Like all episodes of "The American Experience", this one is a quality show in every way. This Ric Burns show is very similar in style to his brother's famous Civil War series and would actually make a nice addendum to the shows. However, for me, the show didn't go where I hoped it would have gone--mostly because I've seen other shows which went very different directions than this one even though it is the same subject matter. Some of the other Civil War documentaries about death and bodies talked about grisly and VERY capitalistic system of entrepreneurs who started combing the battlefields for bodies that looked like they came from rich families. They would embalm the bodies and basically hold them for ransom until they located the rich families and got them to pay for the corpses! Sometimes, and this is the creepy part I enjoyed, some times different embalming companies would fight over bodies-- particularly if it was a rich looking dead officer!!
Instead, this show was focused more on the practical problem of figuring out what to do with the bodies, how the federal government should take care of this, the birth of American nursing as well as re-internment programs. All of it is interesting...and well worth seeing.
By the way, I did spot one mistake in the show. It said that no one died at the Battle of Ft. Sumter. Well, actually following the battle, two Union men was accidentally blown up when they were firing the required salute to end the battle!
Instead, this show was focused more on the practical problem of figuring out what to do with the bodies, how the federal government should take care of this, the birth of American nursing as well as re-internment programs. All of it is interesting...and well worth seeing.
By the way, I did spot one mistake in the show. It said that no one died at the Battle of Ft. Sumter. Well, actually following the battle, two Union men was accidentally blown up when they were firing the required salute to end the battle!