All language subtitles for Blood.And.Fury.Americas.Civil.War.S01E03.720p.DSCP.WEBRip.x264-GalaxyTV

Narrator: After nearly 2 years
of fighting and countless dead,

the American civil
war is at a stalemate.

[ Shouting, grunting ]

Many people in the
north were concerned

they were not winning the war.

Narrator: Desperate for victory,
Abraham Lincoln endorses

a bold military maneuver
that will send union troops

on a mission unlike any other.

The federal army's
literally having

to rewrite the rules of war.

Narrator: At the battle
of fredericksburg,

men like second
lieutenant John Adams

will be asked to do
what no American soldier

has ever done before.

Fredericksburg was a
day of many military firsts.

Get down, men!

Narrator: He'll take part
in the first river crossing

under enemy fire in
American military history.

The idea of putting men on boats

and sending them
across the river under fire,

this is a brand-new plan.

So it's very innovative.

Narrator: And he'll battle
from house to house

as one of the first Americans

to ever experience
urban warfare.

The street fighting that
takes place in fredericksburg

has never taken place in
American warfare before.

Nobody had written a
textbook on how to fight

in the city at
that point in time.

So this was all
new to everybody.

Narrator: The unprecedented
tactics lead Adams

into the heart of
the biggest battle

of the entire civil war.

It was a killing field
from beginning to end.

[ Shouting ]

Captions by vitac...
www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by
discovery communications

narrator: By the
late fall of 1862,

there's no end in sight to a war
that's tearing the nation apart.

In September, at
the battle of antietam,

the bloodiest day
in American history,

union forces manage to stop
a rebel invasion of Maryland.

[ Shouting, gunfire ]

Fire!

Narrator: But before they
could deliver a death blow

to the army of Robert e. Lee,

union commanders
allowed the rebels

to slip back into Virginia.

It wasn't a very
decisive victory.

An opportunity to destroy
Lee's army had been lost.

Narrator: Now, 2 months
later, President Lincoln faces

intense pressure
to end the fighting.

For the first time, a
worried public is questioning

his ability to win the war.

If you're a person in
the north at that point,

looking at the situation,

you would have seen
that, despite many battles,

hundreds of
thousands of casualties,

that the armies were virtually

where they had been
one year earlier, in 1861.

Rable: Well, I think the man
at the top is always blamed.

I think people were
blaming Lincoln.

Anybody picking up
a civil war newspaper

after a battle would see
column after column of the dead,

missing and wounded.

Lincoln needs a victory
in the worst sort of way.

Narrator: Lincoln's hopes
for victory now rest with men

like 21-year-old John Adams.

He's one of the
thousands of union soldiers

who have been ordered
south, into Virginia.

Mackowski: He's a second
lieutenant at this point.

So he's worked his
way up a little bit.

He's got the
respect of his peers.

He's got the respect
of his superiors.

And, uh, he's
there to do his duty.

He's there to do his job.

Narrator: Adams and his men
are part of a new plan of attack

drawn up by union
general ambrose burnside.

Boys doin' well?

After marching
thousands of troops

to the north bank of
the rappahannock river,

burnside plans for them to cross
near the town of fredericksburg,

then push on toward the
confederate capitol of Richmond.

The union army's on the
banks of the rappahannock river

because burnside is intending

to make a mad dash at Richmond

and capture the
confederate capital.

The reason he wants
to do that is because

attacking Richmond
will force Lee into battle.

And burnside can use
his overwhelming numbers

and resources to overwhelm
the confederate army.

Narrator: It's a bold plan.

But it's hit a major snag.

Union troops lack
critical materials

needed to carry it out.

Burnside realized
that, in order to cross

the rappahannock
river at fredericksburg,

he was going to need Bridges.

The confederates very
inconveniently had destroyed

all the existing Bridges
earlier in the war.

So he planned to have
Bridges sent to him

from Washington D.C.,
not... not permanent Bridges

but pontoon Bridges,
floating Bridges.

Because of the
bureaucratic slowness

that plagues the union army,

those bridging
materials don't get sent.

Narrator: Until the
bridging material arrives,

the federal troops are stuck
on the north bank of the river.

And as each day passes,

the confederates have
more time to mount a defense.

They have lost the
element of surprise.

Narrator: Near the banks
of the rappahannock,

the men of the 17th
Mississippi have already started

turning the town
into a fortress.

You think they'll get across?

[ Sighs ] I doubt it.

Them yanks don't really have
the, uh, stomach for fightin'.

Yeah. They fought
like hell in Maryland.

Yeah. Well, Maryland
was different,

had their backs
against the wall up there.

But, down here, they just don't
know what they're fightin' for.

Mackowski: When the confederate
army fortify their positions,

they're able to take
advantage of hedge rows,

of fences, of stacks of wood.

- You ready?
- Let's do it.

Pfanz: Lee was
always outnumbered.

Fredericksburg,
he'd be outnumbered

by roughly 50 percent.

He had to somehow
improve the odds in his favor

and conserve his manpower.

And the way you conserve
men is to protect them.

So they essentially
took a good position

and made it even stronger.

Narrator: The defensive
plan at fredericksburg includes

sending sharpshooters
to dig rifle pits

into the riverbank
at the edge of town.

Pfanz: Their orders
were to watch the river,

report any movements
of the enemy,

and, if the enemy
did try to cross,

to delay them as
long as possible.

Basically, they're acting
as the advanced eyes

and ears of the
confederate army.

Narrator: One of the
men keeping close watch

on the river is Robert Moore,

a 24-year-old private

from Marshall
county, Mississippi.

Mackowski: Moore
and his colleagues

had a reputation for
being excellent shots.

They were known as
the confederate hornets

because they could
sting from such a distance.

So guys like Moore,

who are down there
on the front lines,

are there because they're
the ones best equipped

to be that first
line of defense.

Narrator: As days of
waiting for an attack

turn into weeks, soldiers
on both sides start watching

for a different kind
of river crossing.

The rappahannock river's
only about 400 yards wide

at fredericksburg.

And so soldiers who
were posted on either bank

are able to trade
with each other.

Rable: They rigged up
sailboats to cross the river

to exchange these items.

And when the wind was
right, you'd set your boat afloat.

And if you were lucky,
uh, it would make it

across the river
to the other side.

Rable: Confederates, of
course, could supply tobacco,

and the federals
could supply coffee.

So there were a lot of coffee
and tobacco exchanges.

Hey, reb!

Why don't you ask for
money instead of coffee?

You'd buy yourself
a real uniform.

No point. Don't need a
uniform to shoot hogs!

And they also, shall we
say, exchanged words,

or what we would
today call trash talk.

Some of the banter back
and forth across the river

was very good-natured.

Uh, sometimes it was
very, uh, uh, ill-natured.

Well, if y'all are
still there next week,

bring more papers.

Papers?

I thought you
crackers couldn't read.

Of course we can.

How do you spell manassas again?

Were there two ns?

Narrator: For President
Lincoln, news of the union delay

in crossing the
rappahannock is agonizing.

Just weeks earlier, on
September 22, 1862,

he announced his
plans to abolish slavery.

Pfanz: It was at that time
that Abraham Lincoln issued

his preliminary
emancipation proclamation,

which stated that, come
January 1st of 1863,

that all slaves would be freed.

Narrator: Now more than
ever, he needs to be seen

as a strong leader
who can end the war

and make good on
his historic promise.

Mackowski: He's got
this huge moral imperative

that he has reframed
the entire war with.

If Lincoln doesn't get
a win on the battlefield,

the emancipation proclamation

is gonna seem like the last gasp

of the dying union effort.

Narrator: Union
soldiers like John Adams

are in full support
of Lincoln's fight

against slavery.

Adams comes from an
area of Massachusetts

that is very involved with
the abolitionist movement.

So he thinks that the
whole slavery crusade

is actually a pretty good idea,

"about time."

Pfanz: He would argue that
the issue of slavery had been

a canker within
the United States.

It had been the source
of almost all its troubles,

internal troubles, uh,
since the very beginning.

And there was no point in
fighting and winning a war

if you're going to
leave that canker there.

Narrator: But as Adams
is about to discover,

not everyone in the union
agrees with his position.

Aren't you supposed
to be on picket duty?

I don't think those rebs
are goin' anywhere soon.

What the hell are
you doin' out here?

Ain't that the sergeant's job?

I thought this
would lift your spirits.

It's from your folks.

- I think it might be food.
- Give it here.

The emancipation proclamation

was controversial
in the country,

and it was especially
controversial in the armies.

Narrator: So controversial
that some soldiers

are getting clothes
sent from home

to help them take
a drastic step.

Rable: A number of
soldiers would say,

"we came out here
to fight for the union,

not to fight for black people."

They said it less
politely than that,

but you... you get the point.

You in a better mood?

Hey, Nelson!

Nelson!

It's desertion.

You'll be hanged or shot.

Maybe. But if I stay here

and try and cross that river
tomorrow, I'm a dead man.

- That's for sure.
- You don't know that.

You wanna die for the slaves?

Be my guest.

But not me.

Most of these guys had signed up

because they're off
to preserve the union.

That was the original call.

So the emancipation
proclamation is,

in some ways, a big bait
and switch for these guys.

Suddenly reframing the
war as a war against slavery

is not what these
guys had signed up for.

Narrator: Though facing
division, after days of waiting,

they finally receive
the equipment needed

for bridging the rappahannock.

The attack on fredericksburg
can finally begin.

In the early hours
of December 11th,

union engineers put
the plan into action,

making their way
to the riverbank

under the cover of darkness.

Under ideal conditions,
engineers can put together

a bridge in just
a couple of hours.

But, unfortunately,
the engineers

are not gonna be working
under ideal conditions.

Narrator: On the opposite bank,

confederate troops have
had plenty of time to dig in.

They're ready for an attack.

Lee had directed
that if the federals

started crossing at
any point along the river,

the troops in that sector
were supposed to fire

two signal shots to
alert the rest of the army.

[ Two gunshots ]

That's the signal.

Moore and his colleagues

all recognized that Cannon boom

as the signal to open
up on these engineers.

Narrator: The fierce
battle that's about to unfold

will make history...

Not only as the largest
troop engagement

of the entire civil war,

but as an astounding leap

in the evolution of
American warfare itself.

Narrator: In early
December 1862,

general Robert e. Lee
is desperate to repel

a daring union advance
on fredericksburg

that could threaten
the confederate capital.

He's counting on
men like Robert Moore,

a rebel sharpshooter
from Mississippi,

to hold off the union troops
for as long as possible.

Mackowski: They've been
ordered to delay the union crossing.

That's important because half of

the confederate army
is there in fredericksburg.

But the other half
is stretched out

for some 25 miles to the south.

So if Moore and the
rest of the sharpshooters

can delay the union crossing,

Robert e. Lee has the
time to consolidate his army

and better defend the
city of fredericksburg.

Pfanz: As soon as it was light
enough to see their targets,

the mississippians opened
fire on the engineers.

[ Gunfire, shouting ]

They take heavy casualties.
There's also casualties

among the infantry
supporting the engineers.

And, of course, this is
extremely discouraging.

Narrator: As dawn breaks
on the rappahannock,

the effort to bridge
the river has failed.

The 17th Mississippi are
able to put up such effective fire

that the engineers
refuse to go back out.

And so, suddenly, the
union high command

is faced with this problem.

Narrator: Union general
burnside must now

make a difficult decision...

Abandon the attack
or find a bold new way

to cross the river.

Pfanz: Burnside, now
becoming desperate,

resorts to a very unusual
and dangerous alternative.

And that is to send troops

across the river in
those pontoon boats.

Rable: The plan is to send
these troops over in the boats,

clear out the town
as best as you can,

build the pontoon Bridges

and then cross the
rest of your troops.

Narrator: Adams
and his men volunteer

to get in one of the first boats

to try and make the
dangerous crossing.

Get down, men.

Mackowski: The fact that these
men are getting in these boats

and going across the
river under fire is incredible

because it has never happened

in American military
history before.

This plan is brand-new.
It's unprecedented.

Stay down!

If you were a man
in one of those boats,

your adrenaline would
have been running high.

Your heart's pounding.

Bullets are now
whizzing around you,

striking the water beside you,

striking the boats
that you're in,

striking people who
are in the boat with you.

[ Men shouting ]

Faster! Faster!

Men! Come on!

[ Shouts ]

[ Gunfire continues ]

When Adams is in that boat,

he and soldiers just like him
are looking across the far bank.

And, at 400 yards,

that's probably
seeming like an eternity.

It had to be absolutely
terrifying and confusing.

Look it. They're
still comin' across.

Damn Yankees.
Stupid as they look.

Return fire!

They're getting close!

Fall back, boys! Pull the tail!

Pfanz: The Mississippi
troops, when they saw

the union troops
coming across the river,

fell back to the town
of fredericksburg.

Charlie, come on!

And that's really where they're
going to make their stand.

Forward!

Narrator: John Adams
and his comrades

have just taken
part in the first

opposed river crossing
in the nation's history.

But their fight
has barely begun.

Move, men! Move!
Getting across the river

was just the very first step.

Now that they're
across the river,

their job is to push
the confederates back

from the water's edge far
enough that the engineers

can complete their work in
constructing those Bridges.

If they can't flush
the defenders out,

it means burnside's crossing
is gonna be further delayed,

if not stymied altogether.

Stay low! Stay low!

Mackowski: When
Adams and his colleagues

get to the far
side of the river,

they're given the
black flag order,

which means they don't
have to take prisoners.

They don't have to show mercy.

Imagine if you've been
shot at for the last 400 yards.

You're probably not
feeling very compassionate.

Go, go, go.

Damn Yankees made
it across! Come on!

- Come on!
- Robert!

The confederates who have
been doing the sharpshooting

suddenly find themselves
facing a very angry,

very determined, very
aggressive federal force.

Fixed bayonets!

[ Gunfire ]

Narrator: John Adams,
alongside a few hundred

other union troops,

has just participated
in the first river

crossing under fire in
American military history.

When Adams and his colleagues

get to the far
side of the river,

first thing they do is
form up into companies

so that they've got some
cohesion to make their attack.

Narrator: Joined by
several other regiments,

he must now enter the
town of fredericksburg,

where he'll face another
unprecedented challenge.

They're not really sure
where the enemy is.

They're certainly not sure
how strong the enemy is.

And so they face a
very difficult situation.

Narrator: After delaying the
yankee crossing for hours,

rebel sharpshooters
like private Robert Moore

have fallen back
into fredericksburg.

Moore and his colleagues are
hunkering down behind woodpiles.

They're hiding in backyards,
taking advantage of fence lines

and contesting, literally,
every foot on those streets.

And they're gonna be
fighting street by street,

block by block, house by house.

Not yet.

Now! [ Gunfire ]

Take cover, men!

Pfanz: They come
under this blistering fire.

Everywhere they turned,
bullets were coming at them...

From the front, from
the side, from the rear.

One person said it was like
getting a barrel load of bullets

thrown at him.

[ Gunfire continues ]

The street fighting that
takes place in fredericksburg

has never taken place in
American warfare before.

Nobody had written a
textbook on how to fight

in a city at that point in time.

So this was all
new to everybody.

They do not have training, uh,

for what we would
today call urban warfare,

no training at all.

Forward!

Forward!

Fall back.

Fall back! Fall back!

Oh!

Confederates might get
driven from one house,

and they scramble to the next.

Or they'd line up
behind a hedge row

and set traps and ambushes.

And so it's really
warfare on the fly.

[ Shouting, gunfire ]

It's all clear!

Moore and his
colleagues have to fall back

under this unrelenting pressure
as more and more federals

are starting to come
across the river.

They're right behind us!

But they're able to keep
making defensive stands.

[ Gunfire continues ]

So they're able to really delay

that federal
advance significantly.

Don't miss.

[ Gunfire continues ]

[ Hammer clicks ]

Adams!

We need to get in
that house. Yes, sir.

The federals quickly realize

that the traditional mode
of battle isn't gonna work.

They can't stay
together as a unit.

And so they really break
down into ones and twos.

You and you, you come with me.

[ Gunfire ]

[ Gunfire continues ]

It's up to Adams
and his colleagues

to establish a beachhead

so more federals can get over.

- Come on.
- Fire! Fire!

[ Gunshot ]

The only way
they're gonna do that

is literally to go room by room

through these houses to
ferret out the confederates.

Go, go!

Hey, get in the house.

Move, move.

They're going to be
rushing into buildings,

killing or disabling
anybody they find there.

[ Grunts ]

This experience was something
that no other soldier in america

had really experienced before.

Narrator: While the
battle in town rages,

on nearby marye's heights,

a Ridge overlooking
fredericksburg,

the confederates are
working to strengthen

an already imposing
defensive position.

Lee is now massing
his troops on the heights

behind the town to
make a coherent defense

when burnside does
finally cross his main army.

So it allows the
confederate army

to really fortify and get
ready for any federal incursion.

Narrator: Within a few
hours, the growing union force

has occupied large
sections of the town.

Once they're in those buildings,

they can't really
go any farther.

So the best that the 19th
Massachusetts can do

is to hold its ground.

Narrator: For Adams and his men,

it's been a remarkable
day of military firsts.

Well, the 19th Massachusetts

had to cross the river
that day under fire.

They had to push into town.

They had to engage
in street fighting,

for which they had
not been trained.

And I think you... If you
rate the performance

of the 19th
Massachusetts that day,

you would say
they earned their a.

Narrator: As daylight
fades on December 11th,

the mississippians slip away

to the safety of
the high ground.

Though in retreat, the
small troop of rebels

has achieved a huge objective.

Rable: They not only
achieved the objective,

they went beyond the objective.

They were able to hold off
the federal crossing longer

than anybody could
have reasonably expected.

The crossing was supposed to
have been made roughly at dawn.

And it wasn't made
by the entire army

until dawn the following day.

So, uh, in its effects,

the mississippians' resistance,
uh, cost burnside a full day.

And that becomes
absolutely crucial

as the rest of
the battle unfolds.

Now Lee is gonna
be at full strength

when the federals
make their assaults.

That's possible because
the sharpshooters

had bought that
day's worth of delay.

Narrator: By nightfall, the
union foothold is secure.

The federal army's in the city

as occupiers, waiting.

And I can imagine the tension
just building for those guys,

waiting to figure out
what's gonna happen next.

Pfanz: Crossing the
river had been tough.

Seizing the town had
been even tougher.

But the toughest task lay ahead.

That was seizing the
heights beyond the town.

Narrator: The men know
they must now drive a large

rebel army from a
heavily reinforced position

that lies to the
west of the town.

Pfanz: In order to do
that, they're going to have

to move across an open plain,

300 or 400 yards wide,

without any cover
whatsoever and attack

perhaps the strongest
natural defense position

that Robert e. Lee would
ever hold during the war.

Someone's gotta go
get him off those heights.

It's guys like Adams thinking,
"eh, that's gonna be me."

Pfanz: I do think there
was, in the backs of...

Of most of their
minds, this idea that, uh,

that "tomorrow, we're
going to have a big battle.

"And... and it doesn't
look good for us.

"Many of us are going to die.

This might be my
last day on earth."

Narrator: The battle
of fredericksburg,

the largest
engagement of soldiers

in the civil war, continues.

After thousands
of federal troops

have crossed the rappahannock,

the assault on the
main confederate force

is set to begin.

If union troops can
prevail, they can push south,

seize the rebel
capital of Richmond

and perhaps finally
bring the war to an end.

The union has planned
a two-pronged strike

to crack the confederate line.

As some troops hit the
rebel right, John Adams

and others will attack
a section of the line

called marye's heights.

The majority of federal
troops, at this point,

are not very optimistic
about their chances.

They recognize how
strong that position is

the confederates have
atop marye's heights.

[ Men shouting, clamoring ]

Union troops have to charge
across several hundred yards

of open ground just to reach
the confederate position.

Once there, they're going
to encounter confederates

who were posted very
strongly in massed ranks

behind a stone wall.

If you survived all that,

then you had the
confederate artillery,

which was on the high
ground behind the stone wall.

Those guns were
able to fire down

over the heads of their own men

and scour the ground
in front of them.

So any way you look at
it, it was a killing ground.

Narrator: One of the rebels
steeling himself for the fight

to come is Richard kirkland,

a 19-year-old sergeant
from south Carolina.

It's time.

We're gonna go
closer to that rock wall.

Come on.

What kirkland will do
before the day is out

will long be remembered as
one of the most remarkable

acts of the entire civil war.

The first union
assault on the heights

begins just before noon.

[ Gunfire ]

And because they
couldn't stretch their lines

out over a great distance,

they had to go in
in waves of attack,

almost like waves
coming up a beach.

Narrator: When Adams and the
men of the 19th Massachusetts

join the battle, several
desperate charges

have already failed.

Rable: Did they have
any reason to believe

that their attacks
would be successful?

Well, there was a rumor

that some troops
had been pulled out

of the confederate line,

perhaps that they
were weakening the line.

Those rumors proved to be false.

Mackowski: By the time Adams
and the 19th Massachusetts begin

to advance up that field,

they're having to navigate

across this landscape
of scattered bodies.

Survivors are clinging
to their pant legs saying,

"don't go. Don't go.
It's a suicide mission."

It's a very demoralizing
scene to go into,

knowing that you
are now going to be

the one sent into
that meat grinder.

[ Gunfire, explosions ]

Forward, men!

The storm of fire and lead

that they have to
face is incredible.

[ Men shouting, screaming ]

As they move forward,

they're going to simply
be massacred by that fire,

so much so that they're
actually going to fall back.

Once they reform, they're
going to move forward yet again.

Narrator: Amid the
smoke and chaos,

the men of the 19th

try to keep track of
their regimental flags.

[ Shouting, explosions ]

Battle flags were
especially important

because that was a
visual cue for the men,

so they could see
where their unit was,

so they knew whether to
advance, whether to retreat,

where they were supposed to be.

Rable: Perhaps even more
so, it was a source of identity,

a source of pride.

Flags had bullet holes in them.

Flags had blood on them.

Those flags
represented sacrifice.

And they were extremely
important to the men.

Narrator: As the day grinds on,

not a single union soldier
reaches the stone wall.

Despite the loss of thousands
of troops, yankee commanders

keep throwing fresh
regiments at marye's heights.

[ Gunfire continues ]

That's the seventh time
they've come already.

[ Men shouting ]

Rable: The reason
that burnside continues

to order the troops to attack

is that he believes some
progress is being made.

This is, of course,
a classic mistake

of reinforcing failure.

The confederates have
some 40 to 45 artillery pieces

on the top of marye's heights.

They've got the field in
front of them covered so well

that the chief of
confederate artillery says that,

"when I open on that
field with these Cannon,

a chicken couldn't live on it."

Narrator: For the union troops,

it's looking like a lost cause.

[ Gunfire continues ]

Color bearer after
color bearer goes down.

A total of eight color bearers

are shot as the unit
is trying to advance.

[ Men shouting, screaming ]

As one of these men
fell, he handed the flag

to lieutenant Adams

and urged him not
to let that flag fall.

Come on, men! [ Screaming ]

As he's leading
these men forward

with this one flag,
another color bearer falls,

the man who's carrying
the second regimental flag.

[ Gunfire, shouting continue ]

Adams reaches out and
grabs that flag as well.

Rable: When Adams
grabs the flags,

he automatically
becomes a target.

You were at the
utmost focus of jeopardy.

It is the most dangerous
place to be on the battlefield.

Anybody who had the bravery

to hold a battle
flag was a hero.

[ Men shouting ]

For Adams to have
not only taken one,

but both flags, shows
remarkable bravery.

[ Gunfire continues ]

Mackowski: Everyone
in the 19th who's still alive

at that point is
depending on those flags

to get them through.

It's up to Adams.

And he sees the
opportunity to get to safety.

He leads those men to cover.

And then, remarkably,
for the first time all day,

they're able to return fire.

Narrator: Despite
Adams' bravery,

his men simply don't
have the firepower

to knock out the
fortified rebel position.

Pfanz: There's no way they
can retreat without being shot.

There's no way they can
go forward without being shot.

They best they can possibly
do is hold their ground.

And that's what they do.

Narrator: Pinned
down behind the fence,

Adams and the others
are surrounded by countless

wounded union
soldiers... [ Screaming ]

and can do nothing
to relieve their misery.

[ Gunfire ]

[ Explosion ]

They have no idea
that their cries for mercy

will soon be answered
by an unlikely hero...

[ Hammer clicks ]

And that they're
about to witness

one of the most
courageous and selfless acts

of the civil war.

Narrator: As December
13, 1862 draws to a close,

some 8,000 union
soldiers lay dead or dying

on the killing fields in
front of marye's heights.

Pfanz: I think it's almost
unimaginable for us today

to picture what
that scene of battle

must have looked like.

Many of them were disfigured,
having parts of their bodies

blown off by artillery fire.

Uh, there were literally
entrails scattered

across the ground, dead horses

adding their stench,
uh, to the horrid scene.

-Somebody help me!
[ Clamoring, shouting ]

Man: Help me.

Narrator: By nightfall,
Adams and the men

of the 19th Massachusetts remain

trapped amid the
battlefield carnage.

- Water!
- Don't move.

[ Hammer clicks
] [ Men grunting ]

[ Panting ]

[ Bullets whizzing ]

You had the horrible
cries of the wounded

and the dying all
through the night.

[ Men groaning ] Help!

Were crying out for water,

were crying out
for their mother,

were crying out for somebody
to help them in some way.

[ Grunting, groaning ]

Man: Water! Man: Ugh.

Mackowski: It's
haunting to be out there.

Regardless of
what side you're on.

If you're a confederate, and
you're having to hear this,

it's chilling.

[ Groaning continues ]

If you're a federal soldier
trapped out on that field,

it's gotta be terrifying.

Narrator: The misery
seems endless.

[ Groaning continues ]

until something
remarkable happens.

[ Groaning ]

We gotta do somethin'
for those men.

Richard kirkland is a sergeant

from the second south Carolina.

And he hears the sounds
of the cries of the wounded.

And he's moved by this.

Give me a canteen.

What?

I said, give me a canteen.

Where you goin'?

Pfanz: So he gathers some
canteens from his buddies.

And then, at the
risk of his own life,

he stepped over the stone wall,

dashed to the very
first union soldier

he could find...

[ Men groaning ]

Rable: The federals
were confused.

They wondered what this guy
was doin' comin' over the wall.

[ Panting ]

It was not uncommon for soldiers

to rifle through the
bodies of wounded men,

taking their money,
taking their shoes,

taking personal effects.

So it could be that
kirkland's going out there

to try to basically go through
these bodies and steal.

Bodies aren't even cold yet.

He wants to turn
out our pockets?

[ Men groaning ]

Once they realized
he was bringing water

to their comrades,
they obviously did not...

Did not fire at him.

Narrator: It is one
of the most poignant

and enduring moments
of the entire civil war,

an unlikely hero responding

to the desperate
cries of fallen enemies,

a young man now remembered

as the angel of marye's heights.

Mackowski: He goes from
soldier to wounded soldier,

administering acts of mercy,

moved by his compassion.

Kirkland, I think,
embodies the compassion

that was really inside
of each of these men,

but just was often
covered up in the...

In the gloom of war.

[ Gasps, coughs ]

Rable: The best
part of human nature

overcame his fear of danger.

Thank you.

And I think he well
deserves the title,

"the angel of marye's heights."

Narrator: Robert
kirkland's act of mercy

is perhaps the only
gratifying moment

for the federal troops
at fredericksburg.

The attack has been
an abysmal failure.

Mackowski: This is gonna be
the single most lopsided defeat

that the army of the
potomac's gonna suffer

through the entire war.

Some 13,000 federal casualties

scattered across
that field compared

to only 5,000
confederate casualties.

Narrator: For Abraham
Lincoln, the defeat marks

the low point of an already
crisis-filled presidency.

Mackowski: This is the worst
point of the war for Lincoln.

He's issued the
emancipation proclamation

and has had no battlefield
success to back it up.

Public opinion
is starting to turn

against the entire
idea of emancipation

and the way he's
prosecuting the war.

He had placed it all in
line with burnside to win

that victory for him.

And it backfired.

He'd gotten a
huge defeat instead.

In fact, uh, Lincoln said,

"if there was a worst
place than hell, I am in it."

Narrator: On December 15th,

the shattered remains
of the union army

are given the order to retreat
across the rappahannock.

Incredibly, John
Adams has survived.

He has failed to drive the
rebels from marye's heights.

But alongside the
survivors of the 19th,

he has succeeded
in making history.

Adams may have just experienced

the most remarkable
72 hours of anyone's life.

He has gone through
unprecedented experiences

in this war.

He goes across
the river in that boat,

something that had
never happened before.

He participates in
that street fighting,

something that had
never happened before.

Pfanz: John Adams
did something that I have

never heard of any other soldier
doing on any other battlefield.

And that is, uh, he rescued
not only one flag but two flags.

Mackowski: And to be able
to live through everything

that he went through
is absolutely incredible.

Narrator: Confederate private
Robert Moore continues to fight

with the 17th Mississippi.

He dies at the battle
of chickamauga.

During the same
battle, Richard kirkland,

the angel of marye's heights,

is killed while trying
to cover the retreat

of two of his friends.

In July of 1863,

at the battle of gettysburg,

John Adams is shot three times.

He survives.

In 1865, he returns
to Massachusetts,

where he becomes a
postmaster for a nation reborn

from the ashes of the civil war.