The Civil War (1990)

Overview · Where to watch · Cast & crew · Reviews

A documentary on the American Civil War narrated by Ken Burns, covering the secession of the Confederacy to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

• Released: 1990-09-23
• Genres: Documentary, War & Politics
• Seasons: 1, 9 episodes
• Episode length: 1h 16m
• Network: PBS
• Status: Ended
• TMDB rating: 7.9/10 from 135 votes

Top cast

• David McCullough as Narrator (voice)
• Sam Waterston as Abraham Lincoln (voice)
• Julie Harris as Mary Chestnut (voice)
• Jason Robards as Ulysses S. Grant (voice)
• Morgan Freeman as Frederick Douglass / John Boston (voice)
• Paul Roebling as Joshua Chamberlain (voice)
• Garrison Keillor as Walt Whitman (voice)
• George Black as Robert E. Lee (voice)
• Arthur Miller as William Tecumseh Sherman (voice)
• Christopher Murney as Elisha Hunt Rhodes (voice)

Full cast & crew

Where to watch The Civil War

• United States: stream on Hoopla, HISTORY Vault Apple TV channel, HISTORY Vault Amazon Channel, PBS Documentaries Amazon Channel, Thirteen, WETA+; watch free on WETA+, KQED; buy on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies
• United Kingdom: stream on Sky Go, PBS America Amazon Channel; watch free on Tubi TV; buy on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video
• Canada: stream on PBS Documentaries Amazon Channel; watch free on Tubi TV; buy on Apple TV Store
• Australia: stream on DocPlay, DocPlay Amazon Channel; watch free on Tubi TV; buy on Apple TV Store

Shows like The Civil War

If you enjoyed The Civil War, these TV shows have a similar feel:

• The American Revolution (2025)
• WWII in HD (2009)
• The War (2007)
• The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (2014)
• The World at War (1973)
• Superpowered: The DC Story (2023)
• World War II in Colour (2009)
• The Americas (2025)
• American Experience (1988)
• Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson (2021)
• History's Greatest Mysteries (2020)
• The Movies (2019)

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