It'll be, as they say, interesting. You're not writing autobiography here, you're both at a remove from your subjects. It's distant for everyone, the Civil War, but I wonder if you purposely seek out these more metaphorical subjects. It's two things. Trying to get into their world so that the knowledge they have feels like the knowledge you're going to have.
Language plays a big role in that.
It's so interesting the responses to the language in this film. To have characters with southern accents who are actually articulate in mass culture these days is just bizarre. You don't realize how bizarre it is in America. That alone gives a visceral response for southern audiences. It's about connection.