Mercy Street is a six part mini series that tells the
story of two civil war nurses working at Mansion house
hospital. One is on the side of the Union, and the
other is on the side of the Confederates. Nurse Mary
Phinney (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is a widow who took care
of her sick husband until his death and decided to put the
skills she learned caring for her husband to use in the war.
Since she is from New England, she is on the side of the
Union soldiers and is eager to help them. Emma Green
(Hannah James) is a rich young lady whose family hotel has
been converted into Mansion House Hospital. Emma feels the
need to take care of the few confederate soldiers who are in
the hospital, since the nurses don't want to tend to
confederate soldiers (the enemy).
I have never liked period dramas, until I startred watching
"Downton Abbey." Even though Mercy Street has an entirely
different subject matter, it tackles modern problems within
the time period, much like that show does. These young
women must face their fears as they try to help wounded
soldiers in the war. The doctors at the hospital don't like
nurses and feel that ladies should not be helping in the war
effort. The series is filmed on location in Virginia and is
produced by Ridley Scott.
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this show, but to my surprise, I
enjoyed it very much. It is funny at times and draws
you in with its drama. I liked it so much, in fact, that I
wish they would make it a series that we could watch every
week, instead of just a six episode mini series. I look
forward to seeing the rest, and I hope it comes back for a
second series. I give this show 5 out of 5 stars.
Based on real events, Mercy
Street goes beyond the front lines of the Civil War and into
the chaotic world of the Mansion House Hospital in
Union-occupied Alexandria, Virginia.
Premieres January 17 10/9c
Check Local Listings
Based on real events, Mercy Street takes viewers
beyond the battlefield and into the lives of Americans
on the Civil War home front as they face the
unprecedented challenges of one of the most turbulent
times in our nation’s history.
Set in Virginia in the spring of 1862, Mercy Street
follows the lives of two volunteer nurses on opposite
sides of the conflict: Nurse Mary Phinney (Mary
Elizabeth Winstead), a staunch New England abolitionist,
and Emma Green (Hannah James), a naive young Confederate
belle. The two collide at Mansion House, the Green
family’s luxury hotel that has been taken over and
transformed into a Union Army hospital in Alexandria, a
border town between North and South and the longest
Union occupied city of the war. Ruled under martial law,
Alexandria served as the melting pot of the region: with
soldiers, civilians, female volunteers, doctors, wounded
fighting men from both sides, runaway slaves,
prostitutes, speculators and spies.
The intersection of North and South within the
confines of a small occupied town creates a rich world
that is chaotic, conflicted, corrupt, dynamic and even
hopeful — a cauldron within which these characters
strive, fight, love, laugh, betray, sacrifice and, at
times, act like scoundrels. This series is not about
battles and glory; it’s about the drama and unexpected
humor of everyday life behind the front lines of war.
It’s a fresh twist on an iconic story, one that
resonates with larger themes we still struggle with
today.
Cast and Creators
Mercy Street stars Josh Radnor as Dr. Jedediah
Foster; Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Mary Phinney; Gary
Cole as James Green, Sr.; Hannah James as Emma Green;
Brad Koed as James Green, Jr.; Norbert Leo Butz as Dr.
Byron Hale; Tara Summers as Anne Hastings; McKinley
Belcher III as Samuel Diggs; Shalita Grant as Aurelia
Johnson; Peter Gerety as Chief Surgeon Alfred Summers;
Jack Falahee as Frank Stringfellow; Anna Sophia Robb as
Alice Green; Cameron Monaghan as Tom Fairfax; Donna
Murphy as Jane Green; L. Scott Caldwell as Belinda;
Suzanne Bertish as Hospital Matron Brannan; Wade
Williams as Sillas Bullen; and Luke Macfarlane as
Chaplain Hopkins.
The series is executive produced by Ridley Scott;
with Lisa Q. Wolfinger, David Zabel and David W. Zucker
of Scott Free.
Mercy Street was made possible by the Anne Ray
Charitable Trust, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation,
Virginia Tourism, Visit Alexandria and public television
viewers.
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