I was watching the video until the moderator said that "From April, 1861 to May, 1864 Grant went from the rank of private to Commander-in-Chief of the entire Union Army."
There are two things wrong with this statement.
Grant was a West Point grad and there lowest rank he ever held was that of a Lieutenant. He left the army for 7 years, but then organized the Ill. volunteers for the Civil War and was given a field command with the rank of colonel, so, at no time can it be truthfully said that he held the rank of private.
And,
Even though he was promoted to general-in-chief of all the armies of the United States in 1864, he didn't ever become "Commander-in-Chief of all Union Forces" a job held by President Lincoln.
This film seems to be built on hastily assembled and poorly footnoted "facts".
I stopped watching 14 minutes into the 2 hour presentation.
These types of "exposes" don't really help us when they can be easily proven in error.
Just as when I read William Cooper's BEHOLD A PALE HORSE and saw that he had written that "The Hague is located in Switzerland, the only country never invaded in WWII".
The Hague is in The Netherlands.
This little mistake cost Cooper his credibility as a researcher.
I thought the movie maker did a fair job and had the basics in good order.
Right.
I prefer films that can't be easily dismissed by critics who call us "kooks" for believing in master conspiracies.
And, glaring errors of easily researched facts don't help.
I hope you see my point.
I try to keep my mitt tight when writing for this reason.
One mistake can be used to discredit the work in the minds of the uncommitted. It may not be harmful when preaching to the choir, but is that really the intended target of enlightenment?
Point well taken - Cooper's credibility as a researcher cost him his life. Moreover, Hiram Ulysses Grant (real name) changed because of initials. Hard to see the forest for the trees - but the (full length) overview was in rare focus.
I prefer films that can't be easily dismissed by critics who call us "kooks"
I agree in the main, but after 25-30 years of being dismissed by assholes without knowledge or with an agenda ... I kinda don't worry about that anymore.