The Civil War (1990)

S1E7 Most Hallowed Ground: 1864

The episode opens during the pivotal 1864 presidential election, featuring Abraham Lincoln facing off against his former general, George McClellan. The future of the Union hangs in the balance, as the Northern public grows weary of the ongoing conflict, with Grant and Sherman stalled in their campaigns at Petersburg and Atlanta. However, last-minute victories in Mobile Bay, Atlanta, and the Shenandoah Valley sway the election in Lincoln's favor, extinguishing the Confederacy's hopes for independence. In a poignant twist reflective of the Civil War's ironies, Lee's estate at Arlington is repurposed into a Union hospital, eventually becoming Arlington National Cemetery, a site of profound significance.