Cold Mountain, the film, is beginning to generate preview information, as you can see here and here.

It's interesting to glean hints from the industry sheets as to why there are so few Civil War movies. (For example, zero appeal in overseas markets is one of the issues mentioned in the linked items above.) Interesting also to see that N. Kidman is viewed as a "non-commercial" actress representing high box-office risk.

Given the financial disaster Turner's Gettysburg represented, it's a wonder they make ACW films at all. In this case, much rides on the underlying best-seller of a novel ... but is the popularity of that novel strong enough to carry a $90 million production budget? Or is Hollywood setting itself up for yet another failed Civil War movie?

(By the way, have a look at this old discussion of the novel and its portrayal of the Home Guard units in the Confederate backcountry. Good movie background, courtesy Google Groups.)