Lincoln (1988)

Second only to World War II, we know how much the American miniseries adored The Civil War.  So, it was inevitable that it would get around to Abraham Lincoln, the man, not the guest star.  We've seen him in a few miniseries already, but only fleetingly.  This time, the story is all about him.  However, this is Gore Vidal's "Lincoln," which gives it extra heft.  Though the miniseries is nowhere near as riveting as Vidal's historical novel (one of his best, and I love them all), but the casting of Sam Waterston (a role he has played a few times) as Lincoln assures quality.  The wild card here is Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Todd Lincoln.  That's not exactly apt casting physically, and our beloved TV Mary, even in her dramatic roles, has always been a model of steely excellence, so playing the lunatic Mary Todd Lincoln is a stretch...but she nails it!

What also makes this piece particularly interesting is that it sticks to the private life of the Lincolns, for the most part.  The Civil War and ensuing politics cannot be ignored or separated from that, but "Lincoln" spends more time on situations like Mary's spending habits than battles one by one.  This is a small story, not the nationwide story usually told of Abraham Lincoln. 

Getting off the Baltimore train to be met by Congressman Elihu Washburne (Jerome Dempsey) is the newly-elected Abraham Lincoln, hiding in disguise with only Allan Pinkerton (Bill Chorney) and one other detective.  But, his coat covers his face and no one seems to notice him.  Abe jokes with everyone that getting shot wouldn't be the worst thing after 12 days of a boring train ride, where he's grown a beard as an activity.  The proprietor of Willard's Hotel mistakes the rotund Washburne for the President-elect, which is how unknown Lincoln is; they haven't even bothered to make sure his room is cleared.

So, he sits down to a meal with Secretary of State William Seward (Richard Mulligan), who isn't unhappy to be rid of the "cotton republics" as he feels "expansion is our destiny."  Lincoln says "our union is not like a marriage.  We cannot simply give it a divorce."  Seward chortles that he's "not used to your typical western rail-splitting president," but Washburne cuts him off saying, "oh that?  That was all made up for the campaign."  That's Vidal's voice coming through very clearly. 

They head off to the War Department, which is caked in mud and geese (and where a boy pretends to shoot Lincoln, the second shooting reference in under 10 minutes) to pay a call on General Scott (John Houseman, doing nothing to hide his British accent).  General Scott's opinion of what to do about the South is to pull the troops out and be done.  But Lincoln does not believe the Confederacy actually exists, since secession itself is illegal.

And then the rest of the family arrives, all of those poorly behaved boys and their harried mother.  Mary is furious that some expensive jewelry might be missing (she was always worried about money), thinking that Lincoln's secretary, John Hay (Steven Culp) has nothing better to do than tend to her luggage or keep her boys in check.  According to chatterbox Mary, Lincoln is not in favor of abolition, merely against allowing slavery in the new territories.

The only Lincoln child not causing problems is stalwart Robert (Gregory Cooke), a fascinating man in his own right, but not yet in life.  He's off to Harvard to put a thousand miles between him and his family, annoyed to be called "The Prince of Rails."  After another shooting reference, an old fraternity brother friend of John, who is in a bar with incognito Robert, gives John a list of "Washington's most prominent whorehouses." 

When Salmon Chase (John McMartin) shows up for a meeting with a gaggle of pushy politicians, Mary is a bit perplexed, but Abe explains that he wants to keep his fellow Republicans "where I can see them, in the Cabinet" because he knows "they all want to be President."  He tells them he still believes "abolishing slavery in the Southern states...is beyond my power, or desire."  Chase finds Lincoln a "weak and indecisive man," but though he considers Lincoln a consummate politician, his daughter Kate (Deborah Adair) is every bit as conniving, her only dream in life to have her father be elected president.

Lincoln is inaugurated, with hoards of people watching, even from the trees, and his speech reflects his current stance.  Then it's party time.  Mary makes a triumphant entrance on the arm of Stephen Douglas (Robin Gammell), her one-time beau and Lincoln's famous adversary.  As the First Couple enjoys the party, the politicians do nothing but grumble about the inauguration speech and Lincoln's positions.  John seems to have taken a shine to Kate Chase.

Mary doesn't take well to living in the Executive Mansion.  Back then, the doors were open to the public at all times, but Mary is furious when they violate her "private sitting room."  Elizabeth Keckley (Ruby Dee) arrives, a freewoman who is a dressmaker.  After Mary fills her in on the difference between her levels of headaches, she tells her she has as dress that needs to be done in three days.  Looking at Elizabeth's references, she notes "you worked for Mrs. Jefferson Davis?  I've known Mr. Davis for a very long time," yet another of her memories that are completely inappropriate for any public consumption, given her husband's position.  But she doesn't stop there.  In fact, she gives Elizabeth a complete rundown of her political views, her hatred of the press, Lincoln's views, just about anything that comes to her mind.  She launches into a particularly vivid memory of slave beatings are particularly uncomfortable for Elizabeth.  "We are from the outlandish West and we are very poor," she reminds Elizabeth, before also telling her, "I'm the one who wants slavery destroyed." 

On the night of the first official dinner, Abe follows it with a cabinet meeting where he tries to figure out what to do about Fort Sumter.  Seward wants to provoke a war with another country to get the South back in line, but Lincoln decides to fortify the fort, much to every one's dismay.  After the meeting, Seward and Chase meet and Seward tells Chase that he has decided they will run the country and Lincoln will merely be a figurehead.  "No more funny backwoods stories, no more Hamlet-like vacillation," he notes. 

Fort Sumter falls and war is inevitable.  He's no dumb politician.  While issuing a proclamation for volunteers, he refuses to call Congress until he knows every one's opinion.  He seeks advice from his old foe Stephen Douglas, who is always honest with him.  "Now you have the power to free the slaves or enslave us all," he tells Lincoln, using his words he remembered from a speech of Lincoln's.  He then turns to Seward, wondering how exactly they are supposed to go to war against Spain or France considering they can't defend one of their own forts and then slowly getting around to Seward's suggestion that someone from the cabinet run the country.  Things get heated, but Lincoln makes his point and Seward offers to resign.  "We have more than enough work for two men," Lincoln says, brushing aside Seward's disloyalty and greed. 

"Lincoln" is a smart miniseries that does not shy from long stretches of history.  They may lack color and fun, but these sections are very important.  Lincoln's actions stretch the Constitution (Seward is only the first to note the suspension of habeas corpus), but he has his arguments ready for anyone who notices.  His most pressing problem is to keep Maryland in the Union to protect Washington DC.  Seward asks what happens if Maryland doesn't fall in line?  "We burn Baltimore to the ground," Lincoln responds.  This is not the Lincoln of history books.  This is the practical Lincoln, the realistic Lincoln.  The legendary Lincoln would not appear until after his death.  During his time in office, he wore no halo. 

At the funeral ceremony for a loyal friend of the Lincoln family, Mary has one of her top level headaches and passes out for two days.  When she wakes up, Elizabeth assures her only Abe and she have been in the room, so no trouble was caused.  The sounds of war can be heard from her bedroom, but Elizabeth brushes it off, saying, "some of the quality folks have taken picnic baskets to watch the fighting."  The Civil War is raging and Mary is just as schizophrenic as the country.  The Battle of Bull Run is a success for the Confederacy, to every one's surprise.  Lincoln calls General McClellan (David Leary), who immediately realizes the shabby shape of the Union forces. 

Poor John Hay has to follow Mary around the city while she goes on one spending spree after another, both for herself and the "Presidential Palace."  "For a year, they were so accommodating, now they claw at me for money," Mary whines when the bills come in.  It's a terrible dance Mary has to do to spend like she wants and then hide the bills from everyone.  That was a lifelong problem.  An opportunity may have dropped into her lap when John comes looking for the State of the Union address and notes it would be worth a lot to the newspapers.  The scene ends before we see that Mary did with it, but gossip around Washington is that she did sell it to pay bills.

Lincoln is so desperate to meet with McClellan that he and Seward go to his house to wait, but McClellan ignores them and they are forced to wait in the parlor.  Seward is furious, but Lincoln knows how popular McClellan is with the troops and waits, though McClellan goes to bed without ever seeing the men.  However, at a Christmas party given by Kate, John takes the opportunity to publicly shame McClellan for avoiding Lincoln.  "There was a misunderstanding, the President comes to see me so often," McClellan fumbles for an excuse.  "I don't think he will again," John Hay notes, a threat McClellan and the assembled crowd understands. 

The Congressman who gave the State of the Union address to the press is in serious trouble, and Mary wants to save herself from being mentioned.  Lincoln has no idea, and she keeps him on topic by telling him to fire McClellan and replace him with "anybody."  "That's the trouble.  I can't find anybody," he notes.  But she's so nervous that they do have to discuss the speech.  Actually, he's not angry at her, because he's finally seen the bills and is furious.  "I can't find enough money to pay the soldiers and here you go spending more than $10 thousand for a carpet!" he rails.  Thankfully, a visit from William Herndon (Jeffrey DeMunn) interrupts this violent argument.  Lincoln's former law partner has come begging for a job for his potential brother-in-law.  He's happy to break his rule on office seekers for Herndon.  Mary is exceedingly frosty to him because "Lincoln came from ordinary folks like me." 

The matter of the speech keeps going.  A groundskeeper who had "been stealing for years" agreed to take the blame, but a Congressional committee doesn't buy it.  Lincoln goes to the Capitol to testify, certainly a first.  Bringing Seward with him, Lincoln starts off by reminding the committee that he's the "head of the Republican Party" and wants them to believe the story.  "I believe John Watts' story and I want you to believe it too.  Otherwise, in the middle of this terrible war, it will embarrass me personally.  It will damage our brand new party, and of course you would be giving great comfort to the rebels in the South," he tells them with a light tone, but heavy hand, and then reminds them that election time is also nearing. 

All of that seems like nothing when Willie Lincoln dies.  "It is hard to have him die," Lincoln tells his son Robert with Mary screaming and howling in the background.  Someone has to tend to her, but Robert can't and Abe won't.  The funeral is particularly grim, as the soundtrack plays the noises of war behind the personal grief.  Abe can't avoid Mary any longer once she locks herself in a room, and he apologizes.  He apologizes for letting her mourn alone, but that doesn't work, so he drags her to the window and shows her the new insane asylum being build.  "If you do not get a hold of yourself, we will have to send you there," he shouts and the first part ends.

Lincoln visits the war front, where Union bodies are piled high after yet another loss.  McClellan has proven to be a terrible disappointment and in the upcoming elections, his party may lose control of key states.  He has written the Emancipation Proclamation, but not the one we know.  It frees only the slaves in the rebel states.  Chase is outraged.  "This is a half measure," he complains.  Seward wants to avoid publishing it until the tide of the war turns.  Lincoln agrees to that and has John Hay lock up the decree. 

Edwin Stanton (Jon DeVries) is the new Secretary of War, just in time for the Battle of Antietam.  He realizes immediately that McClellan is not an ideal general (and the rest of the cabinet find Grant a joke, so it's not his time for promotion yet).  A telegram comes informing them that "Lee's army has retreated into Virginia," betting Lincoln's hopes up, but "McClellan does not pursue them," which has him throwing his hat on the ground in disgust.  Lincoln refers to McClellan as "the great American tortoise" and says they will have to make Antietam out to be a huge success and order Hay to fetch the Emancipation Proclamation from the strong box.

The Commander-in-Chief runs the document by Frederick Douglass (Cleavon Little), who is disappointed that it does not free all slaves.  Lincoln explains that "I do not have the authority to abolish slavery in the Union."  He has to wait until the war is over to get a Constitutional Amendment to do that.  He offers Douglass and his cohorts Grenada, noting honestly that "even when you cease to be slaves, you are still a long way from being placed on equality with the whites.  On this broad continent, not a single member of your race has been made the equal of one of ours.  It is better for us both to be separate."  Douglass doesn't go for it.  "This is our country too," he reminds Lincoln.  Lincoln and Hay have a beautifully written short exchange about their feelings on races, one that smacks of Gore (that's a good thing) because it's so honest. 

As for Mary, she's not exactly the picture of mental stability.  She has a session with a psychic whose "control" is the Emperor Constantine and who plays on her feelings for her dead son.  "Beware of a small man with a large nose," the Emperor Constantine hisses.  Lincoln has his own plans, and they are not based on the spirit world.  Admittedly, his theory isn't particularly brilliant: "sooner or later, they will run out of soldiers, and we won't."  His view of the war's conclusion is merely that the Confederacy gives up when the population of soldiers runs out, because the Union has far more men at its disposal.  It's an awfully grim and pessimistic world view, but it's honest. 

If Lincoln the human does not quite understand the racial issues or grasp military maneuvers, Lincoln the politician is far more down-to-earth.  After a visit to McClellan who is still refusing to advance with a larger army than Lee's, Lincoln knows that if there is no decisive battle victory in the next few weeks, his party will lose control in Congress.  He and Washburne discuss it and Washburne says there is talk of McClellan taking over the presidency as a "dictator."  "He would be the first general to overthrow a government without having ever won a battle," Lincoln jokes, adding, "of course, if he had a few victories, I might have him chase us all out of town." 

Just when things were going so well, Hollywood intervenes in a scene where Lincoln insists on going to see Confederate prisoners and offers his hand in friendship, saying he hopes they have no malice towards him.  Cue the one-legged soldier with the outstretched hand. 

Mary hasn't learned when it comes to spending money.  She has a new scheme.  One of the White House staff is leaving and she asks John Hay to see to it that a paycheck is still issued in his name, and she can take the money for yet more improvements to the mansion.  She says it's been going on since Washington.  "The first occupant of the White House was not Washington, but Adams."  "Don't be tiresome," she clucks, "it was certainly done during Mr. Buchanan's administration."  John wonders aloud what Congress will think of it, so Mary knocks him off his perch by reminding him that Congress only pays the salary of one secretary for Lincoln and he technically is an employee of the Interior Department collecting a salary in the White House.  In her mind, the two are the same. 

The midterm elections do not go well.  Important Republicans states fall with opposition to the war and because soldiers are unable to vote (Mary was packed off and shipped from DC so she couldn't cause any trouble, so it's not her fault).  When Hay does the final tally, the Republicans remain in control of the Senate, but the House?  Well, they keep it, but by only 18 seats.  Oh, but Lincoln is thrilled with the outcome because now politics are out of the way for another few years.  Lincoln tells Stanton, "tomorrow you will relieve General McClellan as Commanding General of the Army of the Potomac," which he has been waiting to do for ages.

With the midterms elections over, we can get back to the Lincolns themselves.  Robert wants to go into the army, but his parents refuse.  Mary refuses to lose another child, and petulant Robert hurls insults at both Mary and Abe, threatening to enlist on his own, though he surmises his father would pass a law that brings him back.  Robert stamps and says, "the war will be over" soon enough, but Lincoln stops him there.  "No, there will be war enough to go around."  Indeed.  It's only December 1862.  Robert trusts Hay with the family secrets, or the way he sees them: Lincoln is a cold father to him, hates "the rail splitter stuff" and is trying to bury his past.  Historically, Robert wasn't exactly wrong, but he and his father were such vastly different men, and Robert's career after his father's death would have been quite a shock to his humble (faux or not) papa. 

Oh, and for anyone interested, Kate Chase gets engaged to Governor Sprague (Thomas Gibson), which is a crushing blow to John Hay.  This miniseries has so many rich characters on its plate that it tends to use Hay merely as a listening tool for them all, but in Gore's book, he's actually the main character.  So, in the miniseries, Hay's love life is really not at all important.  Sorry, Steven Culp, you got the short end here, and Vidal would not have wanted it that way.  "Desperate Housewives" is waaaay in the future, but keep going, you'll get there.  Hay thinks it's awfully convenient for Sprague and Chase because their power and money put together could mean Chase for President in 1864. 

Mary is thrown from a carriage that had been tinkered with and ends up in the hospital.  Lincoln remains at her bedside day and night, relieved only by faithful Elizabeth. 

The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863.  Lincoln tests it out on his aides.  Without the harangue, the words are very moving.  He keeps stopping to realize he may have to make changes for this specific crowd.  Worn out and tired, he then has to confront more of Mary's schemes for money.  He takes the blame for her problems, saying, "I'm a very difficult man to life with."  No one wants to admit she's plain nuts.

General Grant (James Gammon) arrives and Washburne informs him he will be the highest general of the armed services.  He wants to be in the field with his men, rather than with politics.  His only ambition is to be mayor of his town so he can fix a sidewalk.
"":
Lincoln tells Mary, "there is nothing quite as useless in a war than a general running for president.  On that subject I am the world's greatest and saddest authority" as they go to the war front.  A man in injured from an explosion feet away from her, but she initially refuses to leave, going on and on about how she could have been a great soldier. 

Politics are important again.  McClellan is sure to get nominated from the Democrats and Chase from the Republicans, but there is also General Grant who may want it.  A strategy is needed for Lincoln's re-election, though he's somewhat weary of being president.  On Election Day, Lincoln tells Hay, "I've made every shady bargain and maneuver I can.  I've dangled the recent corpse of Chief Justice Tanney at Mr. Chase...I have even offered the Ministry of France to Mr. Bennett of The Herald which may provoke a crisis with the Emperor Napoleon.  I can do no more.  I can do no more!"  Rather unexpectedly, Lincoln wins his re-election.

Kate is furious when she finds out her husband and been bringing cotton to be sold, a act of treason.  This comes at a bad time, just days before Chase is to be sworn in Chief Justice.

Mary Lincoln and Julia Grant (Karen Hutcheson) go out to the front where they find Robert in the army.  Lincoln had allowed it as long as he is in Grant's home base with no chance of getting hurt.  "Sometimes, Father, I wish to God I wasn't Abraham Lincoln's son!" Robert bellows.  Mary insults a military wife by calling her all sorts of names and then has one of her "big head aches." 

"Our work is done," Lincoln quietly says when given Lee's note from Appomattox. 

That should make Abe feel better, but he has a dream that he will be assassinated. 

Off to the play, and though Mary waves blankly to the crowd, she's angry at the Grants for not showing up to tag along.  They discuss what to do after the second term is done.  Mary wants to travel and decorate houses, Abe just wants a job.  The carriage ride over to Ford's Theater is quite sweet as both apologize to the other for not being the perfect partner, but their love is very obvious. 

Laura Keene's "Our American Cousin" has the audience laughing as John Wilkes Booth (Glenn Faigen) creeps up the steps to the Presidential Box.  He is taken across the street where Mary howls and howls, though managing to toss in some instructions.  The doctors demand she be removed and not allowed back in. 

Tad wonders why this all happened, and Robert tries to explain it to him, but Mary blames everything else in the world for conspiring against him.  "I think in some way, he willed his own murder as a form of atonement for the great and terrible thing he in giving so bloody and absolute a rebirth to this nation," is her other take on it. 

After Lincoln was killed, a series of bumbling leaders (Johnson, Grant, Hayes and nearly everyone until Teddy Roosevelt) made what Lincoln did seem utterly out of their reach.  He united the country after being the one to split it.  He reigned over the entire Civil War and remained strong.  However, at the time, his actions were not seen as anything terribly special.  Lincoln-as-icon took some time to perfect.

Mary moved around, obsessed with money and wearing it in a money belt, most of the time.  She was supposedly crazy, with Robert, ultimately the only son to live, having to bail her out of so many scrapes.  She did not go quietly into post-First Lady boredom. 

I would say that one learns something about the Lincolns here.  The dialogue is based on their feelings, or people's interpretations of their feelings, so we can look at them as the historical part of historical fiction.  History scholars will find little of worth here, but that's not the point.  The point is that is an American miniseries about one of the two five all-time American heroes and he and his wife are drawn as honest folks in extraordinary times. 

North and South, Book 2 (1986)

I am purposely avoiding miniseries sequels at the time I write about the originals because the comparisons are not fair, in most cases.  "Rich Man, Poor Man Book 2" is so unbelievably boring and "Lace II" completely lacks the cheesy charms of its predecessor.  However, "North and South Book 2" might as well be done alongside the first because they basically aired together.  "North and South Book 1" aired for November Sweeps in 1985 and "North and South Book 2" was ready for May Sweeps in 1986.  So, the second part is obviously not a rushed production to capitalize on the success of the first.  Most of the cast members revisit their original roles (no Liz Taylor, sorry). 

What I will not do at the same time is the third chapter in the "North and South" saga, which aired in 1994 and is pretty dismal.  We'll get there, but let's go through the quality before the crap.  For the most part, "North and South Book 2" is very consistent in quality like the first portion, though the final two sections go wildly off kilter. 

June, 1861, two months after Ft. Sumter.  The armies have amassed and patriotism on both sides is still at a fever pitch.  Genie Francis is looking for her husband in Washington and is told he's on sniper duty outside the city.  She's also harassed by some local gents and she has to literally beat them off.  This little scene, the first one, calls into question historical accuracy.  Though the seat of the Union government, sympathies of the ordinary citizen leaned decidedly Southern, especially among the rabble that poor Genie encounters here. 

Loving Genie eventually makes it her hubby, now being played by the supremely dashing Parker Stevenson, already a better choice then his predecessor.  In his new command, he will have the chance to "be a part of history."  "By killing Southerners?" Genie asks petulantly.  "I didn't mean YOUR family," he says, though I suppose neighbors and friends are fair game.  Maybe her Mary Pickford curls are on too tight, but Genie has somehow developed a spine since Book 1. 

Down in South Carolina, both Patrick Swayze and his cousin Lewis Smith are in uniform.  Patrick is way too old and way too injured to be of much help fighting, but he's the hero, so I won't say anything.  Also still kicking are Patrick's mother, Jean Simmons, pissed that the war is tearing apart her family and that of her dearest friends, and Lesley-Anne Down, Patrick's true love, under his protection from her drunken hellish husband.  She's recovered nicely from the drug-induced walking coma from which Patrick rescued her.  Patrick has a particularly difficult time wrenching himself from Lesley-Anne's cleavage and leaves slave Forest Whitaker "in charge of everything."  Off they go, with Lewis taunting, "race you to the war!"  The men soon part as they are assigned different war duties. 

Lesley-Anne's husband, David Carradine, sporting only a small scar from the sword he took to the eye, has been assigned a commission as a colonel to train new recruits. 

Parallel goings-on are happening in Pennsylvania, where James Read is putting on his old uniform, going back into service where he said he would never go again.  He will not be fighting, but rather on Lincoln's general staff.  To "celebrate the departure of this area's greatest hero," his family is throwing a big fete.  His mother Inga Swenson is worried that it's too lavish for wartime, but his sister-in-law, now played by Mary Crosby and her equally avaricious husband, Jonathan Frakes (now sporting a beard) use it as an opportunity to show off, since they will be running the family ironworks in his absence.  "Now isn't just a chance to profit from this foolish war, but for you to be the man you always wanted to be," Mary goads her husband, resting her chin on his shoulder to make it seem less offensive than it sounds. 

Patrick reports to Richmond, where President Jefferson Davis (Lloyd Bridges) and Robert E. Lee (William Schallert) are trying to make plans.  Lee believes both secession and slavery are wrong, but "I could not draw my sword against Virginia."  Lee wants to attack Washington, but Davis refuses.  Davis has summoned Patrick because of his expertise running factories, which the Confederacy has few of anyway.  Lewis and his pal James Houghton are sent on a reconnaissance mission, quickly encountering soldiers from the Union Army.  They chase a rider who gets by them and the Union soldiers chase them until a gunfight ensues.  The rider Lewis needs to protect turns out to be a woman, Kate McNeil, a Southerner who brings medicine to Confederate camps.  She's a feisty one, and both Lewis and James seem to dig her. 

Kirstie Alley, James' black sheep sister, has applied to be a nurse at a Union hospital run by Dorothea Dix.  She's not an ideal candidate, as far as they are concerned, because she spent time in a mental hospital and her outrageous views could be problematic. 

James, his wife Wendy Kilbourne, Parker and Genie are having dinner when in flounces Kirstie on the arm of Congressman David Ogden Stiers, whom she has refused to see since way back in Book 1 because he's married.  Parker goes to say goodbye to her, "since I might not see you before the end of the war," but Kirstie needs the Congressman's help, and is not concerned with her family.  She wants him to help her get the nursing position in Dix's hospital.  "My reward will be...?" the Congressman asks her, hoping for a tumble in bed, but she offers only her friendship. 

Brother James decides to go see sister Kirstie, but she is cantankerous from the moment she lets him in the door.  He offers to help her get the hospital job and even offers money, trying to mend fences.  Kirstie doesn't give an inch.  "No one ever cared to know what I think," she says, because she's a woman.  He claims it was her views, not her gender, that he objected to.  It turns into a shouting match, with James, as ever, trying to make nice (even while shouting), but Kirstie does not want to be part of the family anymore.  "If you ever need me, you know how to find me," James says on his way out, a clue that at some point, she will obviously need him. 

Patrick's other sister, troublemaker Terri Garber, attends a party for Jefferson Davis with her husband Jim Meltzer, who has not risen in the political ranks of the Confederacy as quickly as he expected.  Still itching to be the movie's Scarlett O'Hara, Terri arrives at the ball in a bright red gown where everyone else is sporting muted colors.  Jim argues with Jefferson Davis because Jim believes in strong states, where Davis wants a mighty central government.  Terri berates her husband for daring to disagree with Davis and storms over to the punch beverage table where she meets Philip Casnoff.  The meeting of these two has been destiny waiting for years and years as they are two of the three villains of the piece.  Philip is a longtime Jefferson Davis critic, so he is drawn to Jim and has a proposal for him: blockade running, not for arms, but "luxury items" because the profit margin is so high.   Jim finds this all very unpatriotic and refuses, but Terri shows up in time to hear the end of the discussion and formally meet Philip.  These two are going to be trouble, but awfully fun trouble.  Terri wants to invest in Philip's scheme and has her own money with which to do it.  "Perhaps we should discuss it later...in private," she tells Philip, which means the bedroom, where she does all of her best work. 

One of the men training under David Carradine wants to be released because his family misses him, but David gives the men a long speech about patriotism, though it's undermined by another soldier telling him he doesn't understand because he no longer has a family.  Yeah, like that's not going to royally piss him off! 

Prophetically, Lesley-Anne tells Jean that "I never want to bring shame to this family."  She starts to tell Jean some of her history, but Jean cuts her off.  Loving Patrick is all that matters.  Well, that's probably because she doesn't realize the story is that she was born to a quarter-black prostitute.  David sneaks into Patrick's plantation and abducts his wife with the help of some of his trainees.  For extra measure, he throws his lantern onto the roof of the cotton building, which would, of course, is the centerpiece of the family's fortunes.  The exploding building awakens Jean, who hears of Lesley-Anne's abduction before fiery beams fall on her.  She's alive, but she can tell from the fire that things are about to get really bad around the plantation.  Forest refuses to help extinguish the fire any further because he doesn't feel the family cares about him and he gets nothing from working so hard.  He's especially angered by the opulent house, which he's never seen before because all he gets is a shack. 

Lesley-Anne is returned to the room where David had her locked in for so long, and she seems to think she'll be rescued.  "There is no one," David tells her correctly, since all the men at Patrick's plantation are gone.  It's not a good time to be a Southern aristocrat.  First Jean is nearly killed, then she faces a slave rebellion and now Lesley-Anne is returned to her chamber of horrors. 

Only Terri is making it through the war with all of her dash and style intact.  She toys with Philip and he toys with her.  She dangles a check in front of him and he mentions her brother Patrick.  Terri hates all of James' family and even her own, so Philip can use that to his advantage.  He also inquires about Lesley-Anne, whose secrets he knows, only to be used at the time it will do maximum harm to Patrick.  After a lusty conversation, they start kissing, but the businesswoman in Terri wants to see money coming in before Philip gets more of what "he stole" by kissing her.  "Send your card round, sir, when your ship comes in," Terri states before flouncing out the front door.  Philip then goes to gaze at the painting of Lesley-Anne's mother that he somehow got from the whorehouse run by Elizabeth Taylor in the Book 1. 

Genie gets all the bad news from home and is determined to get back there, even if it means dodging battles happening all over the South.  Her husband Parker is riding and comes across a kid playing drums who wants to sound the call for the Army, so Parker takes him along.  Back at the camp, officer Kurtwood Smith berates Parker and then gets a chance to audition his drumming for Kurtwood. 

In Lincoln's war room, everyone has a different opinion of how to beat the Confederacy.  Lincoln keeps things light with jokes, but the odds are favoring the Confederacy since the bulk of the war is being fought on her land. 

As a great battle gears up, one of my personal favorite historical trivia points is highlighted.  Whole families come to watch the battles from a fairly safe distance, bringing games and picnics.  The First Battle of Bull Run is a slaughter on both sides (though the Confederacy comes out ahead in the end).  The fighting gets so spread out and so many bodies need attention that they spill into the spectators section.  It's the first big battle and now it looks like outcomes may not be so quick in happening.

Genie and her slave Erica Gimpel, good women who are about to have bad things happen as per this story's patterns, break their carriage and have to walk with whatever they can carry.  The army happens by and captures Erica, as Genie watches helplessly.  Genie shows up at night in a soldier's outfit and one for Erica.  This will at least get them out of the camp, even if it rips off Shakespeare and is almost too comic to fit with the movie's mood (though, to be fair, it's not played for laughs).  By the next day, they have finally changed back into women's clothing and come across two freeing slaves.  Erica talks to them and finds out "we are going the right way."

After Manassas, "it's Christmas in July," as Patrick tells Jefferson Davis.  Since the railroads are made of different size rails, the supply lines are forced to use carriages, the damn states' rights bullies refusing to help out on that account.  Patrick gets the news of his family's disasters and rushes home. 

"To one Union shattered at Manassas, and another union restored," David Carradine toasts to Lesley-Anne, a prisoner at the dinner table.  "I want my freedom.  You can't force me to love you!" Lesley-Anne rages.  David trots out his old lines about owing her and he even has guards stationed at the doorways to stop her from leaving.  Patrick races to Lesley-Anne's mansion and has a brutal fight with David that ends with David being thrown out a window to his death.  "It's over," Patrick says to Lesley-Anne proudly and comfortingly.  Jean accepts Lesley-Anne back at home with open arms. 

Terri throws a party, trying to smooth over the ruffled feathers Jim caused at the last big ado.  The Confederate Vice President and his wife are there, but as soon as Jim opens his mouth, he puts his foot back into it, Terri constantly having to rescue him from himself.  Naturally Philip shows up.  After all, the liquor being served at her party is due to his blockade running.  Philip snarls that "I have little patience where women are concerned," because Terri hasn't made do on her bedroom promises to him.  The double entendres are as thick as Mississippi molasses. 

Not to worry, Terri fully intends on becoming Philip's mistress and does so late one night so that no one notices her entering her house.  More puns are let loose from the cannon, though there are serious statements too.  "I want you.  I want you more than any other woman I've ever known.  I want you on my own terms," Philip says, pinning Terri's arms behind her back.  She tosses her dress over his chess set and once a very slow undressing is finished, he has her right there on the couch in a montage of bodies, roaring fires, jewels and lace stockings.  Typical miniseries sex, in other words. 

Philip has a special surprise for Terri, a room filled with luxuries from abroad.  Shallow Terri goes wild running around the room, but Philip has darker thoughts on his mind.  "I want you to be my consort," he says.  You see, he has a plan to unseat Jefferson Davis, "who has no stomach for war" and become the Confederate leader himself.  "When I've consolidates my power, we will rule...an Emperor and his Empress!" he bellows.  Terri giggles at the thought and he says if she ever laughs at him again, he will kill her.  She won't.  Power is an aphrodisiac for her, so she and Philip do it again, right there among all the luxuries. 

The more sober-minded Lesley-Anne is worried about marrying Patrick because of her racial make-up.  She worries that friends and neighbors will judge him.  "My happiness depends on only one person...you," Patrick gallantly reminds her.  They light smooches are interrupted as Genie finally makes it home after her long torturous journey.  Genie and Erica have bonded like friends during the trip, and Lesley-Anne says, "I have my maid of honor."  Cue the wedding.  Lesley-Anne looks ravishing, happy and better dressed than at her first wedding.  They can finally kiss as husband and wife now.  Sappy Jean and Genie think of all those "who should be here today," but Jean says it's a happy day and they should just celebrate.  She forgets that no one in this movie is allowed pure happiness.  It always comes with worry.  "The day I met you was the day I was born," Patrick gushes romantically when they can finally  have sex in a bed and not that abandoned church.  Alas, Patrick has to get back to his duty.

In Washington, James is sad because he has access to the casualty list.  He suspects Patrick feels the same way because he's doing the same job in Richmond.  But, James doesn't want to be part of the "regiment of paper shufflers."  He wants to be doing something more important.  Wendy begs him not to return to the battlefield. 

In Richmond, Patrick is angry at the profiteering and has a suspect in mind, but can't prove it.  Bad battlefield news kills their conversation and brings out the latent hawk in Jefferson Davis.  So, Patrick has to continue his chase of the blockage runner by himself.  His agent tells him Philip "is the clever swindler I ever knew...and he's paying off all the right people," but there is no solid proof linking Philip directly.  The problem is that Philip works in code, but Patrick comes up with the idea (all by himself--our boy is maturing) of breaking the code and then intercepting the ships before Philip can get to them, thus smashing his illegal activities.  "We will keep this to ourselves," Patrick warns his agent.  As they leave their meeting, Union soldiers are there and shoot Patrick's agent dead, giving our hero chase through the rainy countryside.  Guess who aims a gun at Patrick to shoot him?  Yes, James, who is on a trip back to Richmond.  He misleads the soldiers, saving Patrick's life "again."  The two old friends decide to "find a dry place and talk."

In a dry farm house, they warm up by a fire and James spots the ring on Patrick's finger.  "I'll throw you the damnedest party you ever saw after the war," James says, rattling off guest names and Patrick informs him at least one is dead.  Then the North-South argument arrives, as it always does with these two.  "We both agree that slavery is an out-moded institution," Patrick reminds James, but there are too many other differences ideologically between them, so they part again, friends at heart, but enemies on the surface. 

Kirstie is still determined to get that job at Dorothea Dix's hospital and goes right to Dix herself (Nancy Marchand), who is overwhelmed by the rate of casualties she's having to treat, not to mention the squeamish nurses and lack of medication.  Kirstie's Congressman has spoken with Mrs. Dix and Kirstie promises to be the best possible nurses.  Dix tells her that she'll be looked down upon by staff and patients and she's not afraid.  She also does not fear the hell of war because she's seen it all in her previous work.  Dix makes Kirstie promise that she will treat all patients the same, Northern or Southern.

However, Kirstie still has a big mouth.  When her Congressman and other dignitaries come to visit the hospital, she requests the government move faster and get the hospitals medication faster.  He asks what he'll get in return, but he's still married so no sex.  This is the umpteenth time these two have had this conversation, so the Congressman barks at her, "the next time you need a favor, be prepared to do one for me."  He's obviously had enough of her attempts to keep him at bay. 

Lewis and James are on a scouting mission when they come under Union fire and have to split up.  Lewis is wounded, but he manages to get to Kate's farm where she can nurse him back to health.  Lewis is obviously now in love with her, even more when he finds out Kate's blacks are all free and she has taught them to read and write.  "I've never met a woman quite like you," he admits.  John Nixon, Kate free friend, confides in Lewis that he might want to stay away from Kate because she wouldn't be able to handle losing another person in her life after a stillborn child and a dead husband.  He has every intention of heeding the advice, but something compels him to climb the stairs to her door, the same thing that compels her to stand at the door.  However, instead of knocking, he leaves in the dead of night.  Oh, come on, like he won't be back?  It may take hours and hours to get them together, but it's miniseries destiny. 

Just as Jean is having the cotton house rebuilt, the Confederate Army comes to requisition materials, "three quarters of their supplies and almost all the animals."  Genie is worried about how they will manage to survive.  Parker doesn't get letters from Genie because letters get held up in supply lines.  His drummer boy is impressed with the love he and Genie share and hopes someday to understand it.  "North and South" does love its man-on-man fighting, so a fellow soldier taunts Parker about having a Southern wife and they go to fisticuffs, the rest of the men cheering them on.  Colonel Kurtwood Smith berates both men.  "We're all under a lot of pressure, from the Generals on down," is his response to Parker's problem of missing his wife.  Not particularly helpful. 

Back in DC, Lincoln decides "we must now put our fight on the side of human rights" and wants to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, but his staff argues over whether or not it's the right time for it.  "I need me...a Commander who can give me a victory and then I can free the slaves," Lincoln decides. 

After dropping Inga off at a meeting to decide about rolling bandages, Jonathan Frakes and his wife Mary Crosby go to a meeting with a man who has a reputation for shoddy materials, and if they use those materials in making war supplies, it could be disastrous.  But, Mary is the stronger personality of the two and she insists they make the deal.  It's a complex plan, but Mary has added a detail to it to assure they are never found out: they sign James' name to the contract.

Morgan Fairchild, Philip's original benefactress, surprises Philip and Terri in bed and she threatens to expose their affair.  Pulling out a pistol, she says she'll kill him over his treatment of her, but decides rotting in prison over him is not worth it.  Her own reputation makes it doubtful anyone would believe her story of Philip and Terri together.  "I do hope you both get what you deserve," Morgan says on the way out.  However, Morgan isn't finished with Philip.  She summons Patrick to her boarding house to expose all of Philip's secrets, not to mention the liaison between Philip and Terri.  Morgan claims she has a way to stop Philip's illegal activities and tells Patrick where the next shipment will be arriving.  So, he and a bunch of men are there as the ship is being unloaded.  A gun battle erupts, but Patrick is the best shot in the country and can kill four men in the time it takes one to cock a pistol.  The entire shipment of goods is destroyed.

When Philip finds out, he damns Patrick for ruining his business.  Terri doesn't understand why it's such a big deal, but Philip knows he's out of business.  Once again, Philip has a revenge plan in mind, and it means exposing Lesley-Anne's secrets.  He shows Terri the painting, telling her of the black blood and her mother's career as a prostitute.  So, Philip's plan is kill Lesley-Anne, which will destroy Patrick, but Terri does not think it's the best plan because Patrick will stalk Philip and kill him.  Terri has a more complex plan in mind that ruins her entire family, especially her brother.  Thus ends the the second portion of Book 2.

Part Three starts in September 1862.  The South is trouncing the North in the war.  Up in Pennsylvania, Mary Crosby is hopeful that the North will be fine and wants to plan a ball, which of course Inga finds in very bad taste during wartime.  "Business is thriving during the war, everyone knows that," Mary says, wanting to show off all their good.  Inga declares it will be a "modest affair," but Mary chirps that "I can still wear my emeralds."  At this point, Inga is so annoyed, she probably wishes shrieking Kirstie would come back rather than shallow Mary.  Mary finally admits to Jonathan that she forged James' name on all documents. 

Antietem is a particularly gruesome battle.  As Lewis puts it, "the damn Yankees have learned how to fight!"  Lewis and and his friend James Houghton are there, but so is Parker, way over on the Northern side.  Parker proves to be a particularly good shot, picking off Confederates with every shot.  He and Lewis literally come face to face, gun raised.  This is the kind of cheesy moment we've been expecting since the beginning of "North and South Book 1."  For ages, there has been talk of having friends and relatives on opposite sides, but now we actually get to it live, with two men holding guns to each other's heads.  What will they do?

They will let a nearby cannon blast distract them and not kill each other, of course!  As quickly as the moment came, it went.  The cannons on the Union side are a product of Jonathan and Mary's business venture, and right as James Houghton gives a command to fire one of them, it explodes and kills him and several other men.  Mary had said the government would never come looking into their business, but with cannons that kill the men firing them, the people responsible for knowingly shoddy war materiel could be in big trouble. 

The Antietem sequence is the largest battle shown so far in "North and South."  It goes beyond looking like a cheap Civil War re-enactment, actually dripping with money spent on extras, not to mention time devoted to it.  After the battle, the camera surveys the carnage, which is considerable.  Lewis finds his friend's dead body.  "Nearly 25,000 killed, wounded or missing at Antietem creek, nearly half of them ours," Lincoln tells James.  Lincoln still needs a really excellent general and the choice seems to be Ulysses Grant (Anthony Zerbe), whom James had known at West Point (if you remember back that far, he helped James and Patrick survive Philip's hazing).  The problem with Grant is that he drinks...a lot.  James is dispatched to give Grant the news that he's Lincoln's choice.  "The President thinks you are the man to end this war," James tells him and then Grant offers James a drink, which turns out to be apple cider.  James requests to serve under him, which Grant would like as well.

Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, read to his cabinet with utmost sincerity. 

Hated overseer Tony Frank returns to the plantation, offering his services for a small piece of the profits, because word is trickling down to South Carolina and freed slaves are abandoning plantations all over the place.  Genie says they need to keep the slaves because the plantation would face ruin without them, but she understands Lesley-Anne's point that freedom can't be refused.  The sisters-in-law attend the funeral of a runaway Tony killed.  Genie tells all assembled that she wants them to stay, but if any want to leave, come to the family so they can give them the proper paperwork to avoid another unnecessary death like the current one.  Forest thinks the slaves should rush the plantation and kill their masters, but Erica is too loyal to the family to consider such a crime.  However, Erica isn't averse to the idea of freedom, especially since she has a crush on Lewis.  Forest sneaks into Jean's bedroom, knife drawn, but then spots her jewelry box and pockets everything he can carry. 

Patrick is up in the Shenandoah Valley praising local men and farmers for their efficiency with supply lines and then rides off just as the Union Army approaches.  He hears the guns and joins the battle.  The Union definitely wins the short scuffle.  Patrick decides to make a trip home, just in time to see the slaves leaving.  "But this is your home," never-bright Patrick says, but one of the former slaves says, "no, this was never our home."  Jean is so kind to the departing folks that she even gives them money for food!  Patrick still can't understand why anyone would want to leave.

But, he gets another shirtless scene with his beloved Lesley-Anne.  "Underneath that Southern gentility, your mother is a very strong woman," Lesley-Anne tells Patrick when he complains about how hard the war has been for all of them, especially his mother.  "We'll survive because of the strength we give one another.  Don't let go.  Don't let go," Lesley-Anne warns Patrick, having yet another bout of war depression, or perhaps cluelessness.  He and Jean share a very touching scene, lovingly delivered by both (but the kind that leads one to think it will be their last together). 

James and his brother Parker share some quiet moments the evening before a battle.  Parker hasn't had word from Genie in ages because letters can't get through.  It's been two years since they have last seen each other.  It's another gritty scene and the damage just seems to get worse and worse.  Parker survives, of course, but it's only the memory of his wife that keeps him going.  He decides he has to see her.  "It's desertion," he's told.  "Absence without leave," he corrects and then rides off.  The least he could do is take off his uniform, because that is too tempting a target. 

And, of course, right on cue, Parker is sitting next to a fire all by himself when a Confederate soldier, also a deserter, comes upon him.  "I told the Lord, I could sure use a horse...and look here how he's provided," the soldier says, devouring Parker's food and taking his boots.  Parker tosses a boot at the guy's face and they tussle (it's been a while since we've had one of "North and South's" beloved man-on-man fights.  A gun goes off and Parker is the one not killed. 

Things are so bad at the plantation that Lesley-Anne and Genie are working in the fields and Jean is keeping house.  The younger women try to get Jean to ease up on her workload.  "You treat me like China to protect me from the war," she yells at them, insisting on doing her share.  They have not been filling her in on the latest war news, but she insists on being told everything from now on.  She's the most realistic of all, knowing the heyday of the South is done. 

Into this world of destitution comes an enormous fancy carriage laden down with gifts and Terri Garber!  She's not out of the carriage ten seconds before she's insulted everyone.  She's horrified to think of white women working in the fields, but out Scarlett-O'Hara-lite just cares about dresses.  We know something is going on in her brain because Terri is kind to Erica.  Why?  Because she's hoping Erica can "answers some questions" about Lesley-Anne.  Alone with Lesley-Anne, Terri tells her she knows about her lineage, even about the prostitution, which is news even to Lesley-Anne.  "What worries me is Mother," Terri oozes, worrying about disgracing the future of the family if Lesley-Anne has a baby, one that would be 1/16th black.  "Hatred is like wine, it improves with age," Terri says to herself once Lesley-Anne leaves the room.  Hey, it's better than "fiddle-dee-dee." 

Lesley-Anne leaves a Dear Patrick letter for her hubby, along with her wedding ring and leaves the plantation.  Terri reads the letter and then gives it to Erica to hold for Patrick.  Erica sends some hatred Terri's way, telling her "someday, you're going to know what it is to be alone," though Terri can only think of the revenge she's getting and laughs. 

Former slave Beau Billingslea creates an aqueduct system that will help the planting and Erica is so proud of him, though still not realizing he's hopelessly in love with her.  He forces her to talk about the hated overseer, which she has steadfastly refused to discuss.  "It made me afraid to really love somebody," she says, "but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to love."  Poor Beau.  The arrival of a Confederate soldier interrupts their conversation.  But it's not a soldier, it's Parker in the uniform of the dead Confederate soldier, which will present a problem because Terri is at the house and she'll turn him in the minute she sees him.  As Erica bursts in to tell them that Beau's water wheel works, Terri is trying to get her mother to live with her in Charleston, but of course Erica isn't really there to discuss seed corn, but to bring Genie to Parker.

The reunion comes with music and kisses and the two fall right into a pile of hay.  After all, it's been two years!  They have a lot of hay pile reminiscing to do.  Genie urges Parker not to go back, but he has to.  His little drummer boy would miss him.  "I don't want to go back, but I have to," Parker sweetly tells Genie, just as Terri rides by and sees him.  Terri threatens him, because no matter which side he's on, he's a deserter and she wishes him punished or dead.  As Terri goes to tell the authorities, Genie comes at her with a pitchfork, full of sass!  She tells Parker to take the horse and go and keeps Terri pinned inside the barn.  "You are going to stay right here until Billy is long gone," Genie tells her at the end of a triumphant speech where she rips into her detestable sister.  "If I never see you again, little sister, it would be too soon," Terri says as her carriage drives away.  Terri better not be gone from the miniseries because Scarlett-O'Hara-lite is the only person having any fun.

I say that and then Nurse Kirstie returns, after a long absence, ordering doctors, nurses and soldiers around, much to the dismay of Book 2's most precious slumming Oscar-winner, not to mention "Gone With the Wind" veteran, Olivia de Havilland.  She's the administrator of the hospital site where Kirstie is making such a fuss.  In her trademark soothing tone, Olivia has come to speak to Kirstie about her "insubordination."  "You must watch your manner," she tells Kirstie, who doesn't pay attention to a word she says.  Kirstie intends to continue berating the doctors and ignoring the Southern patients.  She also reminds Olivia that the morphine supply is due to her friendship with Congressman David Ogden Stiers.

We bathe in the warmth of Olivia's presence only for a moment before we're hit with another slumming Oscar-whammy, Hollywood's favorite son, Jimmy Stewart (and Olivia's co-star in "Airport '77")!  He's a lawyer to whom Lesley-Anne goes to for advice.  She wants to make sure she has a bit of money from her father's estate (but none from David Carradine's), but the real purpose of the visit is to get an assurance from her lawyer that he will never tell anyone she's in Charleston and when Patrick inevitably sues for divorce due to desertion, he will not contest it.  Dressed in widow's weeds, Lesley-Anne ends Part 3 hoping to spare Patrick and his family any humiliation. 

By May of 1864, the South has little hope left of winning the war, but they keep fighting.  James is still fighting with the regulars, but his supply train is ambushed.  He's a damn good shot and manages to kill a few of the Confederate men, but the Confederate men manage to overcome the train.  James and his men are to be sent to Libby Prison.

Lewis is surveying the damage of yet another battlefield when Kate arrives with drugs for the injured men.  They should be happy to see each other, but Lewis remembers the advice of Kate's friend to stay away from her to avoid falling in love and possibly dying on her.  He treats her roughly, she runs away from him and then he pins her to the ground where bright sunlight peeking through the trees tell us that the two are about to become lovers.  Yes, folks, it's another "North and South" sex scene, a montage of limbs, both on the trees and on their bodies, but these two are in the middle of a forest just off a battlefield, the most unlikely place to consummate a union.  They fall asleep where they have sex, but Lewis wakes up with horrible nightmares of James Houghton dying due to the exploding cannon over and over.  "You're a part of me now.  I love you," Kate says to calm him down. 

Parker is back in the Union Army, as sure a shot as ever, only failing to pick off a whole pack of snipers because he runs out of ammo.  According to Kurtwood, "you left here a deserted and you came back a fool," among other cute little motto phrases, but takes him back because the army is desperate.  Plus, he gives him a less-than-ideal assignment, "the forward skirmishers" and he will face a court martial at war's end.  To balance out the perceived of badness, we do have some saccharine to toss in with the Little Drummer Boy wanting to bury a found skull because, "he was a good soldier, I just know it." 

Finally, Grant (whose beard seems to be falling off wisp by wisp) is put in full command and he's decided to "raid behind the lines" while Sherman handles things in Georgia.  "People are tired of war.  If we don't destroy Lee's Army, Lincoln could be defeated in November and the Union gone forever.  Only unconditional surrender will give us a lasting peace," says the Union's best hope (and Reconstruction's Greatest admirer--some last peace!).  Even when battles are lost, he seems to have a plan in his mind as to how he'll win the war. 

There's something important to note, something most people probably would not even bother to see.  At this point in the movie, start taking a look at the extras.  On the Confederate side, they are getting older, weaker, fatter, in essence less soldier-like.  These are men conscripted into a dying Army.  "North and South Book 2" does a good job of portraying the soldiers as they really were late in the war. 

When a Southern soldier is brought in, Kirstie not only refuses the request for his bed, but even for water, causing Olivia to scold the exhausted workaholic.  Olivia warns her that if she follows the current pattern of giving inferior care to Southern soldiers, "I'll do my best to have you dismissed from the nursing corps." 

In Richmond, Patrick knows the war is lost, but he has bigger problems with his wife having disappeared.  He hires Detective Michael Champion to find her since he can't leave his post.  Lesley-Anne gives birth to a son. 

Patrick is shot but snipers while riding alone and he ends up in Kirstie's hospital.  Well, this is going to be a test for her!  Not only is he Southern, but her sworn enemy.  She gives him a bed, so far, so good.  She sends him to surgery immediately, also good.  As he improves, Patrick recognizes Kirstie.  He goes to thank you, but she retorts, "all wounded in this hospital receive the same care" with the hiss of an asp.

Upon seeing a Southern soldier attempting to conscript a black boy, she stops her carriage and puts a stop to it, threatening to use influence we know she doesn't have.  But, between that and the boy's ruse of coughing to appear sick, they get him from the clutches of the Confederate Army.  Lesley-Anne volunteers to take him home, which turns out to be a shanty town too deplorable for human life.  Since Bumper Robinson's mother is sick and they can't afford food or medicine, Lesley-Anne turns them into a pet project.  "Sometimes, the best way to forget someone you lost is to help someone else," Lesley-Anne gives as a reason for helping Bumper and his kin.  Unfortunately, three men stop the carriage and try to take the supplies, but Lee Horsley arrives on the scene and shoots one dead, scaring off the other two.  Lee has the hots for Lesley-Anne immediately.  A woman at Lesley-Anne's boarding house tells her that Lee "left the Army under very mysterious circumstances," and he should not ever be received.  Lesley-Anne sees a fellow black sheep in him.

Patrick suggests to Kirstie that they "swap stories of our families," and eventually Kirstie softens a little bit.  She tells him she has not seen Billy's name "on any of the casualty lists," but has no knowledge of anyone else.  Kirstie is told that Patrick is going to be sent to prison, being a General after all.  With this news, they wish each other well and he even kisses her hand.  He then knocks out a soldier, steals a horse and makes a dash toward freedom.  Kirstie flashes a hint of a smile to know he's gotten away.

Libby Prison is James' new home.  It's run by, I can't believe I'm writing this, Wayne Newton, perhaps the only guest star in a miniseries every to slum upwards!  He orders the new men to strip for cavity searches, as he brandishes a walking stick with a fist on the end of it.  There's symbolism for you.  "Now that we have finished with materials things, it's time we got to work on the spiritual.  You boys got to learn you ain't officers and gentlemen no more.  What you are is nothing...you are lower than scum, you are lower than dirt, so why don't you boys get down on your knees in the dirt and show me what you are now," Wayne sadistically notes, slapping his palm with that fist walking stick the whole time.  James refuses to let his men knee in front of "trash," as he refers to Wayne, so Wayne beats a soldier and most of the men end up kneeling.  James feels they should be treated better and asks for Wayne's superior.  He's the top there is and "there are no rules."  He then beats James up a bit.  It could only be goofier if the men all yelled, "danke schoen, sir" as he left the room. 

It's been a long time since we've caught up with Terri's husband Jim, who angles for states' rights from Jefferson Davis.  Davis is much smarter, knowing that they have to win the war as a block of states and then they can worry about the individual states.  When he tells Terri of his failure to persuade Davis, she's not sympathetic.  He's frustrated that no one listens to him.  "Not half as frustrating as you are to me," she snaps at him and leaves the house.  Naturally, she's off to Philip's.  She wants to be rid of her husband, but Philip won't hear of it.  He's planning a coup against Davis and Jim would be a useful figure head in "my new government."  Terri convinces Jim to go see Philip, though he's wary of him.  Because Jim is so malleable, it takes a few compliments to get Jim to listen to him and to convince him overthrowing Davis' government is the right way to rebuild the Confederacy.  He drops in that he would Jim Vice President.  "You make it sound almost patriotic," Jim says.  "It's more than that, it's your destiny," Philip shoots back and Jim is had.

Kirstie, exhausted and petulant, mechanically ties a tourniquet to a dying Confederate soldier's leg, but he unties it so he can die.  Olivia has had it with Kirstie.  "I believe you are capable of anything.  Even the murder of a Southerner," Olivia says in measured tones and then adds a further piece of good news, that she intends to see Kirstie tried for murder!  Hold on for an unexpected moment, readers.  Not only is Kirstie probably capable of killing a Confederate soldier, but also of killing Olivia de Havilland.  She comes at her (or rather the camera, the way it's filmed) and pushes her chair over, for some reason causing instant death, with the requisite trickle of blood from the mouth.  Kirstie has a mini breakdown (her hands twitch) and she leaves the hospital.  She makes it to Congressman David Ogden Stiers' house.  He tells her that Olivia isn't dead (PHEW), but she has filed murder charges.  The Congressman considers it "political suicide" to get help her, and then reminds her that the last time he helped her, he told her the "next time would not be free."  This time, she has no choice but to agree.  He watches her undress with a cigar and brandy.  Kirstie Alley is not one of more erotic actresses, so I'm not sure what he's getting to excited about, but to each his own.

The last time Lewis was around, he and Kate were engaging in afterglow, but things have changed.  Lewis goes to pay a visit and finds her black friends tied up outside by three men who have Kate hostage inside.  When he peers through the window, he finds the Union soldiers about to rape her.  Lewis bursts inside shooting.  Two are killed and the third escapes.  Defying all rules about such situations, not to mention offending good taste, Lewis and Kate have sex.

Wendy goes to Lincoln in the hopes that he will help get her husband released, but he can't.  Not only has he made it policy that there are no prison exchanges, he cannot do it for just one man.  "I don't run this war, it runs me," he tells her.  He says he'll try to help and thanks her for "your sacrifice."  When Wendy brings the news home, Jonathan and Mary agree with the President, that James should stay in prison.  After all, they would lose everything.  Wendy, with Inga's agreement, wants to get a message to Patrick and maybe he can help.  They better act quickly, because Libby Prison is a hell hole.  James tries to defend a boy being beaten and actually does knock them all out, but Wayne and his fist walking stick arrive.  The prison guards tell Wayne James was attempting to rape the kid, so Wayne decides to punish him badly.  One of the guards remind Wayne that the man actually in charge of the prison is due to return in a week and doesn't believe in violence.  This gets Wayne even angrier.  James is tied to a pole and left out in the rain to give Part Four a gloomy ending.

The war is nearing a close in December, 1864, but James may not have that long in Libby Prison.  "You're only half dead, stop being so shiftless and lazy," Wayne scowls at James, who has tried making a hole in the way.  As a general warning to all the prisoners, Wayne claims to have gun powder hidden. James may not have that long in Libby Prison.  "You're only half dead, stop being so shiftless and lazy," Wayne scowls at James, who has tried making a hole in the way.  As a general warning to all the prisoners, Wayne claims to have gun powder hidden under the floor and if anyone thinks of escaping, he'll simply blow them up. 

Lewis shows up in Richmond, bearing bad news for Patrick (who is suffering from laryngitis) that James is in Libby Prison.  Patrick wants to get him out, but Lewis "doesn't care too much for Yankees these days," but agrees to go with Patrick.  General Patrick goes to Libby and the guards try to stall as long as they can, eventually presenting the shell of a man James has become.  "I intend to report this entire detachment gross neglect of duty," Patrick threatens, but Wayne steps in as they try to leave.  He will not abide by the order, so the men have to fight their way out. 

CONTINUITY CHECK: during the fight, Patrick is able to kick with both legs, just like ran at top speed across railroad tracks one time with that terribly mangled leg.  Okay, I know it looks good to stage "Batman"-style fight scenes, but so much care has been taken to see that "North and South" is true to itself that moments like these can really weary a viewer's patience.

Wayne has a knife hidden in his boot and he draws it, only to be pushed against a way and into the knife, dead.  James can be taken out safely.  They are already on horseback by the time one of Wayne's men tries to stop them.  James is in too much pain to travel easily.  "You saved my life," James cries to Patrick and Lewis.  They put him in a tiny boat with some supplies and send him back to Northern safety.  "Can I ask one more favor?  Tell Jeff Davis that if he stops this war, I'll buy the champagne," James jokes, even in his condition.  "You best make that offer to Lincoln," Patrick retorts, their playful banter omnipresent.  "We kill Yankees by the hundreds and save one man.  It doesn't make any sense, Lewis opines.  He doesn't understand the bond these two men have. 

Don't underestimate the power of Inga Swenson's Great 1864 Christmas Sing-a-long.  It charms her young granddaughter, but Mary isn't so easily full of Christmas cheer.  It takes a massive diamond necklace from her husband to do that, though the rest of the family thinks it's ostentatious.  Inga misses her sons, but Wendy puts it in some sort of perspective, telling her that there are families who know for sure their loved ones will never return.  Cue the Christmas miracle: a knock at the door reveals James, now safe at home with his wife, mother and daughter. 

And what of our Southern women?  No finery or Christmas trappings for them.  Genie is digging in the garden when hated Tony Frank arrives, bearing food.  "We have enough," Genie says defiantly.  He tries once again to slither his way into her plantation, but Erica shows up toting a gun.  The first shot is a warning, but she intends the second to hit its target.  "Get out of here...leave the horse," she orders, exorcising her demons when it comes to this man. 

"You're some kind of killing machine," Lewis' friend tells him after they kill a small band of Union soldiers and find out where Grant is heading.  Lewis shoots the last one alive when the man merely reaches for a drink of water.

Accompanied by Lee, Lesley-Anne continues her charity work with Charleston's destitute black population, only to hear that little Bumper has been been conscripted.  Lee takes Lesley-Anne to headquarters to find out what they can do, and he learns where Bumper is.  Lee gets orders that allow him to take the boys back to the plantation. The man in charge knows about Lee and his "pay-offs," so he sends the black boys back into the wagon and waits for his payment, which comes in the form of a kick to the face from Lee. Lesley-Anne is shocked to find out Lee won Bumper's freedom through bribes.  "Honor is dead," Lee reminds her, telling her that he left the Army because he found better ways to fight the whole system.  Lesley-Anne is grateful, but not willing to go to bed with him. 

Lesley-Anne then decides she will use David Carradine's money to help the poor.  "That man never did a good thing for anyone in his whole life, so let's just call this poetic justice," she tells her lawyer Jimmy Stewart.  She's willing to bankrupt herself in order to assist the displaced. 

James is healing nicely, though he will be going back to the front.  However, he's concerned that Patrick has changed.  He thinks Patrick saved him not out of loyalty, but to "repay a debt."  A Union officer shows up at James' house to tell him of a "formal investigation" about the shoddy cannons coming out of the ironworks.  James' signature is on "incriminating documents," but he has a few hours to come with proof that he is not involved.  He sets off to find Jonathan and Mary's business partner.  He finds him, but, predictably, they fight and the partner's neck is snapped.  Well, he's dead and thus cannot testify, but James still has Jonathan, who stands up to his wife for the first time.  "You miserable traitor," James rails at his brother and insists he take "full responsibility," which will mean "long prison terms" for husband and wife.  Jonathan agrees to cooperate, so that problem is solved.  Phew! 

The plot to kill Jefferson Davis is still alive and well in the minds of Philip and Terri, but she has no more money.  Not to worry, Philip has a man willing to give $15,000, with the condition that he gets a night with Terri.  She's aghast, but agrees to go along with it.  "But we love each other," she tries to complain, but Philip cuts her off by saying, "I don't recall love ever being mentioned."  Terri beds the old coot with the cash, hating every minute of it.  Should we feel sorry for her?  I vote not.  It's hardly penance yet.  Philip takes Terri to his out-of-town armory of war supplies.  In here, comes the creepiest of moments, where Philip talks about killing Jefferson Davis and her brother Patrick while moving a gun up and down Terri's body as seduction.  It works.  They do it right there among the barrels of gunpowder. 

Having become a regular Soup Kitchen Sally to hundreds of people, Lesley-Anne is almost out of money, and all she has left is David's house.  Jimmy Stewart tells her he has a buyer for her house, but the buyer wishes to remain anonymous.  Hmm, who could it be?  Well, it's Lee Horsley, of course, who can raise cash any time he wants by gambling.  He tells Jimmy not to be concerned.  "It's not every day a lawyer helps a scoundrel help a lady," Lee says with a grin. 

In need of money, Philip is told by the man from whom he purchases guns that the "Angel Lady" is the only woman in Charleston who still has money and he should seek her out and use his charm to get her money.  Speaking of Lesley-Anne, when Lee confesses his love for her, she admits she's actually still married and though he's willing to accept her as is, she will not hurt him.  "A part of me will always belong to him," she says, trying to spare Lee the agony of loving her.  Lee vows never go give up, the lovestruck fool. 

When Lesley-Anne returns home, there is a card from Philip, whose very name frightens her.  She seeks out Linda Evans, a former actress who once played a magnificent Cordelia in "King Lear" that Lesley-Anne once saw (not only does that seem unlikely, but they are supposed to be the same age...?????).  Lesley-Anne wants to hire her for her acting abilities, to "find out what somebody wants from me."  Folks, this is where "North and South" jumps off track, majorly.  This is a plot twist worthy of of Sidney Sheldon or Judith Krantz, not John Jakes.  The only way to find out what Philip wants is to hire an actress?  Come on! 

At any rate, Philip spills his whole plan about killing Jefferson Davis to Linda Evans, making a stupid plot twist even worse.  Would a man as devious as this really reveal the whole truth of his plan to a complete stranger?  Certainly he would have lies ready.  She asks for two days to mull it over, but he insists on having an answer the next morning.  Lesley-Anne has heard the entire conversation.  When Lesley-Anne tries to pay Linda, she tells her to use the money for her charity.  "Think of it as a benefit performance," she says.  Yes, that is the line, word for word.  I played it three times and laughed through all of them. 

Philip knew all along Linda was an actress (I've seen most things she's done in her career and I've never been convinced), so he waits for Lesley-Anne to leave her house.  He attacks her and is about to pull off her veil when Lee shows up to, let's say it in unison...fight man-on-man.  Philip shoots Lee, who asks Lesley-Anne if she loves him and she admits it, the last thing he hears as he dies. 

Dreaded former overseer Tony Frank comes to his old plantation and ruins Beau's irrigation system, stealing all the remaining food for good measure.  Beau is beaten, but survives.  Erica shows him particular kindness.  There is still a hint of splendor at the old plantation, especially when Jean leafs through a photo album and remembers the good times. 

The Confederate Army is bedraggled.  Lewis' friend wants to desert and Lewis tries to stop him.  "I'd rather die than go on this way," he tells Lewis.  Lewis lets him go, but the words penetrate.  He looks terrible, his clothes in tatters and all hope nearly gone.  He goes to Kate's place, a place where he feels most comfortable.  One of her friends has been killed by Union soldiers.  The boy's father pours coffee on Lewis, but accident and Lewis reacts as if the man were still a slave, but apologizes for it.  "I'm not fit to be around decent people," he claims, even her, the woman he loves.  "Nothing makes any sense anymore," says the character who retained the most sanity for the most time.  If he's given up, things must really be dire.  Lewis leaves, but gets to his horse and realizes how much he needs Kate and goes back inside to her.  When he leaves to return to camp, both are happier. 

It's Terri's weak-willed husband Jim who tells Jefferson Davis about the illegal gun running scheme Philip has going.  Davis calls in Patrick to help him sort it out.  Terri tries to get Philip to stop the scheme.  "The Confederacy is dead!" she tells him, but he says it will thrive "under my leadership."  Terri has to hide in the back because Philip is expecting visitors.  It's Jim who arrives, pretending to go along with Philip's plans.  Patrick slips in, hearing the whole plan from Philip's mouth.  Expecting a fist-fight?  Close.  Will you settle for a gunfight instead?  No.  Well, once Patrick runs out of bullets, you'll get your fist fight.  Philip smacks Patrick around with a wooden plank while Terri and Jim accidentally set the storehouse full of gunpowder on fire.  "My empire, I'm going to save my empire," Philip rages as he runs back into the burning building, moments before a spectacular explosion.  "It was like Judgment Day," Terri worries, admitting "I'm a sinner too" and that she'll burn in hell with Philip.  She recounts all of her sins for them, include the plot to kill her brother-in-law, her abortion and her success at driving a wedge between Patrick and Lesley-Anne.  Patrick smacks his sister hard across the face when he hears this and then tells her he never wants to see her again.  She asks her husband for forgiveness, but he tells her "it's too late."  Goodbye Terri as Episode Five concludes.

We rejoin the story in March, 1965.  The Armies are at Petersburg waiting for a conclusion to the war.  Jefferson Davis is pining over the lost ammunition that Philip had been stockpiling and still hoping for a miracle from General Lee.  Patrick knows all is lost and only wants to find Lesley-Anne.  His detective has not been able to turn up anything.  She's still feeding the poor, but money and supplies are virtually gone.  General Sherman has made life in South Carolina lousy for the state he feels started the war.  Lesley-Anne goes to General Sherman himself to plead the case for Charleston.  There is no possible way a Southern civilian female would EVER get time with Charleston, so this scene is inherently ludicrous, but Lesley-Anne actually infuses it with enough good acting to make it almost believable.  She pleads her case well, and Sherman promises her supplies.  "You're a woman of courage and courage always wins," he tells her.  Well, okay.

Starting the process of wrapping up all the plot lines, hated overseer Tony Frank is captured by Forest's men.  Forest has gotten himself a following, blacks poor whites who believe they can take all of the property that belonged to the whites once the war ends.  Tony pleads for his life, saying they will need his plantation experience to make his dream a reality.  They form an unlikely and very tentative alliance.

There's a knock at Congressman David Ogden Stiers' door.  There is a man looking for Kirstie because the warrant for her arrest is still valid.  At a party the Congressman throws, she tells him to stop the investigation, though he keeps saying, "these things take time."  When he asks her if he's as good in bed as her dead husband, the fire in her eyes returns and she says, "there's no one like you." 

Plucky Genie is prying every piece of candle wax from the candlesticks when the Union Army arrives to take the plantation.  "There are only women here.  We didn't start this war, we're trying to survive it!" she tells the soldiers.  Jean backs her up, saying, "you'll have to burn down this house around me" and then pulls a pistol.  The Union soldier in charge is a very old friend of Patrick from the West Point days, so he has the house spared, to be used by the army. 

Lincoln pays a visit to Grant's camp, with James in tow, trying to boost morale and hear Grant's plan to end the war.  Lincoln reminds everyone to "let 'em off easy" as Grant says.  Lincoln does not want harsh reprisals, but he's in the minority on that one.  "Some people want the South to bleed for what they've done," he's told, but he responds, "The South has bled enough, and so have we."

James can see Patrick just across the battlefield with his binoculars.  He's not sure what to do, but his brother Parker is there to egg him on.  "Sound the advance," James says.  James, Parker and the Union Army advance as Patrick, Lewis and the Confederate Army sound the order to fire.  The final battle is on.  Even Parker's Little Drummer Boy is part of it, racing across the field with Parker, though hit by cannon fire soon into the battle.  Parker, having made it all the way across the battlefield, is shot in the shoulder and sees his Little Drummer Boy's body, going back to carry it back to safety.  James and Patrick are close enough to easily kill each other, but they resist, sticking to their roles as leaders of the battle.  Patrick is particularly agile (I'm tired of being the continuity police by now, so let's just let Dancer Patrick spend the rest of the movie pretending his not Actor Patrick). 

The Union Army is victorious, but the causalities are very high.  Parker and his Little Drummer Boy are alive, though both severely wounded.  Parker solemnly tells the Little Drummer Boy that he will live, but healing will take a while.  Parker can only stay a few days and then return for him when he's fully able to travel.  "You hurry up and get well.  Just remember you're my friend and I love you," Parker sweetly reminds the kid, whom he intends to take home to his wife when the war is over.  Grant now has to plan to finally end it all.  He gives strict orders not to simply pick off the Confederates from behind, but to cut them off and attack from the front and all sides.  As the Union Army is about to wipe out the Confederate Army, word comes that the Confederacy has surrendered.  The Union Army celebrates, but the Southern soldiers are sad and stuck to the ground in disbelief.  The formalities are handled at Appomattox on April 9.  Lee arrives first, but Grant and his victorious men, James included, are soon there as well.  Lee is given a very polite (and very long) send off. 

News of the surrender reaches the plantation, where Genie and Jean are still surviving.  Lewis goes to tell Kate what has happened, but Kate died in childbirth.  Lewis never even knew she was pregnant.  The baby lived and was taken by a relative to Charleston.  He goes to Charleston to claim his son.  Lewis makes it back to the plantation first, but Genie's wishes come true when Parker comes riding up to the house.  Beau, however, wants to leave, claiming there is nothing left for him at the plantation.  "Not without me," Erica tells him as another man's wish comes true.  Jean gives Beau and Erica a piece of the plantation, "to start a new lifge there together." 

It seems Kirstie has adapted to being the Congressman's mistress quite well.  She asks him when he will get the murder charges dropped.  "I'm sick of you harping on that," he tells her and she blurts out, "like I'm sick of servicing you?" and then immediately regrets she said it.  He forgives her, but after one last session together, he tells her he will never return as he's going to be a Senator.  "Do you think I would risk my political career for you?  You were a challenge and once a challenge is met, one moves on," he coldly tells her, though undeniably she deserves it.  Oh, and he also tells her that murder charge was long dismissed.  "Just collecting on past favors my dear," he tells her when she slaps him for using her.  Kirstie is way too unbalanced to take this abuse, so she kills the Congressman. 

James visits Kirstie in prison, but "there's no chance for reprieve."  She understands, and also appreciates the irony of hanging for murder on what would have been her anniversary had Georg lived.  The only thing she has left is her wedding ring, which she gives to James as a present to his daughter, "from her crazy aunt."  Both cry as James says goodbye.  Despite all differences, they have forgiven each other.  No other sibling has come to visit.  "No matter what she did, I loved her," Inga cries, surrounded by James and Wendy. 

In bed, Wendy and James have one of those "what was it all for?" conversations, but for James the war is not over until he finds out what happened to Patrick, whom we last saw presumably dead on the battlefield at Petersburg.  He wanders all over the South trying to find Patrick, but nobody has seen him.  Finally, at a field hospital, he sees Patrick, a broken man sitting up against a tree.  James is overcome seeing Patrick, but the latter has lost his spark.  Part of that is due to the fact he can't find Lesley-Anne.  They get the bad news that Lincoln has been shot and James breaks down.  "I could really use your help now," Patrick tells him, to give him a reason to live.  The spark is coming back.  They go to see Lawyer Jimmy Stewart, but he refuses to break confidentiality.  "I can no longer keep two people apart who should be together," he finally tells Patrick.  Lesley-Anne is playing with her baby when Patrick shows up (another continuity gaffe has this baby still an infant, where Lewis' baby is already older, though born after).  He tells her, "you don't have to be afraid anymore" and the cymbals crash big time when they fall into each other's arms.  "I have to tell you, there's another man in my life now," she notes and gives him the baby he never even knew he had (they haven't seen each other in two years, but the kid looks under one year). 

The happy family plus James heads for the plantation, where the happy family members are having dinner with Forest and Tony's posse raid the house and set it on fire.  Everyone has survived so much, is this really necessary?  Lewis, Genie, Parker, Beau and Erica all take up arms and manage to shoot a whole bunch of people, thoug Forest bursts in and tries to grab Erica.  Jean smashes a vase over his head, but he pushes her against the door and knocks her out.  Lewis kills Forest.  The battle is still raging when James and Patrick arrive with Lesley-Anne and the baby.  Erica is watching at the window when Beau is shot and killed.  Tony tries to molest Genie, but Parker jumps in to save her.  As he's aboutot kill Parker, Genie shoots him from behind.  The raiders, or what's left of them, scamper off as the family flees the house.  Unfortunately, Jean dies.  She is inseparable from the house and once it started to burn, it was inevitable she would go along with it.  "My mother lived to see her way of life erased from the face of the earth, but she blamed no one," Patrick says as part of the eulogy before slipping into one of Lincoln's speeches of forgiveness. 

The final speech goes to James, who holds out his half of the $10 bill to start anew in business and life.  Patrick has his half as well and declares James "the best friend a man could ever have.  We're a family."  As family they all wak down the path from the plantation one last time, their lives completely separated from all they knew before the war.

Because "North and South Book 2" is forced to show the entire Civil War, there is a lot of time wasting.  The Linda Evans acting scheme, the Wayne Newton prison humiliation, even the Lewis and Kate love plot, are all filler.  The most moving moments come during the actual battle scenes and at the end when we shave down the characters to just the essentials, the ones who have been with us since the beginning and have become so familiar over the course of 18 hours.  Since it ends on such a lovely note, pure American heartstring tugging, a lot of the flaws are forgiven.

Remember, though, the story is not over.  In 1994, the final part of the trilogy appeared, but for now, let's simply bask in the glow of a true miniseries classic and not worry about how it's junked up later on.

The Blue and The Gray (1982)

Virginia matriarch Colleen Dewhurst notes that her son John Hammond is different from the rest of the family because he has an artistic ability.  It if weren't 1859, that would be code, but since it is 1859 and said in the very serious "The Blue and The Gray," Colleen is actually talking about her quiet son's ability to draw.  John, who treats Paul Winfield with as much respect as his Pa, Lloyd Bridges, actually does draw well, and decides to leave the family farm, not a popular decision, to seek his fortune in Gettysburg, where he has an uncle who runs a newspaper.  He rebuffs the scorn of his brothers and even Lloyd's attempt to give him a gun upon leaving, asking for six months away from the farm to make money. 

Cute-as-a-button John (playing a character named John) has excellent timing.  His shady uncle's newspaper needs an artist to cover the sentencing at the infamous trial of John Brown (Sterling Hayden, for once putting his inability to do anything but stand still to good use), already found guilty by the time John arrives and starts furiously drawing.  Also at the sentencing is Stacy Keach, playing Jonas Steele, a mysterious man who asks John not to use his likeness in his drawing, as not everyone would understand what he was doing at the trial.  John agrees and Jonas thanks him by hiring him a hooker, always awkward for a virgin. 

"The Blue and The Gray" moves along at a clip pace, but is filled with wonderful details.  For instance, when John Brown is sent to the scaffold, he arrives on a cart that is also carrying his coffin.  It's an eerie way to spend one's last moments, and given only a second of screen time, but it shows diligence on the part of the creators. 

John takes Jonas home to his Northern family, where Jonas has a chance to flirt immediately with sweet Mary (Julia Duffy), who needs the fire to dry her hair while Jonas needs it to dry his beefy body.  "I hope you don't mind bold girls," she teases after fluffing the pillows on his bed and closing the door.  John gets a raise to $5 a week and free rent.  For about two sentences, his cousins wonder about the possibility of a war, but Uncle Jacob silences such talk.  Again, it's only 1859.

The next wee see of John, it's Christmas 1860 and he's back home, bringing the news of South Carolina's secession.  John's brothers are excited, but Ma realizes this could mean some of her sons might die, looking askance at John, knowing he might now have Northern sympathies, thus thinking further ahead than the rest of the family.  John's sister quickly marries her fiance, a businessman worried that the war will interrupt his trade.  Brother Mark (Michael Horton) uses the fact that he might die in battle to sneak a kiss from a dim bulb sweetie at the celebration. 

Politics come crashing into the fete when a posse shows up looking for runaway slaves at freeman Paul Winfield's cabin.  At first, John goes along with it, but when they threaten to hang Paul, John grabs a gun and tries to hold off the men, getting knocked out for his trouble by his own brother, already resplendent in his gray uniform.  The twin images of Paul lynched and his house burning a few yards away is as powerful a symbol of what is to come for the viewer as it is for John.

John can't handle what's happening and leaves (he's his mother's son, for she comforts the slave woman who was in love with Paul), fully horrified that a friend of his was killed while his family watched.  Civil War legends involve the literal splitting of families, "The Blue and The Gray" no exception.  Cousin Mary asks if he'll enlist with the North, and John wonders, "now how could I carry a rifle for the North knowing that one day I might be asked to point it at one of my brothers?"  He's in a delicate situation, having abandoned the South, but an accented-youth up North where everyone his age will be off to war.

This wouldn't be an epic without the unexpected guest stars, and "The Blue and The Gray" indulges in stunt casting of the highest degree, using Gregory Peck as Abraham Lincoln.  He makes a grand entrance on a whistle stop in Leaman's Place, John sketching away, invited into Lincoln's train car because Stacy Keach is one of his guards and because Lincoln says he and Mrs. Lincoln have never been sketched together.  Okay, that's stretching history to assume our fictional hero can get access to Lincoln that easily and on such a small turn, but that's to be expected in epic sweep for the sake of efficiency (just ask Robert Mitchum's Pug Henry, who manages to meet Churchill, Roosevelt, Hitler, Stalin and everyone but Madame Chiang-Kai Chek during "The Winds of War").  Peck's Lincoln is a savvy politician, telling John to pursue drawing and not take up arms, to show his family back in the South what the war really looks like.

Three of John's cousins enlist in patriotic fervor, two old enough to be kissed by welcoming ladies and one using the same "age on the shoe" trick used by the lying homesteaders in "Centennial" because he's not actually old enough.  Mother Diane Baker is not happy to be losing her sons, but Mary tells her she should be proud.  Diane and Colleen are sisters (separated by at least twenty years of wishful thinking) and have the same sense of looming disaster. 

Stacy Keach confesses to Julia Duffy, the only pretty schoolmarm in all of miniseries history, that he is Lincoln's bodyguard because he is a Pinkerton detective and goes way back with Abe, who was once the company's lawyer.  They share a romantic few moments by the lake where Stacy rambles on in one of those "I had this dream one time..." monologues that are hoping to be pulled out again at Emmy time.  They seal their passion for each other with a kiss and then a very quick proposal. 

There is a comic scene to follow the romance that again shows an attention to detail that makes "The Blue and The Gray" such a watchable history lesson.  One has the tendency to forget that armies are made of individuals, instead treating them as hundreds of individuals.   The wars of the 20th Century delighted in spewing numbers in the hundreds of thousands as a scare tactic.  There is a training scene with a new recruit we know is not going to make it.  This being the 1980s (in real life), of course our feckless private has buck teeth and looks like the product of in-breeding.  Anyway, during a training on how to load and fire a gun (which was admittedly complicated), John's ravishingly handsome cousins get it no problem, but the goober new recruit does it incorrectly and accidentally fires a shot.  No one is harmed and viewers can easily laugh, but the lesson is obvious: don't forget the Civil War armies were made of ho-hum BOYS who had never prepared for any sort of war and enlisted not necessarily to preserve or destroy slavery, but because it was a matter of honor to do so.

John is off to Washington to work for Harper's, nervous that he's never covered a war, but when Stacy Keach shows up (he's always popping up in the most unlikely of places), John begs to ride with him and they arrive at the camp where John's youngest cousin is about to die of galloping diarrhea. 

Stacy has another dream to relay, but this time only John is around to listen.  This dream is every bit as annoyingly cryptic as the last one, but it ends abruptly when Stacy realizes the army is very close (he's not a very good scout if it took him a dark night of seeing torches to figure that out). 

John gets to observe the war up close, with the first cannons finally roaring about 100 minutes into the movie.  If it seems odd that John is about twenty yards away from the cannons sketching violently, wait for Washington's finest ladies and gents to show up and watch with picnic lunches.  Snicker all you want but that's actually historical accuracy. 

In this very first battle we're shown, John's brothers and cousins happen to be fighting each other.  The brothers have the advantage (as the Confederacy usually did early in the war) with heavy cannons, and cousin Malachi wets his pants being fired upon (suave brother Jake is too sexy to have done such a thing).  This battle scene is very personal, not only because we know so many of the ordinary soldiers, but because the Civil War was really one of the last wars fought in the old hand-to-hand combat style that saw whole lines of soldiers downed by one round of gunfire, told to advance at all costs.  The battle's winner is constantly in doubt.  The Union advances, despite heavy casualties, but the fleeing Confederate soldiers are goaded by the example of General "Stonewall" Jackson refusing to move his position.  The saddest victim of the battle is a bedridden old woman whose house is used by the Confederate army as a locale for snipers, but easily blown to smithereens by Union cannonballs.  Northern soldiers flee the onslaught (as do the onlookers, now closer to the action than they expected), and Malachi proves once again he doesn't have the stomach for war.  It's not he who helps fellow wounded soldiers, but his cousin John, who isn't even a soldier!  Such goes the Battle of Bull Run.

The Union soldiers are chewed out by their superiors as a twinkly-eyed soldier with a "coward" sign around his neck is branded (oh, Private Lawrence Jones; great, the coward is the only gay kid in the whole army; a big "C" on his cheek ain't gonna disappear, even under the dark lights of a disco, but that's a lesson for another time).  John and his cousin Jake are worried about Malachi, who knows he should have been branded for running from the battle, but John is able to comfort him with the lesson this episode has worked very hard to make us understand: heroes in this war are not just the men who show up (or don't show up, as this was still a war where one could buy a surrogate to fight for him), but the men who work hard and struggle to form a cohesive fighting army.  Pride has no place in this horrid war.

It's destiny that John, as John, should meet Kathleen Beller, playing Kathy, on the battlefield.  In a full hoop skirt and parasol, she's almost split apart by a bomb, but John rescues her and she in turn helps a wounded soldier by ripping off a piece of her petticoat.  When John goes to find her, it turns out she's the daughter of one of television's baddest bad guys, a man who struck terror into the heart of every television detective for umpteen years, Robert Vaughn.  He's a Senator here who is at first not too happy that John is a..."journalist," the term that comes to the mind instead of "Southerner."  Kathy's fey friends, who of course ran from the battle, are horrified that Kathy was so moved by the experience that she wants to be a nurse.  "No gentleman would say that," her German fiance snarls when John supports her decision to blossom into Florence Nightingale.  The German wants to duel "on the field of (heaving heavily) honor" because John calls him out on running from the fighting instead of being unconscious as he claimed. 

"I hate duels.  They are stupid and they are dangerous...and going out of style," pop-up Stacy Keach says (they were also illegal by this time in American  history), acting as John's second.  To act as the same, the German has picked Otto Von Bismarck's grandfather, a man so old he probably showed up to help the British fight the American Revolution and has been wandering around Virginia ever since, but it's lucky he's there because he has an actual dueling handbook!  Okay, so even "The Blue and The Gray" is allowed some silliness.  Actually, it gets even funnier, because the German tries to kill John before the paces are called, meaning John is allowed to shoot him.  Grandpa consults the rule book again as John blows off the German's hat and humiliates him.

A hallmark of the American miniseries, and of American TV at the time, was the cliffhanger.  That's understandable, because these sagas were shown over multiple nights and they needed to bring back the viewers, but I question the logic of the finale of this first episode.  John's duel and obvious win of the girl would have made a nice little ending, but instead we drag back Gregory Peck, the only filmed Lincoln I can remember who is a damn good shot, testing out a rifle for his troops, though Stacy Keach is better with it.  Lincoln, a detail man apparently, is aware that Stacy is to be married and gives him the new rifle, a gun so dastardly and efficient we know it will be back as a plot point, as a wedding present. A stunned Stacy watches as THE Gregory Peck (or THE Lincoln) walks back to the White House.  This damn war isn't going to get any prettier.

It's a rather confusing cliffhanger, but there we have it, the end of Part 1 of "The Blue and The Gray."

Part 2 begins in the middle of 1862 at the Peninsula Campaign.  In the Union Army, John's two cousins (and the goober) are still going strong, and his Confederate brothers are also alive.  The Union has a fancy toy, a hot air balloon used by an aviation expert that can fly over the Confederate position and telegraph information back to the army.  Luckily, it flies higher than any artillery can reach. 

As for John, he's still courtin' Kathy, much to Papa Robert Vaughn's dismay.  The latter scrunches up his face to its most derisive and lays it out for John.  His daughter cannot risk her social position to be "intimate with an impecunious journalist."  He's happy (as happy as he gets) to hear Kathy is still unspoiled, though she sure as hell knows now to use her tongue when she plants a heavy kiss on John secretly.  Unfortunately, Robert still refuses to let her attend the wedding of Stacy Keach and Julia Duffy with John.

It's a shame, because it's a lovely wedding, though the first night is almost spoiled when Mary cuts her finger on broken glass and Jonas mistakes it for a bullet wound, the one in his dream where he brings harm to his beloved after they are married.  Foreshadowing, sure, but not yet!

I have some bad news.  Everyone sitting down?

You sure?

The goober soldier dies.  Not in battle, but murdered and pinned to a tree, so horribly that forensic and psychology expert Stacy Keach can tell this murder means something more than just war.

I'm sorry, I really am. I wanted him to live too, but we knew he was doomed.

Malachai runs from another battle, only to meet a Confederate soldier behind a tree.  Both need to reload their guns, but both are inept at loading it, so the two decide to talk it out in a rather tender exchange that again proves the theory that these armies are made of inexperienced men who truly have no idea what they are fighting for.  "Makes no sense shooting each other...there's plenty of folks willing to do it for us," the Reb soldier says, since both are chicken and have run from the battle.  Malachi asks what it's like to have slaves, but the Reb says he has no slaves.  He didn't even have shoes!  The scene is badly acted, yes, but highly effective.  And it ends with Malachai a hero, a Corporal no less, an unexpected touch (though almost ruined when Malachi kicks his heels up in the air walking away after getting it).

In case you have missed the point of the above scene, the theme is repeated when bathing Union soldiers find a little tiny boat loaded with tobacco from the Confederate soldiers across the river in return for coffee sent back.  The boat also has a note for John and his cousins to meet his brothers at night.  That makes me veeeeeery nervous. 

Brother Luke has invited John and his cousins to a barn dance behind Confederate lines where booze and broads abound.  In the third-in-a-row scene to hammer in the theme (it's a bit tiresome, but so innocent you can't get upset) as the Confederate soldiers warmly welcome their Union enemies with open arms.  John meets a girl who "if'n"s him into kissing her and drinking moonshine.  An uppity senior staffer is not happy to have the Blues there, but he lets them stay upon promise of Luke taking them home at dawn.  And he does, in a triumph of character over reality.  The uppity senior staffer offers Luke and his pal the choice of cleaning latrines or handling the new Confederate balloon.  Cleverness in war goes both ways.

Unfortunately, luck doesn't and Luke and his pal Bear land in enemy territory, with Bear taking a bullet to his considerable gut, expiring once he gives Luke the old "go run and save yourself" speech.  Luke is taken prisoner. 

In a pause for history, Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation.  That minute over, after Lincoln and his cabinet pose like they were being painted, John trots off to visit Kathy.  His idea of romance is to relay the horrors of the battlefield, but Kathy is a nurse now and she understands.  Plus, John, three year older than when we met him, is still just as adorable and there's no denying him a smile and a squeeze of the hand. 

Nurse Kathy sees John having a horrible nightmare and pats down his sweat with great love in her eyes. She then sneaks a peak at his sketches, in another of those ideal little touches, to show the horror of the war.  It takes only three brief pages to show what 150 years of books have tried to bring to life.

Flash forward to Mississippi, 1863.  Students?  What does that mean is looming?  You, in the second row.  Put down the note and tell me what Mississippi 1863 signifies?  No, not the Battle of Midway.  We're not up to "War and Remembrance" yet.  Vicksburg!  Vicksburg!

John is trottin' around down there when he comes across some Union soldiers about to rape a black  woman.  Having saved her life, he finds out that his beloved men in blue haven't been treating the Southerners blacks so well, but with news of the Emancipation in hand, a bedraggled gaggle of slaves hiding in the forest are understandably thrilled.  John captures the glee of these now ex-slaves in his notebook.  John, sounding more and more like a textbook, tells them the truth, that the piece of paper only means something if the Union wins the war, but the leader of the gang tells him that they now have hope, something more powerful. 

The South is further painted in an unflattering light when John's brother Matthew goes to visit his married sister in Vicksburg, the one with the merchant hubby, who apparently is profiting from the misfortune of others (and she ain't so nice either, considering John cut out of the family for not fighting with the South--um, you wouldn't have a plot without that fact, you twit!).  Cue the door and Emma's bloody husband. With the spirit of Scarlett O'Hara in her, she races him to the hospital amidst cannon fire, good not only for him but because she's about to pop a baby!  Hubby Lester recovers and gets to meet his son.  Emma slips back into irrationality and insists Lester go back into business to take advantage of the fact that food and medicine are in short supply and they can make a fortune.  He says no, he's realized it's not right.

It's the last thing he says as a bomb decimates his hospital room. 

Though "The Blue and The Grey" soars beautifully, Part 2 is a bit of a let-down after Part 1.  Part 2, clocking in at nearly 45 minutes less than Part 1 seems more a history class than a fully plotted movie.  I forgive it because the history is not as leaden as we will see in other historical epics, but let's be frank, the fictional characters are a whole lot more fun when they are part of the plot rather than observing it.

Part 3 starts still in 1863, but back up North where Stacy Keach explains to his wife that battle could be headed their way, as Gettysburg isn't too far.  He then goes off to meet General Meade (Rory Calhoun, of all people), who knows the upcoming battle is going to be tough because Union supply lines are "a shambles."  It becomes Stacy's job to assure the railroad supplies get through, but it's immediately evident that he has an unenviable task. The Confederate soldiers set fire to a bridge they must cross and when they go to put it out, snipers attack.  Quick thinking, good guns and a pair of very tight pants on Stacy seem to save the day.

A small, but very bloody, hand-to-hand sword-to-sword combat battle erupts right outside of Mary Steele's house (literally right outside).  A Confederate soldier slinks in, bloodied and blind, slumped against the table where a picture of hubby Stacy watches over him, and Julia Duffy helps the soldier as the battle rages.  Unfortunately for Julia, a stray bullet kills her.  She's a victim of two stock issues in TV of this period.  The first is never to have a tearful goodbye with someone as it's a sure sign that you will never see each other alive again.  Rarely does anyone die after a quick peck and a "have a good day."  But, blubber and rant, and someone is a goner.  The second is that with only two hours to go before the end of the movie, we have to start picking off some lead characters.  Remember, these people (for the most part) are fictional.  They serve the story by lurking around historic events, but we haven't had a death since one of John's cousins way back in the first episode.  Unfortunately, given the low rank of most of the character soldiers in this movie, that's surprisingly low.  More than a few of our beloved characters would have been dead and now the movie is catching up with reality. 

The irony is piled on thick as Stacy brings the train to the soldiers, having successfully made it through all of the Confederate-inspired problems, not knowing his wife is close-by, dead on the floor next to a dead Confederate soldier (and that omnipresent picture of himself).  Perhaps it's those tight pants again, but Stacy feels something is wrong and rushes home to find his in-laws crying and Mary's body in a coffin.  The above two definites of miniseries death were inevitable for someone to die, but Mary's death was even more inevitable because Stacy had predicted it almost the first time they met.  She's been on borrowed time ever since.  "May I join you soon," he says and kisses her for the last time. 

Detail time again: Stacy leaves his wife's funeral, having buried her in a nice little plot, having to ride through a vast field of dead soldiers and mangled war supplies.  It's a beautiful, if horrifying, spectacle.

Gregory Peck digs into his vast reservoir of Oscar-winning focus to deliver Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. 

Back down in Mississippi, John is witness to the Siege of Vicksburg, a particularly grim spectacle that stops only three times a day so the soldiers can eat, separated by only yards of trenches (spooky foreshadowing of World War I).  Luckily all of the soldiers are so friendly that John can yell across the trenches that he wants to speak to his brother as the firing starts up again.  In a moment of sheer Americana-on-film, the soldiers halt the fight so John and his brother can talk for a few minutes.  "We're holding up the war," his brother even says at one point.  John's brother is still sore at John for not joining the Confederate army, but he admits he's matured, having seen the horrors of the battle, and he forgives John for simply taking a different path in life.  It's a touching moment (if unlikely), once again making sure we get the central themes of the piece. 

In the above conversation, John learned that his sister and her baby are trapped in Vicksburg and wants to get into the city.  What he finds is frighteningly grim.  The Union has utterly decimated the town.  It's a hell hole of burn-out buildings.  John tries to protect a lady from seeing a dead horse, but the woman pulls out a knife and rushes over to it to get her share along with others.  That's how desperate the situation is in Vicksburg. 

The creepy horseflesh grabber, Mrs. Lovelace, follows John and cackles her way through the streets of Vicksburg with him.  I pause here to point out a rare misstep in this film.  When John finds his sister's house, it's overgrown with weeds.  I know weeds move quickly, but it's only been a few months since we last saw this house freshly tended.  It wouldn't be overgrown that fast!

Anyway, Mrs. Lovelace leads John to "the caves," a shantytown where he does indeed find Emma, now a hag driven to insanity by the conditions.  It's not a happy reunion, but things get worse when the Union army marches down Vicksburg's main street, the town having surrendered, and Mrs. Lovelace still chewing whatever ash-covered scenery still remains.  I have not revealed until now that Mrs. Lovelace is played by the legendary Geraldine Page because Gerry sure as hell was slumming giving that performance.  On stage, it would have reached the upper balcony.  On film, it's just plain over-ripe.

With that, we leave 1863 and it's twin infamous turning points for 1864 and the Wilderness Campaign (the Wilderness being Virginia--we'll save anything further west for other miniseries).  Stacy and John discover a soldier murdered and stuck to a tree, just like our beloved goober back a few years ago and Stacy vows right there, before a dramatic music roll fade out to commercial, that he'll kill the demon who has been doing these killings. 

The major armies march toward each other in Virginia and it's here we see nearly all of our main fictional characters.  John has a brother and two cousins still alive and the brothers have two very quiet and tender scenes where Malachi admits to be as scared now as he ever was as the two try to help some new recruits cope with the oncoming horrors.  These unfortunately boys are still boys, five years into the story, still frightened boys fighting out of a sense of duty.

Malachi and Jake survive a harrowing trap and Malachi turns to lead the men when the company leader is killed.  Now it's their turn to ambush the Confederate soldiers and they do a much better job, not realizing they have wounded their cousin in the melee. 

John makes the first wildly out-of-character stupid decision of his entire life when he insists on going out into the battle "to save at least one life."  Stacy warns him against it, but follows after him, picking off three soldiers in a matter of minutes, but then forced to separate from John.  However, I suppose I have to go back on my assessment of John when he runs into a burning forest looking for survivors, only to come across...let's say it together...his brother, literally on fire as if the bullet in his chest isn't enough.  John is begged by his kin to kill him, but John demurs, rushing off for his horse to drag his brother to safety, only to watch a burning tree fall and kill him.  It's heart-wrenching, just the kind of character-driven moment that makes "The Blue and The Grey" so particularly special in its earnestly innocent way. 

But, there is another reason John and Stacy have had to separate.  Stacy hears the special humming of the man he knows to be the murderer of the goober and others, a character we briefly met and long forgot about, but Stacy kills him quickly, despite suffering a serious wound to his arm. 

Remember Kathy?  It's okay if you don't.  Not only haven't we seen her in a few years, but she hasn't made much of an impression.  John's beloved is a nurse at the hospital where they take Stacy to amputate his arm and treat him for pneumonia (and where he can hallucinate and talk to his dead wife who tells him it's not time to die yet).  And since John is always just a few steps behind Stacy, he soon shows up at the hospital to be reunited with his gal.  Unfortunately, he walks in when Kathy is kissing Stacy, just being kind to him since he thinks she's his dead wife.  That's the kind of soap "The Blue and The Gray" has mercifully done without most of the time, so I'll forgive it a lapse. 

John goes to the family farm, where he hasn't visited since he left in the first scene, to find one brother limping, one in jail and of course the one dead we knew about.  Sister Emma is there too, not longer nuts, but just as angry as the last time John saw her.  Pa Lloyd Bridges isn't any more forgiving, but don't he feel mighty bad when John gives him brother Mark's ashes. 

As for Colleen Dewhurst, well, the news isn't good, TV fans.  She's in bed with "influenza or something" and we know that's not good.  She's always had a soft spot for John, and they have a loving conversation.  "I live for the day when it (the war) is done...and we can all be together again," Ma says, not knowing one son is dead.  A line like that also speaks of upcoming death, sadly.  It's a miniseries role not to hope for the future, especially sick in bed! 

The Confederate Army shows up at the homestead, telling the family to leave because the battle, get this, is going to happen right on their property!  John refuses to take a gun and the family turns on him again.  Lloyd threatens to shoot him if he doesn't leave. 

We surge into high melodrama when Union soldiers invade the house and grab Colleen.  John finally takes up a gun and shoots three soldiers to rescue his Ma.  He then joins his father and brother at the barricade shooting at approaching Union soldiers.  Half-lame brother Matthew dies carrying the Confederate flag and he's buried alongside Mark's ashes (having gone back on their pledge never to tell Ma what happened to him).  The only thing this sequence missed was having Malachi and Jake be on the Union side of the battle.  But, there are still 40 minutes to go!

The melodrama was okay for a battle scene, but the following scene, a reconciliation between Stacy and John, is pure cheese.  But, the family needs Stacy to get brother Mark out of prison, though Emma refuses to trust him.  So, Stacy goes off to DC to get the order of release while John and Sis go to Elmira to keep Mark alive in prison until the order arrives.  Elmira in September 1864 is not a happy place to be!

The desk clerk at the prison, who looks a lot like John Lennon, hair and glasses included, foils wild Emma's plan to smuggle a gun into prison for Mark and ends up getting them both arrested.  Luckily, Stacy arrives in time and sounds officious enough to get them all released.  He and Sis Emma flirt on the way home as John apologizes to Kathy, whom Stacy brought for John.  John proposes and Kathy accepts.  She may indeed be the blandest of the lead characters, but John deserves a girl.

We zoom from there to April 1865.  Jonas shows up at John and Kathy's to announce the war is about to end.  He wants John by his side to witness the final moments, but Kathy insists he go.  They arrive just as Lee has signed away the South at Appomattox, where General Lee sweeps out in a huff and General Grant (an unusually restrained Rip Torn) looks pleased.  When Lee tells his soldiers he has surrendered, watch for another of those beautiful moments, very quickly.  They are disappointed that it's over, but as Lee rides off, one soldier drops his gun and falls to his knees out of utter exhaustion.  They would have all gone on fighting, proud to do so, but now that it's over, they can admit how tiring and scary it's all been.

On paper, the war is over (though there is one momentous event to come), and John and his cousins reminisce about those they've lost: brothers, cousins, wives, even the goober soldier.  "Let's sing to their memory," John says and they trot off join the rest of the soldiers doing the same.  It's wonderful that the soldiers themselves are so forgiving and itching for peace.  Politicians would beat the South into further submission with a decade of Reconstruction full of rules that amused Northern politicians and hardened Southern politicians into solidifying the next hundred years of outrageous violations of civil rights, but that's material for another miniseries (or ten).

At a cabinet meeting, Lincoln's dialogue all but portents his night at the theater, and Stacy Keach awakes in his tent to have a vision at what must be the exact time the Lincolns were taking their seats at Ford's Theatre. (to see "Our American Cousin," if anyone wants to remember that detail, which is not included in this retelling, just one of those details that is stuck in my head).  Stacy and John rush to the White House to warn Lincoln, arriving at the theater after the Booth has thrown the town into mayhem.  True to form, Mary Lincoln wails like a banshee as his pulse stops and Andrew Johnson is suddenly the new President (there's no miniseries about him, and rightfully so).  "Now he belongs to the ages," Secretary Seward says, as he did in real life. 

Against all typical-of-the-time TV odds, Mama Colleen has not died.  In fact, she's in fine form as her family celebrates a gaggle of weddings.  Hell, even Robert Vaughn looks pleased to be there, and that I know of, he made it a promise since sometime back in the 50s never to look pleased on television.  Stacy arranges a full family portrait, of the Geysers and the Hales, Blues and Grays, but this is not for one of John's sketches.  It's for his brand-new camera. 

Lincoln's words at Gettysburg play us out as we look at pictures of the family members. 

"The Blue and The Grey" is ideal historical fiction because its lead character is an observer.  None of the fictional characters in the piece actually affect history, they are here just foot soldiers or watchers.  John Hammond's character does manage to be in the most important places of the entire Civil War, but that's easily explained by his job.  If the second of three parts lacked for character development, and the third part soars into some oft-times laughable dramatics beyond the scope of most of the actors' abilities, overall, this is a miniseries to treasure.  It tells a great story, pacing it well, not letting it go on too long.  Perhaps that's why "The Blue and The Gray" has not entered the public memory the way the Herman Wouk miniseries or "The North and The South" have, but this is a sturdy gem that handles the Civil War in a fair and unique way, keeping politics at a minimum and story at a maximum.