There is no question that the Civil War is one of the darkest chapters in American history. With roughly 2.5 percent of the population lost, a higher number of Americans than in both World Wars combined.

In portraying the war in history, however, we often focus on the tragic division of loyalties in the the United States - the predicament of brother fighting brother.

To discuss this idea - where it came from, how true it is and how it has been used by various parties - Don is joined once more by Aaron Sheehan-Dean. Aaron is the Fred C. Frey Professor of Southern Studies at Louisiana State University, and author of ‘Reckoning With Rebellion: War and Sovereignty in the Nineteenth Century’.

This is the first in a series on America's Darkest Hours. In the coming weeks we will explore the Great Depression, the Kent State Shootings and the origins of slavery.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan, produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.

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