01x01 - The New Nurse

[bunniefuu]

Miss Dix: Your dress is abominable, Miss Farnham.

Most abominable, and your hair.

I do not wish my nurses to dress in that manner.

These boys must be looking to their recuperation, not the hem of your skirts.

You come highly recommended, but I had no idea you wore such a dress.

[Door opens]

[Crying]

Miss Phinney.

You are in mourning.

My husband d*ed a year ago.

Well, the frock suits you.

In a time of pain and chaos, we are instruments of mercy and order.

That and only that is what we offer the boys.

Miss Gibson!

[Man coughs]

Quite clear, Miss Dix.

I see here you looked after the good baron during his illness and two young family members in Boston.

At a difficult time in my life, nursing gave me renewed purpose.

Now with the w*r and the terrible plague of sl*very--

sl*very, dear girl, is a matter more of prayer than protest.

Men fight and women pray.

It is not for us to opine on politics.

[Horse neighs in distance]

Pardon me, Miss Dix, but...

sl*very is not a political question.

It is a moral argument.

And we are obliged, each of us, to--

To what, dear child?

I only mean to say, emancipation is upon us.

The slaves will be free.

Those not fighting to bring that about only slow it down, and the more misery will come of it.

Wonderful, Miss Phinney.

Wonderful.

Another noisy abolitionist.

I have just the place for you.

The mansion house hospital in Alexandria.

Lovely town, just across the river.

[Indistinct conversations]

The army moved in a few months ago.

So it is a Union town, then.

More or less.

With a growing population of contraband slaves.

[Indistinct shouting]

Move!

Well, I'm sure I can be of use there, among like-minded people.

Who is the nurse in charge? I'll report to her as--

You shall be the first.

The first?

The first Dix nurse, yes.

You are my emissary, no matter what anyone tells you.

Do I take it that I will...

Will I not be welcome there?

Army doctors do not like women or nurses or me.

But you are dignified and well-spoken, firm but inoffensive, sufficiently plain so as not to distract.

You'll do splendidly.

And if you are not welcome, then I am not welcome, and I do not like to be unwelcome.

Now, come!

Let's make arrangements for your travel.

[Horses neighing]

Man: Mansion house hospital, ma'am.

[Whistles] Hyah!

[Horse whinnies]

Ha!

[Indistinct conversations]

[Bell ringing]

Peg legs! Glass eyeballs!

A ribbon for your honey!

[Indistinct shouting]

Man: b*llet went right through.

[Bell tolls]

Please.

[Groaning]

Glass eyeballs!

What's your name, Reb?

Fairfax.

T-Tom Fairfax, 17th Virginia Infantry.

Come on, now. Here we go.

All right, easy now.

This is a Union hospital, yes? And this man is a confederate?

Orders are, we take in whoever ends up here.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Indistinct conversations]

Man: Nurse? Nurse!

Nurse, over here!

My-my leg!

Man #2: Nurse, excuse me. I need your help.

I-I can't feel my toes.

Nurse. Nurse, come-- come over here.

[Indistinct conversations]

Henry: Look on him with eyes of mercy, give him patience under his affliction, and, in thy good time, restore him to health.

And enable him to lead the residue of his life...

[Crying]

...to thy fear and to thy glory.

Otis: Let me go!

I took a vow to keep it flying, and I damn well will!

[Indistinct conversations]

[Grunting]

Please. Please help me.

Brannan: [Irish accent] You're from Miss Dix?

You need to see Dr. Summers.

Are you the matron? I'm Miss Phinney.

[Chuckles] I know who you are.

Well...

This must have been quite a hotel.

Certainly, for the Secesh upper crust.

Family that owned it, the Greens, they love it so much, they refuse to leave.

[Scoffs]

Blasted rebels live right down the street.

Jane: Please, be careful.

[Horse whinnies]

That is true Indian ivory, brought back by my husband's grandfather, the admiral.

Listen, you must store it very, very safely.

How shall we reclaim it?

Hyah!

Please be careful with that, please!

McClellan's got them turning tail.

We'll have Richmond before long.

No doubt about it.

We got more boys headed down there all the time.

♪ ♪

Morning, papa.

Mama.

They broke the Indian chest!

One of the elephant heads fell off in the yard.

I found a tusk in the hallway.

I'm sorry, Mother.

Don't ask for an apple.

Yankees took the last of them.

All right. Then I'll get an egg.

[Scoffs]

Soldiers ate them all up yesterday.

Foul intruders.

My father would have taken a paddle to every last one.

Fortunately, your father's not here.

That chest was an heirloom, James, from your family.

Exactly. You don't see me fretting.

All we can do is make the best of the situation.

That's not all.

We could go.

Leave our home?

Other families have.

And other families have lost everything, relying upon the generosity of other people in other places.

[Clears throat]

Not us. Alexandria is our home.

Have you tried the jam?

Yes. Quite good.

When this is over, three or four months from now, our life will resume much as it was.

Until then, we share our house with them.

Not only our house!

[Laughter]

Our streets, our food, our milk, and our hotel is turned into their charnel house.

Emma.

I will not have you talk that way.

I'm sorry.

But the confederacy will make it right.

Soldiers like Frank.

And Tom.

They're fighting for us.

Oh, yes, if only we green men were as brave as your two beaus.

Well, at least they're willing to stand up for something.

Or die for nothing.

How do you think it looks to have a brother and father doing business here while all the other men have either gone to fight or fled?

All right, now. Leave Jimmy alone.

Let's all breathe and have some...

[Sighs] stewed rhubarb.

Rhubarb? For breakfast?

Beggars and choosers, dear.

Beggars and choosers.

Dr. Summers, I was sent by Miss Dix.

I'm aware, Miss Phinney, or should I say Baroness Von Olnhausen?

"Miss Phinney" will do, thank you.

I aim to be of service here.

Oh, yes, yes.

A fancy Teutonic widow should come in handy.

The men are always clamoring for spanferkel.

My husband, the baron, was German.

I myself am a born-and-bred New Englander.

So, no spanferkel, then?

I believe you'll find I have more to contribute than suckling pig.

You underestimate suckling pig.

I have experience as a nurse.

I've looked after several invalid relatives, including my husband.

What, the dead Duke?

Well, that didn't turn out so well, did it?

Oh.

Eh, gangrene has set in.

The smell is the least of it.

Kendrick, change this.

Kendrick: Yes, sir.

Contribute, will you? [Chuckles]

As soon as I find you a room with a bed and a looking glass-- of which we're in very short supply, by the way-- and someone to fetch meals and get little things for you?

Perhaps a pretty young houseboy to rub your feet at night?

I require only minimal comforts.

[Groaning]

[Groans] Oh, my eye!

My eye!

You've no idea what you're signing up for here, do you?

Go back to Boston.

I will not.

Miss Dix dispatched me with precise instructions.

You tell dragon Dix that I'll choose my own staff, nurses included.

If I need her help, I'll ask for it.

Uh, you're needed in the ballroom, sir.

Matron...

See what accommodations can be arranged for the duchess.

Brannan: The nurses' rooms be on the top floor.

You may have to share one.

All I need is a bed somewhere.

Haven't had a... head nurse before.

It should help, don't you think?

I guess Miss Dix thinks it does.

It may be prudent for me to proceed at a deliberate pace.

For now, I'll take some time to acclimate, study, learn how things work.

Come. Here's the surgical room.

Dr. Hale: Just that leg.

[Saws sharpening]

[Indistinct conversation]

Pass the saw, please? In there deep.

Yes.

Ah, you must be the new nurse.

I am Dr. Hale, Chief Operating Surgeon.

[Speaking German]

You do speak German, don't you?

[Whistling]

[Flesh slicing]

♪ ♪

[Door closes]

[Indistinct conversation]

Man: What I can't understand is why we're bringing in their wounded.

Man #2: How many wounded would you say?

Five or six.

Butternuts? Here?

Virginia boys.

I say, leave them out there for the buzzards.

[Men whistling, catcalling]

[Indistinct shouting]

Brannan: You look a bit faint, dear.

In Washington city, everything was much more... civilized.

[Nathan screams]

[Indistinct shouting]

Kendrick: I need help in here!

Oh, Lord blind me, what's this ruckus?

Dr. Foster: Put it down!

Nathan: Off of me, you butcher!

Put it down.

Ah, Matron, will you explain to this good man that chloroform will not k*ll him?

Soldier, put that g*n down now!

I ain't putting nothing down.

I appreciate your practical approach, Matron, but we've tried that tack already.

[Indistinct conversations]

I said stay back, now!

Stay back!

Put it down!

Man: Put it down, I say!

Swear you ain't gonna be tossing my arm out the window in an hour?

I have neither intention nor desire to amputate your arm.

Tell me the truth, God damn it!

The wound's infected.

The ball needs to come out.

But God as my witness, I'll do everything in my power to keep you and your arm attached.

I want out of this death house!

Provisions and a horse, now!

♪ Maid of golden hair ♪

♪ Sunshine came along with thee ♪

[Distorted shouting]

[Groaning]

Now, I don't mean to hurt you, miss, but I will, if needs be.

Soldier, this is a place of peace and healing, not a place for g*ns.

That's a damn lie!

It's a place of w*r!

[Gasps]

[Screams]

[Grunts]

Help him!

Settle down!

Stop your struggling.

You termagant!

You coward!

[Screaming]

Somebody tend to that one, quickly.

My arm.

Matron, escort that lady out.

Any more of her Christian care may just get one of us k*lled.

[Screaming continues]

Impressive for a civilian.

Husband or son? Who are you here to visit?

No one. I was sent by Miss Dix.

No! You're the duchess?

Yes. I mean no. Baroness.

Did you bring spanferkel?

All right, then.

Start by scrubbing that bunch over there.

They're quite fetid.

Haven't you got a room?

No, not yet.

Leave your bags there, against the wall.

[Indistinct conversations]

[Crying]

Oh, m*llitary hospitals and crinoline don't mix, dearie.

Do your parents know you're here?

I've come to lend comfort to the soldiers.

Is that so? What sort of comfort?

Sympathy? And a friendly face?

Well, that's just fine, dearie, but our Union boys are entitled to proper nursing care.

No. Not the Yankees.

The confederates.

I understand you have some.

Why, yes, we do, and you're just the thing they need.

There.

We have uncovered your natural hue.

May your bed above be easy for the day's work you are doing.

Now, off with these boots.

Hold now! There you are.

It's hard telling which is dirtiest, the foot or the shoe.

Oh, I'm so sorry.

Lesson one: ascertain whether or not the patient is wearing boots before attempting to remove them.

[Chuckles]

[Laughs]

Dr. Foster: Amputation through the infected tissue risks causing pyemia.

This is the army, Foster.

We have a procedure to follow, efficiency to maintain.

Yeah, and I have an oath to uphold.

You have one of those, too, don't you?

You may be regarded as some fancy head doctor in Baltimore.

But here, you are nothing more than a civilian contract surgeon under my authority.

Step cautiously.

[Sighs]

I must fetch some clean water.

I promised him!

I understand that, son.

I promised him! I promised my father!

[Grunts]

Is everything all right?

I told my father I wouldn't let this flag drop as long as I could take a breath.

Your father, is he here?

He d*ed in battle.

How old are you?

18, ma'am, not a day under.

That's a minimum age to serve.

I am. I was born April 12, 184...

3.

Allow me to take that flag?

I'll make sure it's well cared for.

No, ma'am, I can't. I can't! I can't!

Aah! Aah!

Bugler: He truly can't, miss.

The damn thing is glued to his hand from the blood.

Very well. Keep it for now.

I'm nurse Von Olnhausen.

Nurse Von Ol.. Hau...

Call me nurse Mary.

I'm Henry Hopkins. I'm the chaplain here.

God be with you, nurse Mary.

Son?

When did you take up the flag?

[Horses whinny]

Man: Delivery for mansion house.

Food and kitchen items get hauled to the basement, you mangy dogs.

[Bell ringing]

I got you something.

Oh, it's awful pretty. A bird.

Yeah. For when you want to fly away.

Abel: Back to work, lazy cow.

Move on now, boy. You got plenty to do.

Don't I know it, Mr. Bullen?

All sorts of things for me to do.

You think you're safe 'cause you work for Summers?

You ain't safe.

I'll have them dogs on you quicker than a runaway in a cotton field.

[Horses whinny]

Not much of a view, is it?

Come, I would like to offer you an advantage to observe the best at work, Miss Anne Hastings on her ward.

Oh. I've heard of her.

She trained under Florence Nightingale, you know.

"Lo, in that house of misery, the lady with a lamp, I see pass through the glimmering gloom and flit from room to room."

That's Emerson, you know.

Longfellow, I believe.

Well, they have their lady with a lamp in the Crimea, and we have Anne Hastings in Alexandria.

She is God's gift to the boys.

And I might add, to us doctors, as well.

I got the impression Dr. Summers disapproves of lady volunteers.

For Miss Hastings, he makes an exception.

We all do. Come.

Are you from the Virginia Cavalry?

Yes, ma'am.

I'm looking for a Frank Stringfellow.

He would have been fighting alongside you, I think.

I don't...

Pardon me?

[Gasping]

Tom?!

Tom Fairfax?

I can't breathe. There's-- there's no air.

[Gasping]

Here, have some water.

[Gasping]

[Water pouring]

Alice, is that you?

No, Tom. It's Emma, Alice's sister.

Sorry. My head is... Is not so clear.

I'm looking for Frank.

Was he with you? Frank Stringfellow?

I don't remember.

George was with me.

George Henderson. I lost him in the smoke.

[Sighs]

It's all right, Tom.

Let me sit with you a while, settle your nerves.

Everything will be better soon.

We can tell all the old stories from when we were children.

Anne: [British accent] This is the English method which Miss Nightingale and I implemented to great success in the Crimea.

It is sometimes referred to as "Plaster of Paris", a misnomer I attribute to the distasteful French habit of taking credit for British innovation.

[Laughter]

Conditions must be pristine... old bandages redressed, soiled linens replaced, nutritional needs attended to.

And once we have fed the body, we must also feed the mind of the man.

To heal the sick is an art, not a science.

Every patient is our Sistine Chapel.

So, as the rascally French say, voilà.

[Applause]

Tomorrow, I shall address dietary needs of the grievously wounded.

Uh, Miss Hastings?

Uh, meet our new nurse, Miss Phinney.

Poor thing was recently widowed--

Yes, Dr. Hale, I'm aware.

No need to be ashamed of your inexperience, Miss Phinney.

Oh, I'm not, Miss Hastings.

While you were in Boston keeping the good Duke's house...

Baron.

I was in Scutari, saving lives.

Yes, I've read Miss Nightingale's book.

She was most impressive.

Our accomplishment in the Crimea is something we're all proud of.

Uh, Miss Phinney, uh, is quite promising--

Florence, as I was given leave to call her, was the mother of this high and holy calling known as nursing.

I will be happy to impart what wisdom I can to you.

I appreciate that. Truly.

So, you come from Miss Dix?

Yes, I do.

And your position? What is your position to be?

I am... a nurse.

Here to represent Miss Dix and, uh, coordinate... the nursing at mansion house with her guidelines and directives.

You have no title, then?

Heaven knows, Miss Dix loves hierarchy.

I am to be the Head Nurse.

The Head Nurse?

But I have much to learn, so I am glad I will have you to rely upon.

Allow me to ask you a question Florence put to the 38 of us when we first arrived at the Selimiye Barracks and saw all those beds filled with dying boys.

"Ladies," she asked, "are you afraid?"

Are you asking if I'm afraid?

Of what you will face here within these walls before this savage struggle is over?

Not everyone was made for this.

And one thing I have learned is how very little can be accomplished under the spirit of fear.

Do I seem afraid to you, Miss Hastings?

I think it was Cicero who wrote, "res ipsa loquitur."

The thing speaks for itself.

Tom: I'm scared.

Shh, Tom. I'm here now.

When I go home, I'll tell Alice you're back, and she'll--

She--

No! Please.

You can't.

Well, she has to know you're all right.

I won't have her see me like this.

Please promise me.

When you're ready, then.

[Grunts]

They say I'm lucky.

The sh*ts passed right through me, but still-- you're alive.

That's what matters.

The dreams.

[Exhales deeply]

Things in my head.

Sometimes I know they ain't real.

But other times, I-I lose track.

I think he's right here, telling me which way to go.

Who is?

[Voice breaking] George.

[Swallows]

[Inhales deeply]

George Henderson.

Maybe there's something they can give you, Tom, for your nerves.

There's no medicine for what ails me.

They don't understand what's in my head.

I'll heal on my own.

So, you met the queen of the Crimea.

She seems quite knowledgeable.

Yes. And every lesson comes with a kick in the teeth.

[Indistinct conversations]

There's a trampling victim in the library.

He hasn't been seen yet.

Fast as I can.

Are you all right?

Yes. [Clears throat] Yes, I'm fine.

Doctor, would you help me?

The hoop-skirt assassin.

I hear there's a posse out for you.

I'll find someone else.

Perhaps that is better.

Or perhaps not.

There's a patient here I was speaking with.

A family member?

No.

Then you don't belong here.

This is my family's hotel.

You are the one who doesn't belong.

Well, what a gracious host.

The boy is hurt, and he's been given to believe there is no remedy.

Perhaps his being a confederate has had some bearing?

Who told him that?

On his case report.

It says he was examined by a Dr. Hale.

[Sighs]

[Man coughs]

Shortness of breath, palpitations, sweating.

Chest pain.

And the mental distraction?

Interesting.

There is an army doctor in Philadelphia, Jacob Mendes da Costa.

Been studying a malady common among soldiers.

Cardiac palpitations precipitated by battle trauma.

This boy's symptoms match up.

Da Costa refers to it as soldier's heart.

What can be done for him?

♪ ♪

Isn't there a treatment less invasive?

Morphine works best.

I mean the needle.

Isn't there a pill?

Not with the same efficacy.

I'm feeling better. Really, I am.

Dr. Foster?

Yes, yes, trampling victim, presently.

He is a Pennsylvania cavalryman.

Miss Phinney, do you take issue with the way I'm doing my job?

Now, answer carefully because the next question will be, "do I care?"

The doctor is helping Tom now.

Miss, this is not your business.

It is, indeed.

You are not even meant to be here.

Pardon me?

Please excuse us, miss.

What is all this?

This cavalryman, is he someone to you?

No, not at all.

Then why the urgency?

The boy got drunk, fell off his horse, and was kicked in the rump on his way down.

Is he late to receive his medal?

He can wait. I'll be with him soon.

Oh.

Wood's syringe is an excellent device.

Developed by Alexander wood, a Scotsman, and a French orthopedic surgeon called Pravaz.

I was in Europe a few years back and saw Pravaz demonstrate on a spaniel.

A dog?

Mm.

Made a full recovery, barking happily ever after.

[Inhales sharply]

Count to 10, Tom.

1, 2...

Experimenting with injecting morphine.

3...

I started looking into it when I was abroad.

4.

It's faster than swallowing a pill... and it is perfectly safe.

6, 7...

[Indistinct conversation in distance]

Tom?

Very good.

Fastest yet.

I must make a note of that.

Foster. A moment, please.

No need to thank me, hoop skirt.

[Sniffs]

Dr. Hale: That reb was not your patient.

I think of them all as our patients.

I did not authorize it.

It was not a surgical procedure.

Your authorization was not required.

You wasted a useful opiate on a confederate malingerer.

He was in pain.

Pain is good.

Pain is cathartic.

Not that kind of pain.

He was suffering from extreme heart irregularity, anxiety.

You cannot use that hypodermic contraption as a delivery mechanism for an unnecessary medication to a mythological condition suffered by an enemy to the Union.

Well, it does sound bad when you put it like that.

The man with the dislocated eye socket is ready for surgery.

This will not be tolerated.

[Sighs]

♪ ♪

I found these in the lobby, miss.

You might want to mind them.

Yes, thank you.

I'm obliged.

Uh, we met outside?

I'm Samuel Diggs.

You're an orderly?

They don't let us be orderlies.

Dr. Summers brought me on as a laborer.

Were you owned by a doctor?

Never been owned, miss.

I grew up in a physician's household, Dr. Berenson of Philadelphia.

I watched him save many a patient.

If you need anything, you let me know.

I'll be sure to, Mr. Diggs.

I've been to see your drunk cavalryman.

All he needs is something for his wounded pride.

Contrabands, you know, they can be very tricky.

He's not a contraband.

They steal. They lie.

They feel because they are free, they must answer to no one.

Pardon me, but aren't we fighting to free men of color?

Isn't that what this w*r is about?

No, it's about preserving the Republic.

Even Lincoln says so.

That boy needs the chaplain.

Is there no hope?

There's buckshot all through his body, too much for us to even begin extracting.

When medicine fails, give faith a try.

[Birds chirping]

James: Strange days.

Even the first lady's brother was on our side.

This was her half-brother.

Her brother is a confederate surgeon.

[Scoffs] Not another doctor.

At least he d*ed fighting.

Jimmy, you're not able to soldier.

My foot is no deterrent.

The doctor said I could stop using the cane soon.

I need you here.

I won't have this family further depleted.

We are depleted when our friends and neighbors think we are cowards.

They don't think that.

Please.

You heard the girls.

Jane: Are you two off somewhere?

We have business to attend to.

Jimmy.

Nothing to worry about, dear.

Hmm.

[Sighs]

[Indistinct conversations in distance]

Uh, sir?

Uh, some water, i-if you please?

In a minute, Grayback.

Here.

I'll hold the cup for you.

Yours is the first kind face I seen.

To them, all we is is the enemy.

Greater the pity for them.

How's your friend?

Better. Thanks.

Are you tending to these men?

Well, someone must.

[Sighs]

Marchioness?

A moment.

That man's wound ought to have been redressed hours ago, shouldn't it?

Yes, I suppose so, but it's-- there are men in there who are thirsty, who are dirty, whose beds need to be remade.

I demand you get to these men, all of them, in a timely manner.

And put these somewhere else.

It must not be easy, having to decide who to help when.

That man whose thirst you were quenching?

I heard that a Union boy surrendered to his platoon, gave up his w*apon.

Once he was unarmed, your man sh*t him dead, right where he stood, pleading for his life.

To you, he's a victim.

To me, a cold-blooded k*ller.

Whatever he was out there, in here, he was merely thirsty.

Are there no sinning Yankees in these beds?

Atrocities are only ever committed by the enemy?

I have work to do.

May I ask you how you came to nursing?

My husband got sick.

Is he in the army?

I...

I'm so sorry.

With the w*r, I saw an opportunity to be of use.

I thought I knew how it would be, working alongside compatriots, tending the boys.

Joining behind a cause.

This is... a bit different.

I admire your aspirations to be of use.

I'm starting to feel the same pull.

If that is so, I...

[Scoffs] No, it's not my business.

Oh, please!

Advise me.

You're young.

Clearly intelligent with strong opinions.

That's good. Mostly.

But your demeanor, your wardrobe, the way you comport yourself.

To be a nurse, these are things you'd have to... reconsider.

Would I?

What I'm trying to say as gently as possible is, there comes a time in every woman's growth when she must put away childish things.

You can do it by choice, or you can wait for life to foist it upon you.

Thank you.

For your... gentleness.

Oh, perhaps in a year or two, you may be ready.

But by then, I expect this w*r shall be long over.

Miss Emma! Miss Emma!

Belinda, what are you doing here?

Deliveryman saw you run off.

Your mama is looking for ya.

You need to come with me right now.

If we get caught in here, I don't want to think of the trouble we'll have.

James: I hate what you've done with the place.

Belinda, hush.

This used to be known as one of the finest hotels on the eastern seaboard.

Dr. Summers: And it will be again one day, I am sure.

Why are they here with those yanks?

None of our business! Miss Emma, please.

James: Yeah, enforce the rules.

We fought together, my dad and me, side by side, until the rebs got him at Kernstown.

And he approved of your enlisting?

He knew I couldn't stay back at home and still call myself a man.

You're not a man. You're a boy.

I'm 18, Reverend.

Between you and me, I'm 17.

[Sighs]

All right, I'm 15 if I'm a day, but I'll be 16 in October.

I thought as much.

You say a letter home to your family, and nurse Mary will write it down for you.

Certainly, I will.

I must perform a service.

The man's family has come all the way from Connecticut.

Father?

God is with you, boy.

As hard as you fought on the field, fight even harder now.

Who will the letter be to?

To my mother, Eleanor, and my sisters, Lucy, Nina...

Charlotte, and Maggie.

Girls all around me. That's why I'm such a charmer, miss.

Indeed.

James: I strive to be a gracious host, gentlemen, but I have yet to receive a nickel of rent for your-- how do I put it?-- Occupancy in my hotel.

The rent is payable upon your pledging the loyalty oath.

Ah, that's a pesky thing, isn't it?

There are no exceptions, sir.

We enforce the rules in all fairness.

Fairness, indeed. [Scoffs]

You wield this oath like a club.

You say you want to be humane in your occupation here, but what are my neighbors and I to think when the Union administration behaves in such a cold-hearted way?

We'll discuss that at another time.

Now, for the business at hand.

My son has been broadening the scope of our furniture company.

We have started building coffins.

The market, as you might imagine, is distressingly strong.

Well, we are doing our best to counteract that here.

Yes, but your army is doing its best to keep it going.

I've discussed with Mr. Bullen the possibility of providing coffins for you at a rate.

We need to dispose of the corpses, sirs.

It'd help to have coffins.

Your business, by all rights, should be shut down, Mr. Green.

Sir--

And you ask for us to aid you?

I ask that we aid each other.

You already have most everything I've spent my life building.

Allow me the dignity to resolve myself to your allegiance without utterly ruining me in the meantime.

We must leave now!

It's a two-way street, sir, ain't it?

We got bodies. They got boxes.

My aim is to be out of this bed and home soon, but the good lord sees it a different way.

I prefer to be buried at home, near to you.

If that is too much of a chore, it matters little.

Wheresoever my bodily remains come to rest, my soul shall be keeping company with dad on high, watching over you all, ever expectant of our joyful, final reUnion as a family in eternity.

How does that seem?

Maybe I should end with a joke?

Emma?

What's happened to your dress?

Uh, well, uh, miss Emma went to market with Miss Allerton, like I said, when thwack!

The butcher slaughtered a pig, and blood just splattered--

Belinda, that's enough. Tend the kitchen.

Mother, I went to look for Frank.

At the hotel?

That death house is no place for a child.

I'm not a child anymore!

You are forbidden to go there!

Go where?

She's been to the hospital, looking for Frank Stringfellow.

Did you find him?

No, sir, I didn't.

Well, then, that's done.

You will, in the future, speak to your mother with greater respect, and you will not return to the hotel.

I'm sorry, mother. Forgive me.

Of course.

Emma, did you hear any news of Tom?

Tom Fairfax.

I wasn't looking for Tom.

I'll try again next time.

Next time?

♪ ♪

You live over in the bottoms?

You walking there tonight?

Mr. Bullen got me working on.

Hmm.

I got eyes for you, Aurelia.

That necklace told me as much.

[Chuckles]

[Nathan screams]

My arm!

[Screaming]

Ohh.

Mary: Soldier!

What is it?

I feel my blood.

It's running dry.

Where are the doctors?

No one left but Dr. Foster. He's got a patient in surgery.

I'll send for someone else.

Hemorrhage, brachial artery.

I'll go myself-- fast.

You need to stay.

[Groans] Make it stop, please!

This man can't wait.

Forgive me, lord.

Give me some thread.

Samuel, we can't--

Thread.

[Whimpering]

I-I need more light.

When they removed the b*llet, the blood vessel got ruptured.

They cauterized over it.

It's infected now. He'll bleed to death.

Oh, no, they're k*lling me. Mother, please.

No, I can't let you do this. We need someone who knows how.

I know how, Miss Mary. I know how!

This boy gets saved by a n*gg*r, or he dies alone.

My arm!

He needs chloroform.

[Panting]

You need to dampen the cloth and place it over his mouth.

Yes, I've seen it done.

Help hold the wound open.

Blood makes me uneasy.

You'll need to overcome that.

There is the rupture.

Now pinch the artery for me.

I'll tie a loop around it.

Leave an end dangling out.

That way, a doctor can pull it a little every day until the thread rots off and the rupture is closed.

If they don't know how, you got to tell them.

It's called a ligature.

How will we know if it worked?

It'll work. I've done it before.

Dr. Foster: Miss Phinney.

What happened here?

He was in grave pain.

The wound was hemorrhaging, so-- who tied this ligature?

I did.

Miss Dix trained me how.

Miss Dix?

And who trained her?

Every day, we'll need to-- pull on the end until the thread rots and the rupture closes.

[Water splashes]

I've got a patient on the table.

Dr. Berenson taught me things when I was little.

Ever since, I just kept on learning.

[Crickets chirping]

♪ ♪

Are you all right, Dr. Foster?

Well.

I'm well.

By way of advice, nowhere does it say we get to favor the patients we approve of.

In here, this is only one type of soldier-- the wounded.

No room yet?

No. I'm--

Well, the matron will surely be by soon.

If I may, by way of advice?

Your views on race are unenlightened.

[Chuckles]

I grew up on a Maryland plantation.

I was rolling cigars with the slaves when I was barely walking.

We had 64 of them at one point.

A Union surgeon from a sl*ve-holding family.

You are full of surprises, doctor.

My point being, I know more of these things than you do.

I know right from wrong.

And I can tell when I'm talking to someone who also knows the difference.

You want to challenge me on sl*very?

It's not our concern.

Isn't it?

No.

We keep men alive, so what I am asking, demanding, is that you see every soldier as equal, no matter what side he fights on.

This is a Union facility for Union soldiers!

It is a hospital for sick people!

Blood is not gray or blue, madam.

It's all one color.

♪ ♪

Put away childish things.

[Door opens]

♪ ♪

How many lives will you save before this is over?

Brannan: Miss Phinney?

Bursting at the seams, we are.

Dr. Summers felt it best that you sleep here.

Uh, on the floor.

Uh, uh, beware of the arsenic.

You might want to sweep your area.

Arsenic?

We put it out for the rats.

Uh, you'll want to look out for them, as well.

Here.

[Explosions, shouting in distance]

Yes! Whoo! Whoo!

We whooped them in Williamsburg!

The rebs are b*ating it to Richmond!

Is it so?

We'll be done with this thing in a week, for sure!

Man: On to Richmond!

I knew it!

[Laughter and cheering]

Man: Whoo! Victory, brothers! Victory!

I told him that I would be right back for him.

But I took too long.

He never finished it.

♪ ♪

"Though my last breath... May come soon... When it does, know that I shall be thinking only of you and my eternal... Hope."

[Shouting in distance]

[Trumpet playing]

Union soldier: Sign it or we will remove you from your house.

Mr. Green: They will take everything we have.

Dr. Foster: There's work to do here-- work that matters.

Matron: Dr. Foster...

Frank: Where were we when this whole mess started?

[Match striking]

Samuel: Leave her be!

Or by God, I'll k*ll you myself!

[Punch & shout]

Union scout: This is what happens to the traitors!

Hale: The situation is intolerable.

Mr. Green: We will not traffic with extremists!

Frank: We must win this w*r at any cost!

[g*n cocking]

Foster: Let go of the rope!