''Gettysburg'' is a 2011

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

directed by Adrian Moat that was first aired on May 30, 2011 (

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

) on

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. This two-hour documentary film, narrated by actor

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in independent films and also as a character actor portraying a wide variety of roles both comedic and dramatic in films such as ''Lawn Dogs'' (1997 ...

, commenced a week of programming by the History channel honoring and commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War. ''Gettysburg'' showcases the horror of the pivotal 1863

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the ...

by following the stories of eight men as they put their lives on the line to fight for what they believed in.

Characters

* Lieutenant Colonel Rufus Dawes voiced by

André Sogliuzzo André Sogliuzzo (born August 10, 1966) is an American voice actor. His voice-work includes several animated series, including ''American Dad!'', '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''Harvey Beaks'', '' Jackie Chan Adventures'' and '' Star Wars: Clon ...

* Sergeant

Amos Humiston Amos Humiston (April 26, 1830 – July 1, 1863) was a Union Army, Union soldier who died in the Battle of Gettysburg. Civil War Humiston served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Having previously been wounded at the Battle of Chanc ...

voiced by Tyrel Meyer * Colonel James Wallace voiced by actor Joshua Artis * Brigadier General William Barksdale * Brigadier General

Joseph R. Davis Major-General Joseph Robert Davis (January 12, 1825September 15, 1896) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the commanding general of the Mississippi National Guard from 1888 to 1895. During the American Civil War, he served as ...

* Assistant Surgeon LeGrand Wilson * Private Joseph C. Lloyd voiced by actor Johnny Ray Meeks * Private D. Ridgely Howard

Civil War Week

On February 9, 2011, President and General Manager of History channel,

Nancy Dubuc Nancy Jean Dubuc is an American businesswoman who currently serves as chief executive officer of the American-Canadian media company Vice Media. Early life and education Dubuc is the daughter of Carol D. Smith and Robert H. Dubuc Jr. Her parent ...

, announced the channel's partnership with the

Civil War Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization (501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through acquisition of battlefield land. T ...

and the

National Park Foundation The National Park Foundation (NPF) is the official charity of the National Park Service (NPS) and its national park sites. The NPF was chartered by Congress in 1967 with a charge to "further the conservation of natural, scenic, historic, scienti ...

for GIVE 150, a massive educational and fund-raising initiative to enhance Civil War education nationwide, and to protect and preserve battlefields and other key sites from this pivotal period in American history. Dedicated to highlighting the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War an entire week of programming will be set aside featuring various new and old episodes of shows showcasing the war. In 2011 Civil War Week will commence on Memorial Day Monday with war themed episodes of

Pawn Stars ''Pawn Stars'' is an American reality television series shown on History and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, a 24 ...

followed by the television premiere of ''Gettysburg''. Throughout the week there will be new episodes of

American Pickers ''American Pickers'' is an American reality television series that premiered on January 18, 2010 on History, produced by A&E Television Networks in collaboration with Cineflix Media. In the series, the hosts travel across America in search of r ...

, reruns of

Brad Meltzer's Decoded ''Brad Meltzer's Decoded'' (or simply ''Decoded'') was an American investigation television series focused on historical mysteries and alleged conspiracy theories, produced by Go Go Luckey and Berman/Braun, that premiered December 2, 2010, on the ...

Modern Marvels ''Modern Marvels'' is an American worldwide television series that formerly aired on the History Channel and is currently shown on Story Television. The program focuses on how technologies affect and are used in modern society. It is History's ...

and other various shows, along with the premiere of Lee & Grant a television documentary film directed by John Ealer.

Production

The production was filmed in

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 202 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

Marketing campaign

Companies which signed on to sponsor the title and the Civil War Week project include

Geico The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is a private American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owne ...

Ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

, and

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

. Wanting to entice young and middle aged men to watch the Memorial Day special, senior director of consumer marketing at History Ann Marie Granite, went back to

Microsoft's Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

to help promote the film. Features allow users to compete for prizes by downloading free market content from the Xbox Live store, other features include an interactive map of Gettysburg that provides historical background on each day of battle and campaigning videos that showcase the movie.

References

External links