This episode begins with the nightmarish Union disaster at Fredericksburg and follows two clashes that spring: at Chancellorsville in May, where Lee wins his most brilliant victory but loses Stonewall Jackson; and at Vicksburg, where Grant is prevented from taking the city by siege. Also covered is the fierce northern opposition to Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, the miseries of regimental life and the increasing desperation of the Confederate home front. As the first part of the episode ends, Lee decides to invade the North again to draw Grant's forces away from Vicksburg.