This project is grounded in primary sources, expert scholarship, and lived military experience, using a hybrid approach that pairs documentary interviews with dramatized scenes performed by actors. The film is being developed with historians, battlefield experts, and descendants of the United States Colored Troops. Retired Army Colonel and actor Greg Gadson, known to audiences from the film Battleship, is attached to the project and will feature prominently in development and promotional materials. A Medal of Honor recipient will also be included to provide additional military perspective. Firsthand accounts — letters, reports, and diaries from soldiers who fought at New Market Heights — are interpreted by actors, while experts provide historical context. This balance draws on the strengths of both narrative cinema and documentary storytelling, creating an immersive and historically grounded experience.