In the years leading up to the Civil War, a bloody conflict between slaveholders and abolitionists focused the nation's eyes on the state of Missouri and the territory of Kansas. Told through the actual words of slave owners, free-staters, and border ruffians, "Bad Blood" presents the complex morality, and life-and-death decisions faced by those who lived on the border from 1854 through 1860.

Bad Blood: The Border War That Triggered the Civil War

In the early morning hours of August 10, 1861, the rolling hillsides of southwest Missouri echoed with the sounds of fierce combat. When the smoke cleared, almost 2,500 men were killed, wounded or missing. Among the dead were Missourians, Kansans, Iowans, Louisianans, Texans, Arkansans, German and Irish immigrants, and a Union general, the first to be killed in the Civil War. The Battle of Wilson's Creek, the second major battle of the Civil War, and the first west of the Mississippi River, marked the beginning of four years of invading armies and ruthless guerrilla warfare in Missouri, from St. Louis to Kansas City. Told through the experiences of individuals, both civilian and soldier, this story reveals a volatile mix of social and political differences -- and a deeply divided population. Using historically accurate re-creations captured in dazzling High-Definition, as well as meticulously detailed maps and newly re-discovered archival photographs, this film presents an unprecedented depiction of the clash between North and South in a battle that helped to determine the fate of Missouri.