In a recent review of Gods and Generals, Mackubin Thomas Owens describes Ronald Maxwell's prequel to Gettysburg as a "Blue-Gray reconciliationist" and "Lost Cause" interpretation. The reconciliationist interpretation involves "focus[ing] almost exclusively on the sacrifices of the soldiers, avoiding questions of culpability or the right and wrong of the causes." The Lost Cause interpretation means "that the war was not about slavery, but u2018states rights.'" I beg to differ. Gods and Generals is reconciliationist only insofar as Maxwell doesn't demonize either side; this isn't a Noble North vs. Serpentine South or Divine Dixie vs. Bluecoat Barbarians movie. The film's protagonists, … Continue reading Distorting Gods and Generals