Civil War Combat - Episode Guide

Troops fight hand-to-hand in the terrible battle at Gettysburg.

In 1864, General Grant doggedly pursued Lee's forces. On June 3, the two sides met at Cold Harbor, a crossroads near Richmond, where Grant hurled his men against entrenched breastworks, losing 7,000 in 20 minutes. Fighting on, he won victory 10 months later. Hastening the South's end, Cold Harbor ushers in an era of trench warfare.

On July 21, 1861, the first major battle of the Civil War was fought. 35,000 Northerners marched to Manassas, Virginia to challenge more than 20,000 Southerners. We'll see how both sides were driven by new-founded pride and politics. By the next day, 5,000 men would be dead and General Stonewall Jackson would earn his legendary nickname.

On December 13, 1862, Union General Ambrose Burnside mounted a massive, yet futile frontal assault on Robert E. Lee's Confederate troops outside of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Wave after wave of Union troops hurled themselves at the Confederates, only to be mowed down in their tracks. In the end, the Federals suffered more than 13,000 casualties, making the Battle of Fredericksburg one of the worst defeats for the Union Army.

Commentary from leading historians and eyewitness accounts are combined with dramatic battle reenactments to tell the tragic story of the battle of Chancellorsville. Fought on May 1-3 of 1863, it is considered Robert E. Lee's greatest victory during the American Civil War, despite the loss of his best lieutenant, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, to friendly fire.

Confederates struggle to gain control of a critical Union position at Gettysburg, Pa.

In northern Georgia, Union and Confederated armies battle to the death at Chickamauga Creek.