That writer/director guy (Ron Maxwell, I think), is way over the top with his sentimentality, speachifying, and melodramitic tableau weirdness. It is much more pronounced in this movie than it was in Gettysburg.

There's supposed to be a third movie and I hope someone has a serious talk with the guy about this. It really gets in the way.

Jeff Daniels comes back as the officer from Maine who was involved in the battle of Little Round Top, in Gettysburg. Gods is a prequel and instead of looking younger, Daniels has put on some weight and his neck bulges out of his collar a bit. (Cheap shot, but it distracted me a bit.)

Other than that it was a pretty good flick if you like the Civil War, or strategy & tactics, or your interested in learning a bit more about "Stonewall" Jackson.

On the S & T side, they actually showed a map a couple of times. Movies almost always shun maps.