"It doesn't seem to matter now." "All those weapons destroyed." "Oh, good Lord." "How we could've used those guns." "Forgive me." "I haven't been sleeping well lately." "I understand." "Sherman is exacting a terrible price from South Carolina for leading the way into Secession." "You must be worried about your family there." "Yes, there's been no communication with Charleston since the rail lines were cut, and that was weeks ago." "We have one small chance, Orry." "Lee is facing almost double his number of troops." "Johnston has an even worse situation in North Carolina." "Yes, I know." "But if Lee can slip away from Grant's army and join up with Johnston over the Carolina border both armies combined might be able to defeat Sherman." "Then it could head north and meet Grant on something like equal terms." "That'll take a lot of luck, sir." "And all the skill Lee can muster." "It's an outside chance at best, I know, but the only one we have." "Lee is set on trying it as soon as the roads are dry enough for him to move." "He's gonna need every good man that we've got left." "Yes, sir." "May you serve him as well as you've served me and this government." "Goodbye, Mr. President." "God go with you, Orry." "Come in, general." "I assume you read my final report." "It's only final when you find my wife." "Sir, you have received a dozen detailed reports." "Your wife has simply disappeared." "You have to keep trying." "You missed something." "Sir, I can't make a career out of one case." "I have other clients." "I don't give a damn about your other clients." "I just want you to find my wife." "General, I know how you feel, especially with the war and all." "I'm sorry." "I just can't give up." "Please." "I'll do what I can." "Hold up." "Can I help you, ma'am?" " I've come to see General Sherman." " I'm sorry, ma'am the general never talks to civilians unless he sends for them." " Hold it." " Ma'am, hold the carriage." "Ma'am!" "Attention." "I'm General Cates, General Sherman's chief of staff." " Something I can help you with?" " I must speak to the general personally." "That's impossible." "The general sees no one without an appointment." " His appointments are made through me." " I'd like you to make one for me, now." "General Sherman is the commanding officer of the entire army, madam." " Exactly." "That is why I must see him." " Even if you were a relative, madam..." "Cates!" "Let her pass." "I'll be damned." "Bill Sherman, ma'am." "At your service." "Madeline Main, general." "I wonder if I might have a moment of private conversation with you." "Of course." "Gentlemen, as you were." "I traveled a long way to see you, general." "You showed good spirit back there." "I had to." "I understand the city of Charleston was spared..." "because of its beauty?" "We didn't spare Charleston because of its beauty." " We needed it for military use." " What of its people, general?" "Do you find them beautiful also?" "The victims of war?" "The innocent who have suffered?" "I have come here to ask for help for those people." " What would you have me do?" " Thousands of refugees have fled to Charleston." "The poor, the weak the orphaned." "Those who've had no choice in the war." "Those who have perhaps suffered the most." "I had no choice either." "I've tried very hard to understand that, sir." "I run a camp for refugees." "Mainly mothers and their children who have nowhere else to go." "Your armies have won a victory." "Can you find it in your heart to help the conquered?" "What kind of help, madam?" "Where is this place?" "How many are there?" "It's on the outskirts of Charleston." "There are hundreds, I'm afraid, and more every day." "What we need most is food." "I'll ask Cates to take you to the quartermaster." "You shall have provisions from us for your camp." "I knew if I spoke to you..." "You are a woman of great courage." "And courage nearly always wins." "So you been sniffing around my wood, Mr. Jones?" "Cuffey." "Lord, am I glad to see you." "Yes, sir." "It's your Cuffey all right." "The nigger boy you used to cuss and beat and work half to death." "I'm boss now!" "No!" "Please, don't!" "Respect, Mr. Jones." "Respect for the boss of these woods." "When all the white owners lickety-split north and Sherman's Yankees come through here like the biggest firestorm you ever did see we're gonna be boss of this whole river." "What's left of these here plantations is gonna be mine." "Take a bite, Mr. Jones." "Or are you still too high and mighty to eat with a black donkey?" "No." " No!" " Bite it now." "Wouldn't want you complaining about my hospitality." "Heard you joined the Yankees." " How come...?" " They ain't no different." "At Hilton Head they called me "Private Cuffey."" "And still put a shovel in my hand." "When war's over, you'll have to deal with the same white men." "You gonna need somebody who knows laws and squatters' rights." "How to run a plantation." "I got me a bunch of boys." "Swamp rats know how to slit a throat better than your meanest buck." "We're the same kind now, my friend." "We need each other." "Right?" "Untie him." "Let's talk, Salem." " Here you are, sir." " Thank you, David." "Excuse me, sir." " May I help you, sir?" " I'd like to see Congressman Greene." "The congressman is busy." " Who is it, David?" " It's a gentleman to see you, sir." "Yes, sir." "I'm officer Hughes." "If I could have a few moments of your time in private." "It's important." " David." " Yes, sir." "Take your hat, sir?" "That'll be all, David." " Please." " Thank you." "I understand that you know a woman named Virgilia Hazard Grady." "Yes, as a matter of fact I do." "Some years ago I helped her secure a position with Miss Dix's Nursing Corps." "Please sit." "I was deeply distressed to hear a warrant was issued for her arrest." "Have you had any contacts with her?" "Not for some time." "Sir, it's important that we talk with Mrs. Grady." "Perhaps you could help me find her." " That's exactly what I told him." " I think that was right." "Here we are." "Hello." "Good evening, Mr. Collins." "So nice of you to join us." "Please come in." "Thank you." " Good evening." " A pleasure to see you." "We haven't met." "Congressman Sam Greene." "I believe you know the junior senator." " My dear." " Please excuse me." "I haven't had a chance to speak to Sam all evening." "The fair sex." "A man can never leave them alone for too long." "Would you excuse us, please." "Yes?" "Sam, the police are everywhere." "They're asking questions about a woman with my description." " What if my landlady...?" " Your landlady won't say anything." "I paid her very good money for this house and for her silence." "But you said you'd take care of Mrs. Neal." "And you'd get the murder charge dropped." "That was months ago." " I'm doing all that can be done." " I'm not complaining, Sam." "I just thought that a man as important as you would be able to do it sooner." "After all, I am innocent." "I had nothing to do with that man dying." "I told you." "These things take time." "Sam." "Do you want to go into the study?" "I thought about this all day about being alone with you." "Tell me more, Virgilia." "What else have you thought about all day?" "About what a wonderful lover you are." "Am I...?" "Am I as good as Grady?" "There's no one like you, Sam." "No one." "Company halt!" "Corporal, take your men around back to the outbuilding." "Sergeant, post the torches." "First squad, forward." " What do you want here?" " Major Fisk, ma'am." "Kilpatrick's Cavalry Corps." "I wish we could spare your house, but we can't." "Have everybody clear out, please." "Please, sir." "My husband is an officer in your army." "This is his house too." "You can't burn it." "This war is hard on everybody, ma'am." "L..." "There are only women here." "We didn't start this war." "We're just trying to survive it." "That's all any of us are trying to do, ma'am." "I'm sorry, but all of this has got to go." " We're not leaving." " You heard my daughter, major." " Mother!" " We're not leaving." "Sergeant carry them off the veranda." "You'll have to burn this house down around me." "No!" "Sergeant, I think this house is close enough to Charleston that it would make an excellent headquarters for our senior staff." "Move the men out." "Good night, ladies." "Both sides read the same Bible and pray to the same God." "And each invokes his aid against the other." "The prayers of both cannot be answered." "The Almighty has his own purposes." "Seventeen states have ratified the amendment abolishing slavery." "Yesterday I heard that the Confederate Congress in Richmond voted entire regiments of slaves into their army." "Well, the issue is all but finished now." "We began this war to end it, and now we cannot seem to end the war." "Honor detail, color guard, present arms." "Shoulder arms." "Left wing, march." " For the general's staff, sir." " Thank you, lieutenant." "Sheridan's cleaned out the last pockets of resistance in the Shenandoah Valley." "He's got 12,000 cavalry here, near Dinwiddie Court House." "If he can make it to this junction, Five Forks, he'll be well beyond Lee's lines." "He'll need help." "I promised Sheridan an infantry corps." "More if he needs." "Mr. President, I want Phil to take and hold Five Forks." "He'll cut Lee's only railway south." "I can get my troops between Lee and Johnston." "If we can break through Lee's line here at Petersburg we can force the city's evacuation." " And then Richmond." " The Confederacy would capitulate." "I believe we must give some thought to what happens then." " You mean our terms for peace?" " Yes." "We can't dictate harsh terms." "Both sides share the blame for this war, as both have shared its terrible cost." "Now both must share in the victory." "You mean, let them off easy?" "Yes, that's the way we put it when I was a boy." "Sir, are you saying we should just dismiss the Confederate armies?" "I'd like to see all these men back to work on their farms and in their shops." "I want civil governments re-established in the Secessionist states quickly." "Will you deal with the state governments as they exist?" "If we have to, yes." "Until Congress can organize elections or establish some other permanent arrangement." "I'm afraid you won't be very popular in some quarters, Mr. President." "I've never been very popular in some quarters, Sam." "Some people want the South to bleed for what's it's done, sir." "The South has bled enough, general." "So have we." "Billy, they'll fire the signal to advance from Fort Fisher." " How will we hear it in all this?" " Damned if I know." "Company, fall in!" "Move, move." "Let's go." "What are your orders, general?" "Sir?" "General, what are your orders?" "The troops are ready." "It's time, sir." "George!" "Fire!" "Sound the advance." "Shoulder arms!" "Right face!" "Forward march!" "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..." "Battalion shoulder arms!" "Forward march!" "Close the lines!" "Forward march!" "Fire!" "Company, charge!" " Charge!" " Charge!" "Here they come!" "Return fire!" "Tom?" "Tom!" "Tom!" "Stretcher-bearer!" "Stretcher-bearer!" "Stretcher-bearer!" "Come on, men, over the hill!" "Orry, they've got the guns!" "Get to Wilcox." "We've got to get out!" "Get your men out of here!" "Doctor said you're gonna make it, Tom." "It's gonna take longer than you might have figured." "I'm gonna stay with you a couple of days." "Then I'll come back for you when you can travel." "I know Brett's looking forward to meeting you." "So you hurry up and get well." "You just remember you're my friend and I love you." "I knew you'd be concerned about your brother." " Field sergeant says he'll be all right." " Thank you." "I couldn't find anything in the casualty reports about General Main." "A few of their officers were killed, among them a Lee favorite, A.P. Hill." "But not all the Confederate dead and wounded have been identified." "I appreciate anything you can do to help." " George, I want you in on this." " Yes, sir." "Gentlemen, I realize our army's exhausted but Lee's men must be even more so." "We cannot let them escape to North Carolina." "If he and Johnston get their men to the hill, they can go on fighting for years." "That would finally destroy our nation." "Sir, you give me Generals Hazard, Ord and Griffin we'll ride without food or sleep to put an end to it." "Phil, I don't want a series of bloody attacks on his rear." "Don't just chase him get on his flank so he can't turn south, then head him off." "If we get in his front, we'll bag the entire army." "When Mr. Lincoln heard about our recent victories he asked if his four-year nightmare was finally over." "Let's make sure it ends at Lynchburg." "Keep it straight!" "Keep it straight!" "Keep those lines straight!" "Hold your fire." " No truce flag!" " We don't want no truce flag!" "No!" "No!" "Dear God, it's over." "It's really over." "I believe neither of us wanted  or expected such a terrible conflict." "Both sides read the same Bible  pray to the same God  and each has invoked his aid against the other." "But the Almighty has his own purposes." "And if he now wills the removal of a great wrong that is slavery  and wills also that we of the North as you of the South should pay fairly  for our complicity in that wrong  impartial history will find therein  new cause to attest and revere  the justice and goodness of God." "There he is!" "There's Grant!" "Sergeant Tucker, bring those horses around." "Mother!" "Mother!" "It's true!" "They stopped fighting!" "The war's over!" "Can you believe it?" "Orry will be home." "And Billy too." "You must believe that, dear." "I do, Mama." "I have to." "Augusta!" "Washington!" "Augusta!" "Hey, fella." "Augusta!" "Augusta!" "Washington!" "Hello?" "Washington?" "Where's Augusta?" "The house wouldn't be like this if she were here." "That's right, sir." "If Miss Augusta see it this way, she'd be in a state." "She left, didn't she?" "Just like I asked her to." "She went to see her people in Charleston." "No, sir." "She ain't in Charleston." "Miss Augusta's dead." "She died when the baby come." "The baby?" "I made it myself when Boz was born." "Miss Augusta's baby come early." "Not supposed to get born for another month." "There ain't no more doctors around here so I fetched Mama Sarah, the midwife." "She couldn't save Miss Augusta." "I buried her like she wanted to." "What about the baby?" "Miss Augusta's uncle and his missus knew about the baby." "And after she was gone he come up from Charleston and took the boy away." "That boy he's my son." " Yes, sir." "Why didn't she tell me, Washington?" "She had to have known the last time I was here." "She didn't want to worry you none." "Didn't want to worry me." "Oh, my God." "She wanted me to tell you, sir." "She knew you loved her and she loved you very much." "Can I help you, major?" "I'm Charles Main." "I somehow knew you'd find your way here." "I know this must be very difficult for you, Mrs. Barclay but I've come to take my son home." "He has your strength." "Take care of him, sir." "He's a fine boy." "I'll never let him forget his mother." "Or you." "Thank you for all you've done." "Brett." "Thank God cousin Charles came home." "It's really lifted Mama's spirits." "It's Billy!" "It's Billy!" "Mama!" "It's Billy, Mama!" "It's Billy!" "Billy!" "Billy!" "Ezra?" " What are you doing?" " Fixing to leave." "War over." "I free." "There ain't nothing left here for me now." "It's time I find that new life." "Not without me." "The day Orry was born your father gave me this letter." "I kept it in my Bible all these years." "In it, he tried to say what he had a hard time saying." "That he loved me and his new son and would love and cherish all our children." "Then he talked about this land and what it meant to him." "There's just this one little part I want to read to you." ""Mont Royal isn't just bricks, and mortar, and polished wood." "The people who live here give it its real character." "I've made mistakes in my life done things I'm sorry for but I've tried to live by a tradition of family unity, service to others honor and fair dealing." "And it is my prayer that our children and their children and generations to come will carry on that tradition."" "There are two others here who've become so much a part of Mont Royal." "And they've decided to join their lives just as Tilley and I did so many years ago." "Ezra, Semiramis we all want you to have that corner section by the river to start a new life together." "I still haven't seen anything in the papers." "When will you get the murder charges dropped?" "I am sick of you harping on that, Virgilia." "Like I'm sick of servicing you?" "Oh, my God!" "I didn't mean that, Sam." "I didn't." "Believe me, Sam, you're the only friend I've got." "Please forgive me, Sam." "Please?" "I forgive you." "Will I see you tomorrow, Sam?" "Are you asking when I'll be back with money?" "You know I'm not asking that." "I enjoy being with you, Sam." "Virgilia, the fact is I won't be back tomorrow or any other day." "You can't mean that." "The party feels I will be the most effective candidate for the Senate." "That means that knowing you is something of a risk." "Someday somebody's gonna find out about us." "But you care about me, Sam." "I mean something to you, don't I?" "Do you really think I'd risk being ruined politically?" "No." "My dear, you were a challenge." "Like many of life's challenges, once it's met, one moves on." "Sam, is this because of what I said earlier?" "No." "I made up my mind long before tonight." "I let you use me like one of your whores!" "There's no need to be crude, Virgilia." "There is a brighter side." "Yes, I'll be free, but, then again, so will you." "What do you mean?" "You need no longer worry about the murder indictment against you." "A policeman told me, some time ago that a witness had come forward, a stretcher-bearer." "And he absolved you from responsibility for that officer's death." "So the only thing you have to worry about is the assault charge against you by Mrs. Neal." "That should be a minor inconvenience at best." "You knew all this and you just let me go on believing my life was in danger?" "Just collecting on past favors, my dear." "You don't have to worry about moving immediately." "The rent's paid till the end of the month." "Excuse me." "Virgilia take care." " Goodbye, my dear." " Goodbye?" "No, not like this, Sam." "You're not leaving." "Virgilia, you're upset." "And you don't know what you're doing." "I know exactly what I'm doing." "Poor, poor Sam." "I did everything I can, Virgilia." "I'm sorry, there's no chance for a reprieve." "It's just as well." "I told them I wanted it over with as quickly as possible." "Do you believe in fate, George?" "If Grady lived, tomorrow would be our anniversary." "And it's the day I hang." "It's ironic, don't you think?" "I know Mother really wanted to see you." "No, I'm glad you agreed with me." "I think that it would've been too much for her." "I can't believe I lost everything." "I lost my pride, George." "I sold it." "This is my wedding ring." "I was thinking that maybe you could give it to Hope someday." "You could tell her it's from her crazy aunt." "She'll be proud to wear it." "When we were little I remember a boy who made fun of an answer you gave in class." "And without mussing a hair, you knocked him down on the playground and made him admit that you were right." "I admired you then." "For having the courage of your convictions." "And I still do." "I wish we could always have been close." "I love you." "Mother will need us now more than ever." "I know." "Thank you for coming." "I'm sure you've been a comfort to my mother." "And she is much comfort to me." "Your mother is a very strong woman, General Hazard." "I'm sure she's just going to be fine." "Thank you." " I'll see you out." " Thank you." "Good day to you." "She's at peace now." "No matter what she did, I loved her." "I always loved her." "I know, Mother." "So did I." "I'm so sorry for all that you've had to go through, Mother." "What's important is that I have the two of you." "And that one day we will be a family again." "Was it all a terrible waste a needless violence that tore our country apart?" "It was a price that had to be paid." "I'm afraid it'll be harder to silence the hatred and blame than it was to win the war." "The South has lost so much." "So many lives to rebuild." "The Mains will need us very much." "I pray that Orry is alive." "He's the best friend I've ever had, Constance." "I've got to find out what happened to him." "Or the war will never be over for me." "Sorry to have kept you waiting." "I know how busy you are." "I realize the location of a particular body is not a priority for you." "We were flooded with dead and wounded after Petersburg." "Some of them were never identified." "Surely somebody noted General Main's rank or description." "I understand he was your best friend." "We were together at West Point." " You've been looking through records." " I've been through effects of the dead but I find no identification of his body nor record of his burial." " He may have been taken to a field hospital and died there." "Or the records might've been misplaced." "How can I find out?" "All I can do is authorize you to visit the hospitals and be given their cooperation." "I would very much appreciate that." " I'll tell my aide to draft a letter." " Thank you." " Know anything of a General Main?" " No." "Good luck to you." "At ease." "Know anything of a Confederate General Main?" "The last time we spoke, I told you to take care of yourself." "You obviously weren't listening to me." "Nobody was listening in those days." "I was worried about you." "I didn't know if you'd made it." "You either." "Charles?" "Heard he's fine." "I don't remember anything." "They said I was unconscious for days." "What about Billy?" "Oh, he's probably halfway to Mont Royal by now." "Help me get out of here, George." "This rank ought to be good for something." "I've gotta find Madeline." "I'll bet she's home waiting for you." "You don't understand." " I haven't seen her in almost two years." " What?" "She just disappeared." "I've hired detectives." "I've been able to find out that she sold her father's house through some Charleston lawyer." " I'm sorry, Orry, I..." "Sergeant, what's all the commotion?" "We've just received word." "President Lincoln's been shot." "He's not expected to live." "God help us." "Oh, please God." "George." "I could really use your help right now." "One, one, one, two, one." "Sir, I know that my wife sold her house through you." "You have to know where she is." "I'd like to help you, but I've never in my entire life violated my word to anyone." "Madeline and I love each other, Mr. Colbert." "Hasn't this war caused enough pain?" "Please, sir." "I could tell how much your wife cared for you and that troubled me all the time I was holding my silence." "There has been enough pain." "Then you can tell me where she is?" "I can no longer keep two people apart who should be together." "Thank you, sir." "You look so like your father sometimes." "You do." "You really are here." "I was afraid you wouldn't be." "You must hate me for leaving you the way I did." "I know why." "Ashton told me." "Then you know why I had to leave." " She said terrible things would happen." " Maybe that was true once but you don't have to be afraid anymore." "No one will ever hurt us again." "You mean you'd take me back?" "You'd still want me?" "I never wanted you to go." "I love you and I always will." "I love you too." "Please believe me." "I love you too." "I do." "But I have to tell you." "There's another man in my life now." "Orry Nicholas Main." "Your son." "I love you." "Ezra, that's a big section of land you got there." "I reckon you're gonna need a family to help you work it." "We've been thinking about that." "Well, you gotta do more than thinking." "Now." "Burn it." "I'll get the guns." "You stay here." "I'm gonna get Billy's shotgun." " I'll cover the front." " I'll take the other side." "No." "Cuffey!" "Semiramis, get the hell out." "The fire's out of control." "Mont Royal." "Stay here with Madeline and the baby." "George." "I gotta go for help." "If I can make it across the river to the Harpers' I can get some men and attack them from the back." " No, Ezra." " I got to." "They're gonna overrun us." "Take this rifle." "You protect yourself." "Ezra." "Ezra!" "Come on get up, get up." "No!" "No." "Billy!" "Mama?" "Mama?" " Where are the others?" " Billy and Brett are out back." "Mama?" "I'll get her." "I'll get you out of here, Mama." "Hold on." "Hold on." "Let's get out of here." "Hold on, Mama." "Please, Mama." "Hold on, Mama." "Mama?" "We can't save it, Mama." "We can't save it, Mama." "Mama?" "Mama?" "Mama?" "Madeline had a baby, Mama." "You're a grandmother, Ma." "Mama." "Oh, please don't die." "No!" "And he said unto her:" ""I am the resurrection and the life." "He that believeth in me, though he were dead yet shall he live." "And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."" "My mother lived to see her way of life disappear from the face of this earth." "Yet she blamed no one and she hated no one for it." "Clarissa Main was a loving and compassionate woman." "I think she would have agreed with Mr. Lincoln." ""With malice toward none and charity for all, let us strive to bind up the nation's wounds." "To care for him who has borne the battle, and for his widow and orphan." "To do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and all nations."" "I'm glad my father didn't live to see this." "I got married here, George." "It was the happiest day of my life." "We can't fool ourselves by thinking it'll be easy to rebuild this country." "It won't be." "We've all suffered too much." "But in a way, our families have been blessed." "And our friendship's endured." "Maybe it's up to us, in our own way to start healing the wounds of this nation." "I..." "I want to reinvest in our textile mill." "I want you to use the profits to rebuild Mont Royal." "You're the best friend a man could ever have, George." "We're family, Orry." "You remember that."