New Liberty Videos, History! A TOS Review

If you are looking for movies and documentaries that help to teach American history, New Liberty Videos is a good place to start. We were able to review Warriors of Honor, a Civil War Documentary about Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Other options the crew are reviewing are:

These are high quality Christian DVD Documentaries. Warriors of Honor is said to be a documentary that “guides the viewer through the causes and the major battles of the Civil War while providing insight into the lives of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.”

We were excited to watch this, as this was part of the time frame that we did not spend a lot of time in last year. I thought it would fill a gap.

This is not a movie, but rather a documentary. There is a mixture of re-enactment footage mixed with photographs from the era and many pen and ink photos. A narrator pulls you along the story of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E Lee.

We start with Stonewall Jackson up to his death. The emphasis is on what a great Christian he was and how well he treated his slaves. He started Sabbath Schools and Sabbath Schools for colored children. He gave a lot of money for those pursuits.

We learned that his home, when captured, the Yankees buried quite a few people in the yard to insure that no one would use his house. This was the start of the Arlington National Cemetery. That was interesting to the whole family. We also heard the quote in 1861 where it was said “Look men, there stands Jackson, like a Stone Wall.”

After his death, the documentary focuses on Robert E Lee and his wife Anna. Most of the stories focus on what a great Christian he was also. How kind he was and how fair he fought and the battles that he advanced in. It bitrates Grant, and yet talks about how Lee did not want anyone to speak against Grant.

I’m not sure that we learned about the battles, why they started, why they were fighting. What were they fighting for? We did learn that the south did not burn homes, but that the north destroyed property, killed innocents, burned towns, molested women and children and were basically horrible fighters. But the Confederates were honorable and Christian and Kind. Hmmmm. Seems a bit one sided. The documentary sort of portrayed that the south lost because they loved the Lord so much that they were too kind.

There was one spot in particular that they started to break out in a weird hymn type song and played photos of waterfalls while grieving the loss of the generals. My boys groaned and left the room. They never came back to the movie.

Quality – I think the quality of this documentary was great. Very visual and very well made. Easy to follow. You really get to know the two Generals and their families and their faith. For that – it was a really great documentary, like watching a missionary movie. That part was good. But a Civil War Documentary – it doesn’t answer or ask the question Why.

This sells for $19.95, and would be good for any age. No visual graphics to disturb young watchers.