April 2011 sees the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War, a war in which over 600,000 Americans were killed, more casualties than in all of the other wars America has fought. Gareth Davis journeys through three of the key areas involved in the conflict, which was fought along a 1000 mile front, to see what important historical sites remain for the visitor. First stop for Gareth is Washington DC, the Federal capital where Lincoln fought to keep the country together, and ultimately gave his life, before visiting Maryland, the slave state that was forcibly kept within the Union and finally Virginia, scene of the Civil War's bloodiest and longest struggle. Gareth looks at the battlefields and memorials, the museums and remains, meets with experts and observers, and explores how visitors can capture for themselves a time when families were torn apart, when sleepy meadows shook with cannon fire and American killed American in the name of their country and freedom.