SYNOPSIS
Gods and Generals, the screen adaptation of Jeff Shaara’s heralded best-selling novel and prequel to the acclaimed American Civil War drama Gettysburg, is an epic and sweeping portrayal of a nation divided at the start of the American Civil War. Beginning in early 1861 and continuing through 1863, just prior to the Battle of Gettysburg (Pennsylvania), the film illuminates heroes from both sides of the war, such as Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a professor at Maine’s Bowdoin College who gave up a promising academic career to enlist in the Union army, then went on to become one of the North’s finest military leaders; Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee, a distinguished 25-year veteran of the United States Army and native Virginian, forced to choose between allegiance to his country and loyalty to the South; and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, a devoutly religious man whose faith and courage made him an outstanding soldier and Lee’s most trusted lieutenant.
The tremendous suffering and bravery of the Civil War was not confined to the battlefields. Gods and Generals vividly brings to life not only the war’s legendary leaders, but also the legions of anonymous soldiers and citizens who fought passionately and courageously for their vision of freedom and unity, in a war in which more Americans lost their lives than in any other conflict in the nation’s history. The film tells the story of the wives and families who were forced to assume responsibility at home, often in cities under direct attack from the opposition. Chamberlain’s wife Fanny, Jackson’s wife Anna, and Jane Beale, whose family was caught in the Battle of Fredericksburg (Virginia), reflect the spirit, courage and anxiety of those who were left behind.
