The Lord took him. The Lord giveth again.
I have requested your immediate transfer.
We must destroy that madman before he destroys us.
Good morning, Lord Edward. I welcome you to our home.
I made a vow to God,
which I broke because of my weakness for you.
We build an arsenal hidden here, where it's safe.
Head north and don't come back.
You know what they do to thieving niggers, don't you?
Cut off his leg, and now you're sending him to prison.
I saved his life!
With some practice, your brother could achieve
a more natural step.
Apparently, we are going to medical college.
CREDITS
It's a lie. There's no mercy--
not here. Not anywhere.
War was but an idea, but now it is both fearful and real.
Each man must make his own sense of this war.
It's harder and harder to see any good coming from it.
And I'm tired of all the killing.
This can't go on forever.
Any news from Sharpsburg?
Other than too many dead, nothing certain.
Will Miss Emma be joining us?
She only came to fetch some things.
And you allow this, permit her to continue staying there?
What am I to do, James?
She is filled with passionate commitment.
She is filled with disdain for this family
and misguided idealism.
So, what then? Disown her?
You've gone soft.
Your toleration of her defiance,
your mere chastising of Belinda's betrayal.
Belinda has served loyally since before you and I even met.
She is family.
"When the battle closed, after having raged furiously
for the entire day, we retained possession of the field
and our enemy retired to his former position."
"The conduct of many of our officers
as reported by General Lee
to have exhibited the most conspicuous
and brilliant courage"!
We stood our ground, Father.
Mm!
Good morning, everyone.
News out of Antietam?
It seems your boys may have held their own, eh?
That's what we Southerners do.
Mr. Stewart has communicated with the minister,
and Lord Lyons is intrigued by your proposition.
Turned our way at Sunken Road.
I don't know about that. I heard Hill's division was fierce.
He would like you to come visit us in London
so that we may discuss it there in quietude
and assure that the vital relationship
between Great Britain and the South is upheld.
London. That-- that would be wonderful.
- I have always wanted to visit London. - Thank you.*
Your country's continued support
will assure what we both want-- a prompt truce agreement.
And you'll work out this whole slavery issue?
Quite distasteful.
Slavery will gradually be eliminated from the South.
Good. That is to be most appreciated at home.
Stuck as we are in this, uh... awkward position.
Word is Hill came in at the last moment and repelled them.
Once Little Mac crossed the creek, it was a Blue victory.
So, why not go after Lee then?
'Cause the war ain't won. Truce is coming.
They gonna split this country down the middle.
So you have to go now? You can't stay just two more minutes?
Promise I'll be down by tomorrow.
Well, can you come back on Friday?
You know I'm gonna try.
"Dear Mansion House staff...
I hope this letter finds you well.
Though not yet better, I expect to be soon."
"At which time I shall come back to see my work is done."
"I trust Miss Green has improved her bandaging technique."
"That Dr. Hale has not increased too much
the tally of limbs lost."
"And that Miss Hastings manages things well,
as she is apt to do in a sure-handed Crimean way."
Indeed, she is. No teasing for me, then?
Uh, no, sir. You escaped unscathed.
Ah.
"Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you."
"And that my pride and our shared struggle
helps to sustain me."
Nzinga was a queen in Africa,
and she had courage and intelligence.
And her skin was black like my skin.
Like your skin.
I'll tell you more about Queen Nzinga tomorrow.
Do your numbers.
Come on.
Bye! See you tomorrow!
Bye, now.
That the thing you made?
I'm bringing it to Dr. Foster's brother--
half day's ride north.
And then after that...
So it's true.
There's a school in Philadelphia.
Dr. Foster wrote on my behalf.
Philadelphia's better than here?
Being a doctor's all I ever dreamed of.
I know that. I do.
But here we are in a struggle.
We need to be a part of this victory.
Or some day, when they write the books,
they'll say our freedom was won for us by white people.
I can do good as a trained physician.
There's a freedom in that, too.
It means something, not only for myself--
It will in the future.
But while this war is going on, what will you be?
A symbol of their generosity? A trophy?
That's not right, Charlotte.
We have to be actors in our own story, Samuel,
not secondary players in theirs.
They're offering me an opportunity.
I promised I'd take it.
I...I have the greatest admiration for you.
I trust you know that.
"In the meantime, dear colleagues,
I remain with you in spirit, if not in flesh."
"Ever hopeful that I will soon return
to Alexandria alongside you,
and resume the great work we have begun together."
"Sincerely, Mary Phinney."
Tarnished. Tarnished beyond redemption.
Have they been stained with lampblack?
Splashed with arsenic?
Passed through the gastric intestinal system
of a large ox?!
I will speak to the Army clothier
about ordering you some new buttons, sir.
Ehh.
How easy he is to consternate.
He is, isn't he? And I may have an even better idea
we'll be able to torment him.
You two plotting devices against
who I think you're plotting devices against?
If so, let me say this...
I'm with you.
Anything that can be done to drive that homunculus
further from his wits earns only praise from me.
Oh, Doctor.
How are you holding up, Matron?
It's a hard thing, what you're enduring.
Soldiers die every day, Miss Hastings.
I'm no different than a thousand other mothers.
He was a good boy.
Lovely kerchiefs, Miss Underwood.
They are soft, Mr. Green.
Or... eau de toilette.
All sorts of scents.
Money's no object.
Mmm. Sweet.
Like violets.
Peruse to your heart's content
while I take care of a little business.
We got word from your benefactor down South.
Mr. Hankerson wants to come up and meet you.
See them Gatlings for himself.
You remember what we talked about the other day?
Think, then take a breath, then choose not to speak.
I need to see him before we take him over--
make sure he's all right.
My best bottle of '57 claret.
Alice.
That child leaves her things everywhere.
Before long, we'll strike a deal with the Brits,
the war will still be at a deadlock,
and Lincoln and Davis will have no choice
but to make an agreement.
And the children can go back to the way they were--
young and untainted.
And the hotel will again be what it was always meant to be.
Mr. Green, there's a man asking for you.
Yesterday's deadbeat... is today's parvenu.
Has it been a day, or has it been a length of time
considerably longer than a day?
You're tardy.
Give me that.
That's worth more than I owe, so...
I'd like some change.
Change? Is he demented?
All right. You can use your change
to get back in the game.
I...I'm out, boys.
Don't you want to win back your watch?
A couple of bones ain't gonna hurt you.
I have two small things to share.
One-- That dentist was no dentist.
He was a lad named Frank Stringfellow,
the beau of your dear Emma.
Two-- That captain was no deserter.
His letter home to his ma was very telling.
Turns out, the lady's been deceased these past six years.
What are you suggesting?
I think you know.
To be sure, the Provost Marshal invited me
to take a look around.
All right, boys, follow me.
My God, he knows everything.
He has no proof, Father.
There's nothing for them here.
Mother, what's the matter?!
Shh!
Have you kept these as trophies?
What are they?
Love letters from Captain Van der Berg--
of the most lewd nature.
You searched my things.
I returned your gloves to a drawer where I found these!
Mother, I can explain.
You led us to believe you're so terribly aggrieved,
when all along, you were leading him on,
toying with his affection in the most unladylike of ways.
Mother-- Those men are upstairs
looking for evidence of murder, all because you've--
I didn't mean for it to come to this.
What became of that Yank you set in motion
by behaving in a common, disgraceful manner
unbecoming to your upbringing--
beneath you, Alice, beneath this family!
You don't understand, why I--
You what?! I had a mission.
Good to hear from Nurse Mary.
Have you been in touch with her?
I wrote her a letter.
I never posted it.
I can get you a stamp, you know. Only three cents.
Hmm.
I shouldn't have let her go.
When McBurney shipped her off, I should have...
- made him keep her there. - That wasn't your fault.
Letter or not...
I'm sure she knows you're thinking of her.
I'll post this tomorrow, dear.
No, Agnes.
Wait until I'm gone.
You're not going anywhere.
And he deserves to know how you feel.
If you send it now, he'll come.
I don't want him to go through that.
I've never actually been on a plantation before.
Trust me-- You haven't missed much.
So I gather.
Jed. Home again.
Oh, what a relief.
Hello, Mother.
Have him take your things upstairs.
This is Mr. Samuel Diggs.
He came to help with Ezra's prosthetic.
We met in Alexandria, ma'am. A pleasure to see you.
Big brother to the rescue again.
There's no need to bring your boy.
We still have some of our own.
"The group assembled at the Surgeon General's office
yesterday at 9:00 in the morning
to consider proposed modifications in registers
and returns for the sick and wounded
and the diet table prescribed for the U.S. General Hospitals.
Ah, yes, I meant to ask-- How was it?
I do not know, Miss Hastings, because I did not go.
Do you know why I did not go?
Because I was never informed of it.
Oh, dear, sir, did you forget?
I gave you the notification three days ago, sir.
Impossible.
If you had given me the notification,
I would not have missed the meeting.
But I did miss the meeting,
so you could never have given it to me.
Do you understand?
I seem to recall you put it in your top drawer, sir.
Have you looked?
Not to worry, Major, we will sent a note of regret
straight back to them explaining your absence
due to a family illness.
I have a cousin in Connecticut with diphtheria.
Perfect.
U...
Miss Charlotte teaching me to read and write.
I'll see what I can arrange.
Thank you, Miss Charlotte.
We'll be obliged.
Writing tablets and pencils.
Some bandages and supplies.
Thank you, Miss Green.
Them folks want to get married?
Slave can't make a contract,
so all they had was a slave wedding.
Instead of "Till death do you part,"
they say, "Till death or distance."
It's usually distance.
So, now that they're free, they want their child to know
her parents are joined under free law.
Well, what can you do for them?
Any good black reverend down here?
You're probably not the one to ask.
That part looks clean.
I've been staying in the hospital.
Imagine the beds at home are much more comfortable.
I was thinking...
perhaps a different sort of pastoring might revive you.
There's some contrabands seeking to be married--
legally, under God.
I thought perhaps you might...
If not for yourself, then for them...
for this one family I saw today.
You must only say the words.
Find someone else to do it.
Anyone can say the words.
"And so, in abject penitence
over my having been in absentia,
I hope for the opportunity to set another date."
Signed, "With deepest respect and contrition,
Major Clayton McBurney III,
Chief Surgeon, Mansion House Hospital."
Run that down to the telegram office,
see that it's sent immediately.
Miss Hastings, see that he sees to it.
And I'll see that she sees to seeing to that.
Sir.
All right then, off I go.
Not so fast, son.
Oh, we few... We happy few.
Look me in the eye when you tell me that.
There it is. Yeah.
Cheers. Cheers.
Fresh off that barge, boss.
Your father-- He looks like he was a good man.
Art is the science of deception.
Time to sit down for dinner.
Mm.
You may eat in the kitchen, boy.
Mother.
I'll take him to the quarters, Mrs. Foster.
He can-- He can eat with us.
Saga?
Dr. Foster.
Saga and I grew up together.
We used to run all over this property.
How have you been? Are you married?
Yes, sir.
Mrs. Foster found me a good wife.
Oh.
Lovely ceremony out back.
They threw a celebration that night.
Of course, my reward was a bunch of tired negroes
all the next day.
I-I was thinking about that game we used to play
down by the creek. What game was that, sir?
Those men up on the hill,
the ones hunting foxes along the ridge.
We'd pretend they were the enemy,
find a way to beat them down or trick them or corner them--
or so we'd imagined.
Come on. You'll sup with us.
Hurry up, now. You got some doctoring know-how?
Some, yes.
Good. 'Cause I ain't bring you down here to eat.
I get these pains in my head.
And she been seeing spots, too.
What's your name?
Julia.
I'm Samuel.
Is the baby yours?
No, no.
My wife's on loan in a place west of here.
How long has she been in bed?
Since afternoon.
I mean when did she stop working in the field?
Oh, didn't. I'm a good worker, sir.
I keep on doing till the baby come.
We should tell the Fosters.
Please don't.
I brung you here so we wouldn't have to.
She's not well.
They don't know she with child.
You've hidden it all this time?
I had one before, sir.
They sell that little one to a lady in Alabama
'fore he learned to walk.
Lady wanted a baby to raise.
Comfort her for the aches, but no laudanum, no herbs--
They could hurt the child.
I'll be back tomorrow.
It's all we can do to keep them here.
They've gone impudent, ungovernable.
We hardly even punish them
for fear they'll run away or worse.
The world is changing, Mother. You may not like it--
I don't like it. I don't have to.
But we will weather this storm and be the stronger for it.
- We? - She means the South, Jed.
And how exactly will you be the stronger for it?
Compromise is always the answer.
It will never be the perfect world
that either side dreams of.
Once everyone accepts that--
Just leave it be, Mother.
Emancipation is inevitable. You must accept that.
And what then? Tell me that, Jed.
If negroes are not to be slaves...
then what shall they be?
Free citizens.
Oh, dear!
I can't imagine even you believe that will ever work!
Bessie, more bread.
Yes'm.
Mother?
Oh, Belinda.
I'm sorry, I was--
I know you've seen me over on King Street today.
Was that you?
Did it seem wrong, like something bad?
No. Not that, just confusing.
Well, I never mean to distress you, now--
not you or this family.
Please, don't apologize.
Who was he?
I mean, I am curious.
Nobody, just a-a man I knew once.
What man?
Nothing, Mother, we were just--
What man are you talking about?
You, uh... remember the Allerton family
over on the other side of town?
Yes.
They used to live down the street.
The babies used to play together.
You remember their man, George?
George. No. No, I don't.
He was a slave they had,
even before you and me come up North, Miss Jane.
Hmm.
And after a time, him and me, we...
we got a hankering for each other.
You and this man?
And George asked Master Allerton if we could get married,
and Master said no.
He said the babies would be Green property
and what good that is to him.
He tried to marry George off to one of his gals,
but George never would.
Well, me and George, well, we just...
never did.
But every Tuesday and sometimes on Fridays...
he goes to market,
and that's when I see him.
Find out how he is and what he been doing.
And it's been that way for over 20 years now.
So, that's who that man is.
George.
I got to get the supper out now.
What of our agreement?
We'll have to discuss it another time.
Another time, when?
Oh, once there's a truce, I suppose.
Without your country's recognition, sir,
there will be no truce.
Well, I'm sorry. In light of what has happened here, I--
What do you mean, "what has happened"?
My visit here has been declaimed as in violation
of both my queen and your president's proclamation--
He is not my goddamn president!!
Please, sit.
I'll get the claret out.
You-- You must not bend with every breeze.
I do not bend, sir.
Load the carriage.
Thank you all for your hospitality.
I apologize for my rushed departure.
Lincoln's calling Sharpsburg a Union victory.
Told his cabinet it's a sign from God
the slaves must be free.
Now we are one thing and one thing only-- slavers.
No amount of diplomacy will overcome that.
With Sharpsburg ringing in our ears now, we need a victory.
The items you secured, I gather,
could be vital to delivering a...
Southern surprise--
one that even Lincoln won't be able to turn around on us.
I've amassed 11 Gatling guns, sir.
I'm happy to show them to you, but first, I must ask...
I want your word, Mr. Hankerson,
that the Greens must never again
have to convince the Loyalists that we did not capitulate.
That lie must be expunged
and the truth of our commitment made widely known.
Of course.
You have my word.
I'll take you to the warehouse tonight
as soon as night falls.
And when these guns get put to good use,
the Yanks won't know what hit 'em.
I hear you fancy poultry.
And that you have a story to tell
about a friend named Jimmy Green.
We seen something-- Don't!
Don't tell him.
We ain't looking for trouble.
Where are you boys from?
Here.
My people have worked for the Greens for years.
You?!
I come from a plantation in Maryland.
My missus bring me here.
I saw a chance to run, so I took it.
And got a job moving furnitures.
All this time to finally get free
only to end up in a place like this.
Jimmy Green was gonna kill us.
But he let us go.
Will Jimmy Green save you now?
What did you see?
Weapons, sir.
That warehouse full of guns like I never seen.
Say what they want of Sharpsburg,
this war is far from over.
So you made this contraption?
Fastened the hinges to the ankle
so you can walk and sit more naturally.
I thought you were the doctor, Jed.
There you are.
Go on, Ez.
Try it out.
You know, they offered me a peg leg. I wasn't interested.
This is better.
You said yourself you haven't been able
to do the things you wanted to help run this place.
Try, Son.
Ooh.
Feels pretty good.
Wonderful, Ez.
Oh.
Never wanted this.
If you hadn't chopped off my damn leg--
There was no option. I told you.
Miss Foster?!
Sorry to trouble you again.
Can we borrow him?
Borrow him? What for?
Hold her down. Hold her down!
Face is plethoric.
Extremities are swollen.
She said she was having headaches, seeing spots.
All right now. Easy, easy.
The shaking's letting up.
Dr. Foster.
Cervix is dilated.
And her bag of waters is bulging.
What's happening here? Is she sick?
She has a condition called eclampsia.
Eclampsia?
We need to deliver the child.
Appreciate the help, Pastor.
Makes me feel useful doing something with my hands.
How's your search progressing?
There's a reverend over in the Bottoms who might help me.
I hope to see him soon.
I never said I was sorry for what happened.
If I'm in any way responsible for derailing you--
I never said that was your fault.
Your eyes say it every time you look at me.
I keep asking myself what choice did you have.
He would have shot us both.
Is that what God wanted?
I have no idea what God wants.
Then why stay here?
What's your purpose now?
Not to stroll on King Street debating with you.
She must be almost here by now.
Who must? Why are we here?
I thought you may not come.
Oh, nothing gonna keep me away no more.
Whatever God may want of you, he wants them to be married.
I brung you this. Picked it out special.
Who can argue with that?
Baby's positioned wrong. It won't come out like that.
It's a breech? No.
Brow presentation, page 53.
We'll need a fillet to redirect it.
Can you make one of those?
I need some leather and a piece of wood.
You ever delivered a baby before?
Yes, sir. I figured.
You do it.
Gentle now. You're getting there.
The occiput is now anterior.
Is-- is that a good thing?
I can feel it coming.
Push now, Julia! Your baby's head is crowning!
Reduce the perineum.
Deliver the chin.
Rotate... the shoulders.
Lord, make it stop!
Oh, make it stop!
There!
It's a girl.
Baby.
Hold that baby close. It best for the both of you.
That baby ain't breathing right.
Meconium in the oropharynx.
I did the fillet. You do the sucking.
A touch of tartar emetic.
Ah. Ooh.
Some Epsom salts.
Ah.
A splash of sulphate of soda.
Sulphate-- ain't that for horses?
Come to think of it, yes.
No, no.
Doctor.
Come in.
Your daily emetic, sir.
Ah. Thank you. Put it down there.
Drink it soon, sir. It works better that way.
Chicken guts.
What do you want with chicken guts?
They're required for a function...
having to do with Major McBurney.
I'll need an empty bucket, too.
My baby.
My baby's alive.
Take her to breast.
No one told me she was with child.
No matter-- couple weeks, maybe a month,
she'll be salable again.
The baby?
No one wants a child right now
with these cries for emancipation.
But a breeder will fetch a price.
Sell a mother away from her baby?
It's a business, Jed.
I don't know when you stopped understanding that.
Don't you see what's happening, Mother?
This-- all of this is over.
Not yet, it isn't.
What about the father?
Doesn't he have something to say about it?
Ez?
This is your grandchild?
At least he stayed.
How much?
For the both of them-- mother and child?
I'll buy them from you.
$2,000.
That's high, but I'll do it.
This won't cover it, but I figure my credit is good.
Bring that money up to the house.
Good morning, dear Jane.
I have something terribly urgent to ta--
How long have we known each other?
Well... Why, our whole lives.
Our whole lives. Yes.
What's the matter?
The matter is that you have made my daughter
into someone I hardly recognize.
Please, we can't discuss this now.
Do you know how betrayed I feel, Olivia,
to have my child taken from me like this?
Taken from you? Taken?
I lost a husband and a son to this war.
Who have you lost?
You of all people have given up almost nothing.
After Tom died...
all I wanted was to do something
so it wouldn't feel like good boys,
good boys, like Tom, dying in vain.
I empathize, I do.
But this extremism you engage in is--
There is no time to argue.
I have pressing information for your family.
Send for James.
There you are, Julia.
Let's get you to medical school.
Sustenance for the road.
What you're doing... is a good thing.
And you?
Why stay?
Don't know what the world has out there for me.
But I'm starting to figure it's time I go find out.
Pleasure meeting you.
You know...
those men with guns hunting foxes...
they weren't hunting foxes.
They were searching for runaways.
Making sure niggers stay where they belong.
You take care of yourself now, Master Jed.
I'm not so sure sometimes about this medical-school idea.
Working at the hospital, working for you,
has made me see things differently.
I have a purpose there.
And I've changed from who I was before.
I think you know what I mean.
You've changed, too.
There's a train station a few miles up the road.
Drop me off there.
This, too, shall pass.
Ought you to lie down, Major?
No, no. I just-- I need...
I need some sort of vessel.
Oh, right away, sir.
I'll just put it here, sir.
Go, leave me.
Open up, sir. Aaaah.
Pardon? I threw up my entrails.
Can a man live without his guts?
Plenty of men do, sir.
He seems fine. It's very strange.
Fetch the bucket, Nurse Hastings.
Let's see the discharge, shall we?
Major?
What's happened?
Where are my intestines?
Ooh! I mean, I saw them. They were right there.
T-That thing was full of blood and guts, man!
Aah!
Boots stink, clothes itch, buttons don't shine.
There, there, now.
I'm losing track of official matters,
and my insides are coming out through my mouth
and disappearing into the vapor.
Do I have some sort of demon inside--
Major, listen to me now. Calm down.
Now, during my exam studies--
for which I have you to thank, sir, deeply--
I read that certain strange conditions
can be the result of an odd interaction between the mind,
what the Greeks call a "Psyche, " and the body.
What the Greeks call "somatikos."
Precisely, Nurse Hastings.
So, "somatikos."
Psyche...
...somatikos.
There may be something to that, sir, don't you think?
A notion to ponder.
Hey, can I have a drink off that?
Get your own.
Where's my damn flask? I ain't seen it.
The hell you ain't. The hell I did.
I'm no liquor swindler, you mangy dog.
Where'd that come from?!
Am I shot?!
Put the weapon down!
Oh!
Has the reaper come again?
James.
Olivia has urgent news.
Allen Pinkerton is seeking a search warrant
from the Provost Marshal.
Now, now, they were here, snooping around.
They found nothing.
The warrant is not for our home, Father.
It's for the warehouse.
The body.
I told Hankerson we'd meet here.
Yep, help the cause and repair my family name all at once.
You smell something?
A fire?
Wait here.
? I know I've been changed ?
? You know the angels in heaven done signed my name ?
? Just follow me down the Jordan stream ?
Father!
What have you done?
I saved us, Son.
They were gonna find that body.
? I sunk in the water, the water was cold ?
? Angels in heaven done signed my name ?
? Well, it chilled my body, but it didn't touch my soul ?
? You know the angels in heaven done signed my name ?
? So glad the angels in heaven ?
? Done signed my name ?
You take this man who you hold by the hand
to be your lawful married husband,
and do you promise in covenant before God
and these witnesses that you will be unto him
a loving, faithful, and obedient wife
until you shall be separated by death?
Yes, I do.
I pronounce you husband and wife
according to the ordinance of God.
Whom God has joined together, let no man put asunder!
Let God shine his face on you now!
May God shine his face upon you!
She's grown very sick, sir.
She didn't want anyone to know, but I thought you should.
Jed.
I wrote so many letters in my mind.
So did I.
So many things I should have done.
But now I will not leave you until you are well.
You must stop giving calomel.
The doctors said-- The doctor is wrong,
and you must get better ventilation in here.
Agnes...
I was afraid...
I might not see your eyes again.
There's news.
Look.
It seems you were right after all.
Did you doubt it?
Read for me.
"On the first day of January
in the year of our Lord 1863"...
Get some help and put this thing out.
..."all persons held as slaves
within any state or any designated part of a state"...
..."the people whereof shall then be in rebellion
against the United States"...
? Oh, and I prayed in the morning ?
? Fare thee well, fare thee well ?
? And I prayed in the morning ?
..."shall be then, thenceforward,
and forever free."
? Fare thee well, fare thee well ?
? And I prayed in the morning ?
? Fare thee well, fare thee well ?
? And I prayed in the morning ?
? Fare thee well, fare thee well ?
? And I prayed in the morning ?
? Fare thee well, fare thee well ?
? And I prayed in the morning ?
? Fare thee well, fare thee well ?
? And I prayed in the morning ?
? Fare thee well, fare thee well ?
A better world is coming.
And I promise you, Mary Phinney,
you shall be there to see it.
? And I prayed in the morning ?
? Fare thee weeell ?
CREDITS