Ok, so it's the first of three movies documenting the civil war. How historically accurate it is, I'm not sure, as I'm not all that up on my civil war history. However, I did read a book about the civil war generals a year ago, and this movie appears to portray them in an accurate light.
Now, the thing that has been bothering me the most… Whoever invented that whole 'line of battle' thing, where large bodies of men march towards each other, stand still and shoot until the other side is all dead, should have been stillborn. Honestly! Watching one of the last battle sequences was painful. Men marched out, stood still, and exchanged fire. Signing up for those armies is like signing a suicide note. The only explanation I can think of is that the American's were trying to emulate the Europeans, and their fine and well-developed war tactics. They some how forgot that guerilla tactics worked best against the lobster backs (no offence, Seth).
All in all, a decent movie for those of you who like to watch your movies, and yell at the characters for their stupidity.