Its battles are analyzed repeatedly, studied and "what-ifed" by professional tacticians and tireless amateurs alike.

Its profoundly dramatic implications and moments have no parallels in our history, whether it be friend fighting friend, the end of slavery, or an entire society and way of life burned away, sometimes literally.

Its most striking personalities seem somehow outsized, magnified beyond the ability of books or even legend to contain them.

Few among those personalities have ever held our attention like General Robert Edward Lee.