as opposed to weakness.

- So Antietam was
on September 17th,

by September 22nd, Lincoln
was issuing the proclamation.

That preliminary proclamation
said you have 100 days

to either come
back into the Union

or I'm going to free
your enslaved laborers.

- Many in the world,
particularly in Britain,

saw it as just
another political move

to undermine the Confederacy

and he wasn't genuinely
committed to it.

But on the other hand,
for many in Britain,

that becomes the moment
when Lincoln emerges

as the Great Emancipator.

- You have countries
like France and Britain

who had abolished slavery in
the years and decades prior,

who were thinking about the idea

of supporting the Confederacy.

But they also believe
themselves to be

very strictly
abolitionist nations.

And so when Lincoln issues
this Emancipation Proclamation,

Britain and France
largely back off.

And they said, well, we're
not gonna support this nation

that is founded
and predicated upon

the institution
of human bondage,

which runs counter to
our very political ethos.

- Meanwhile, on October 1st,
Lincoln travels out to Antietam

and he has a conference
with McClellan.

McClellan has
asked him to go out

and look at the battlefield.

And Lincoln is really
disgusted that he's showing him

all of these wonderful
things that happened

on the battlefield,

and yet this hadn't
been a decisive victory.

- McClellan had so
many troops in reserve

that are never put into action
and Lee had so few troops

that had all fought
throughout the day,

that had McClellan
pushed a little harder

there is reason to believe

that he could have destroyed
Lee's army that day

and perhaps ended the war.

- I did the absolute best
with what you gave me.

- And I gave you all I could.

- Do you want me to go
over strategy with you?

- Don't trouble
yourself general.

I will need to know the
strength and location

of all of our troops,

and the condition if you know
it, of the Confederate forces.

- That's all?

- Yes, that's all.

- There are elections coming up.

McClellan is very popular,
not only among his troops,

but among Democrats in the north

so Lincoln doesn't
want to fire him yet.

But the day after the
midterm elections,

Lincoln will fire McClellan.

- So Lincoln had waited
until the Battle of Antietam

to announce that he
was going to issue

on the Emancipation
Proclamation in January.

And between
September and January

the blowback was so great

that many people thought
he might not sign it.

The Republicans lost lots of
seats in the midterm elections,

the conservative Democrats

who were against emancipation
doubled in number,

leaving the Republicans
with a thin majority.

What people in the north feared

is that now the
south would never

come to the bargaining table.

This would mean the war
would be prolonged forever.

- Lincoln's aware of
all of these things.

He's being political about it,

but he's also being
thoughtful about it.

- On New Year's Eve
people are gathered

in black communities
throughout the north.

People are just
waiting on tenterhooks.

- There was what
we call Watch Night

where Douglass was with a
group of abolitionist friends

waiting to see if Lincoln
would keep his word.

- Well, no telegram yet.

- He said he'd sign it today,

And I believe he's
a man of his word.

I can wait a few minutes longer.

- I don't want folks to
think I doubted this.

My whole soul is in it.

- The morning that
Lincoln signed

the Emancipation Proclamation,

there'd been a big New Year's
reception at the White House

and he had shaken
hundreds of hands.

So when he went finally

to sign the Emancipation
Proclamation

his own hand was
numb and shaking.

He put the pen down, he said,

if ever my soul were in
an act, it is in this act.

But if I sign with
a shaking hand,

posterity will say he hesitated.

So he waited and waited
until he could sign

with an unusually
bold and clear hand.

- It cannot be overstated

how consequential
this document was.

With the stroke of a pen

Lincoln through the authority
he has in that moment,

frees millions of
enslaved people

in these Confederate states.

- It's coming over the wire now!

- It was a great
celebration that broke out.

Douglass was said to have a
great baritone singing voice

and I'm sure he was out there

singing at the top of his lungs

in celebration that this
document was finally signed,

which would change the
balance of the war.

- Emancipation creates a new
ethos for why people fight.

Yeah, to keep the
Union together.

But now it's a freedom fight

that goes back to the
founding of our nation,

was about freedom and justice.

- Later on, Lincoln
says that emancipation

was the central act
of his administration.

He doesn't say saving the Union.

He says, emancipation.

- Not too many weeks later,

Joshua Speed comes
to the White House

and he reminds his old friend

of that conversation
they had had

a quarter of a century before

when he said that he
would just as soon die,

but he had not yet done anything

to make any human being
remember that he had lived.

And then he said to Speed,
perhaps in this proclamation

my fondest wish
will be realized.

- I had the Emancipation
Proclamation,

one of the handfuls
of original documents

in the Oval Office.

When you stand there
and you read it,

it is very much a
military document.

It is full of caveats.

You're thinkin', oh, you
know, this is gonna be

a clarion call for
freedom and justice.

That's not what it is.

And yet Lincoln was
willing to stake

everything that he's done,

everything he's fought for,
to decide once and for all,

this will be a free house
and not a slave house.

- African-Americans
were ecstatic.

Even those who took
issue with the idea

that not everybody got their
freedom, they understood

that this was the beginning
of the end for slavery.

Douglass says, if
Virginia is free

Maryland can't be
enslaved for much longer.

You're going to have to
end slavery in Kentucky,

gonna have to end it in
Delaware and Missouri.

Also, the proclamation
gave authority

to bring black men
into the Army and Navy.

- This is because
Frederick Douglass,

had been advocating
to allow free men

and these contraband enslaved
men to join the Army.

And Lincoln agrees,

so it is the
Emancipation Proclamation

that actually establishes the
United States colored troops.

- That was believed
that especially after

the proclamation,

if you deserved freedom, you
needed to fight for freedom.

- I don't see
before me property.

I see men.

I don't see slaves,
I see people.

So what better defense against
the hand of the slave holder

than the hand of the slave?

What better way to
prove our humanity?

What's your question, sir.

- Will we get uniforms,
like the whites?

- You want to prove
you're a man, don't you?

- Yes.

- You deserve to be
treated like one.

You're gonna get a
uniform, and a gun.

-Yes sir.

And when you got those
brass buttons on your chest

and a musket on your shoulder
and bullets in your pockets,

there's no one on
earth can tell you

you're not a citizen and a man.

Can you see it?

- Oh, yes, sir.

- Go see these gents behind
me and sign your name.

How about you, sir?

You want to do it?

- When you think about his
own sons, Louis and Charles,

who he recruited into the
Massachusetts 54th regiment,

that's really putting his
money where his mouth is.

They were free, but yet they
would risk their own freedom

and their own lives to go
and fight in the Civil War

because that's how important
that cause was to them.

That's how important the cause
was to Frederick Douglas.

- Many people in the
south were furious.

You know, this is what they
feared during the 1860 election

and they thought that it
would create slave rebellions

across the south.

They thought it would
create insurrections.

They thought that he not only

was taking away their property,

but putting their lives in
danger in a profound way.

- So once emancipation is one
of the twin goals of the war,

it must embolden
the south to know

that we have to win this
war unconditionally.

- So Robert E. Lee once
again steals the initiative.

He marches for a second time
on a raid into the north.

Through northern Virginia,

across Maryland,
into Pennsylvania,

and the Union army of the
Potomac is on its heels.

- As Lee's army moved through
south central Pennsylvania,

they had no compunction
about rounding up

any black people they
could find in Pennsylvania,

shackling them together,
and shipping them south

to be sold in the slave
marts of Richmond.

- Meade is positioned here.

You can either defend Washington

or go after Lee in Pennsylvania.

- Where's Lee?
- We're not sure.

Somewhere here.

We think he was trying to
keep this mountain pass

between him and any troops
Meade may send his way.

- What's the nearest town?

- Gettysburg.

- What if we catch
Lee in the field here,

or in Pennsylvania?

That may be the best
chance to destroy his army.

- One big battle.

- What if Lee's thinking
the exact same thing?

- Then we're both looking
at the end of this war,

one way or the other.

- When Robert E. Lee decides
to advance into Pennsylvania,

another invasion of the north,

we are roughly two
years into the war.

There's hundreds of
thousands of dead,

and there's really
no end in sight.

- Lee wants to put
pressure on the north,

so we want to go north again

and force the north
to defend themselves.

Second, Lee wants to get the war

out of Virginia
for a while again,

he wants to give
Virginia a chance

to grow crops and harvest.

And because his army had
defined a decisive battle.

- And so what he's trying to do

is provide the ultimate evidence
to that northern population

that the magnitude of
sacrifice for this war

is no longer worth it.

We see this growing war
weariness in the north.

That's how Lee refers to it,
this growing war weariness.

It shows up in the
mid-term elections

where the Republicans lose seats

in the House of Representatives.

How much longer?

How much more is this gonna
cost in lives and dollars?

- Lincoln is starting
to come into his own

as Commander in Chief.

He's trying to find someone
who will chase after Lee

and destroy the army
in northern Virginia.

He turns to George Gordon Meade.

George Gordon Meade
lived in Pennsylvania.

He was a battle-hardened veteran
of the army of the Potomac.

- And the reason Meade is
chosen is in large part

because Lincoln's running
out of generals elsewhere.

He started with Irwin
McDowell, got rid of him,

and then McClellan,
got rid of him.

Then John Pope and
then Burnside, Hooker,

and Meade is just
simply the next in line,

and he only has command
just a short while

before he has to fight

really what is the climactic
battle of the eastern theater.

- Union calvary will ride
in to Gettysburg on the 30th

and they'll accomplish
the first orders

that Lincoln gives Meade,

which is find. Robert
E. Lee, and they do.

They find two thirds
of the Confederate army

are down to the west, one
third are off to the north.

The next morning on July 1st

Confederates'll march down
the road from the west.

Lieutenant Marcellus Jones

borrows Sergeant Levi
Shaffer's carbine

rested on a fence rail and
it's 7:30 in the morning.

Squeeze off the first shot
of the battle of Gettysburg.

This is a meeting engagement.

Both sides will send
in reinforcements

and what starts off as a spark
will throw like a wildfire.

- The Union army of the
Potomac is holding a position

just north of the city with a
couple of brigades of cavalry.

The Union puts up
one heck of a fight

and is able to delay
the Confederate army

for several hours

to allow for the Union to
bring up infantry support.

Robert E. Lee is going
to bring every soldier

he possibly can, overwhelm
the Union army of the Potomac,

and push them back through
the city of Gettysburg.

- The rest of the
day for the Yankees

seems like a dramatic defeat.

Yankees are running through
the center of Gettysburg.

Some of 'em are breaking off

and hidin' in addicts
and in cellars.

- By the end of the day,

it seemed as though
Lee had in fact won,

exactly the kind of fight

he thought he was
going to have to fight.

A Union force blunders
into his hands,

is defeated, is thrown back.

The only hitch of course was

that they hadn't been
thrown completely back.

They were still
holding Cemetery Hill

- Come on.

Lincoln is in Washington
and he is anxious

for what is happening.

He knows that
fighting is going on,

but both of these armies are
out beyond the immediate reach

of telegraph and railroad.

So the only news is fragmentary,

bits and pieces that are
floating through the newspapers,

through couriers.

There are wild rumors,

complete defeat of the
Confederate forces,

followed by complete
defeat of the Union forces.

But nothing entirely clear,
nothing entirely certain.

He's going to have to
wait, he has no choice.