The Blue & the Gray on CBS

An ambitious 1982 miniseries re-creating the scope of the War Between the States. Based partly on a concept by historian Bruce Catton, it blends fact with fiction and battle scenes with personal drama that turns kin against kin. The plot unfolds mainly through the interwoven actions of a sensitive teenage artist named John Peyser, who breaks from his Virginia roots to become a war correspondent; and enigmatic Union officer Jonas Steele, who falls in love with John's Pennsylvania cousin.