The sequel of "Gods and Generals" is called "Gettysburg", which is actually a prequel, and it can be regarded as catching up with the current trend of prequel sequels. This film is almost entirely performed by the original cast of "Gettysburg", except that the legendary General Lee has been replaced by another Oscar-level veteran actor Robert Duvall from Martin Sheen, while the director, photographer and other behind-the-scenes personnel remain basically unchanged, so it can be inferred that it is in the same style as "Gettysburg". Since it is a prequel, it naturally tells the story of the Civil War before the Battle of Gettysburg. According to the consistent style of director and screenwriter Ronald Maxwell, it is inevitable to give a detailed description of the famous battles in the first two years. Therefore, in order to better understand the plot, it is also necessary for us to outline these battles. The first major battle of the American Civil War took place in Mansas, Virginia, so this battle is often called the "First Battle of Mansas" by historians. Measured by the scale of the entire Civil War, this first major battle was relatively trivial, and both sides seemed to be testing each other's strength, so they did not invest a lot of troops. At that time, the Northern Army was under the leadership of General McDowell, and General Lee of the South did not actually command the battle, so the Southern Army looked very loose. But in the end, the Southern Army won the battle. They broke through the Northern Army's defense line and caused the Northern soldiers to flee in panic like buffaloes. This battle was nicknamed "The First Bull Run". After winning the Battle of Mansas, General Lee decided to advance northward into Maryland (this was his first active Northern Expedition), but the battle plan fell into the hands of the Northern Army, and the two sides fought fiercely at a place called Shabsburg near Antitan Creek. The Northern Allied Forces attacked General Lee's troops with a three-to-one advantage, and the Southern Army had to retreat. The battle on September 17, 1862 was the day with the most casualties in the entire Civil War, causing a total of 23,582 casualties on both sides, with the Northern Army slightly more, which can be called the bloodiest day in American history. Due to the defeat in this battle, Great Britain, which originally wanted to fish in troubled waters, postponed its recognition of the Confederate government. At the same time, this battle had another most historically significant consequence: President Lincoln took this opportunity to launch the Emancipation Proclamation. In November 1862, due to dissatisfaction with the incompetence of McClinnell, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army, Lincoln newly appointed General Burnside, who naturally launched a winter offensive determined to win in gratitude, and ended up fighting a fierce battle with General Lee's troops at Frederickburg, a strategic location. In this battle, the number of Northern Army soldiers still overwhelmed the Southern Army, but the command and communication were really chaotic. Although Burnside launched as many as 14 uninterrupted fierce attacks on Frederickburg, where the Southern Army was stationed, he still failed to break through the Southern front and finally had to return empty-handed. This battle can be said to be a comprehensive victory for the Southern Army. They caused as many as 13,000 casualties to the Northern Army, while their own side only lost about 5,000. After this battle, the morale of the Northern Army dropped sharply, while the morale of the Southern Allied Forces reached its peak. In order to rectify morale, the Northern Army replaced General Joseph Hooker as the commander-in-chief, but it still didn't work. In the ten days between the end of April and the beginning of May in 1863, despite having an advantage of 11,500 troops against 60,000, the Northern Army still suffered a great defeat at Chase Northville, losing more than 17,000 soldiers. This battle is generally considered to be the greatest victory of General Lee of the South, but his victory was not easy to come by. Not only did the South lose about 14,000 soldiers, but also General Jackson, nicknamed "Stonewall". Some historians even believe that General Jackson's accidental death was the real turning point of the entire Civil War.