The Civil War is a PBS documentary about the American Civil War created by Ken Burns, and released on PBS in September1990. Its theme song, "Ashokan Farewell," which was written and performed for the film by Jay Ungar, has become so popular that people frequently and erroneously believe it was written and performed during the Civil War. The documentary consists of nine episodes and makes extensive use of over 16,000 archival photographs, paintings, and newspaper images from the time of the war, intermixed with contemporary cinematography, music, narration and a chorus of first person voices from famous persons such as Sam Waterston, Garrison Keillor, and Morgan Freeman,who read quotes from individuals who were alive during the period. The film has recently been remastered, and a book following the movie has also been released.
