North and South s01e01 Episode Script
Book 1, Episode 1
Over here, Ashton.
Come and see.
A green heron left it, I think.
She'll be coming back to nest.
- Then she'll be disappointed.
- Ashton, put that back! - That isn't yours! - It is now! No, please, you can't take a mother bird's baby! I'm sorry, Brett.
You're right.
You found it, you put it back.
If I can't have it, nobody can.
Miss Ashton, Miss Brett! You stop it now! I say stop it, hear? Come along, you're wanted to the big house.
Mr.
Orry's just about to go.
Come along now, little ladies.
It's time to say goodbye to your big brother.
You made sure you saw to Mr.
Orry's trunk? Yes, ma'am.
Priam put it on the steamer this morning.
- Thank you so much.
- Welcome, ma'am.
He's as eager to get started as I am, Priam.
I'm gonna miss all of you so much.
Remember to keep warm.
You won't be used to the cold up North.
And come back to us.
- I will.
- Safe.
I expect you'll do well, Orry.
Now, Tillet, tell him what you told me.
Son, I know we've had our disagreements in the past.
Sometimes your behavior has been a little less restrained than I might have wished for.
Your father's forgotten how he was at your age.
Perhaps I have.
I want you to know I'm very proud of you.
It's no small thing for a man to have a son at West Point.
Thank you, sir.
I'll do my best for you.
I know you will.
Orry! What in the world happened to you two ladies? Brett fell down, and I had to help her up.
I picked this for you.
Thank you, Brett.
That was sweet.
I found you a present, too.
- Liar.
- Brett wouldn't let me keep it.
Well, I'll tell you what.
This will be from you both to remind me how much I love you.
And Mont Royal.
Whoa, son.
Help! Praise the Lord.
Somebody heard us.
Please don't move.
A snake's gotten in the carriage.
Sweet Jesus.
Please be very still no matter what happens.
It is poisonous.
I'm sure it is, Maum Sally or the young gentleman wouldn't be so concerned for us.
- You are very brave.
- Thank you very much, sir.
It was my pleasure.
- Would you help Maum Sally first? - Miss Madeline, I can wait.
Maum Sally, if we argue, we'll both catch cold.
- Careful.
- Thank you, sir.
Thank you very much.
We can never repay you, sir.
And I don't even know your name.
It's Orry, Orry Main.
I'm from Mont Royal, just up the river.
My name is Madeline Fabray.
I'm delighted to meet you.
My father and I have only recently come from New Orleans to Charleston.
I'm afraid our driver isn't used to South Carolina roads yet.
The horses slipped and bolted.
It must have been terrifying.
Maum Sally and I are traveling to meet my father.
He has business at a plantation near here.
I'd be happy to escort you there.
I haven't told you where it is yet.
Perhaps it's out of your way.
I'm headed for Charleston.
Actually, much further than that.
I'm on my way to West Point.
- The military academy? - Yes.
I won't be back this way for two more years.
I'm so sorry - that we haven't had more time to talk - You know it's customary in this part of the country for a lady to give a gentleman a token if she wishes to thank him properly.
- I see you collect them.
- Ma'am? Tokens.
This is from a lady who stole my heart six years ago when she was born.
My little sister, Brett.
Miss Madeline, Mr.
Villefranche tell me we got trouble.
- How is he, Maum Sally? - He got a bump on the head, that's all.
But he told me we will never reach Resolute before dark now.
The LaMotte place, that's where you're going? - Yes.
You know it? - They're neighbors of ours.
Let me take you there.
We can send back horses and men for the carriage.
- But how? - Do you ride? - Yes, of course, but - Then it's settled.
Miss Madeline, you hardly know this gentleman.
I'll be safe, Maum Sally.
Whoa, boy.
I feel I can trust him.
I don't know why, but I do.
You'll all be safe at Resolute long before dark, I promise.
You see? Ready? How much further? Resolute's just around the next bend.
I've dropped something.
That was very clumsy of me.
Yes, it was.
Thank you.
Maum Sally would say that wasn't ladylike.
That I should have given you this instead.
I've never met anybody like you, Miss Fabray.
I'd be honored if you'd write to me at the military academy.
I'd like that.
Well, I suppose we should be going.
Resolute is quite impressive, Justin.
You are to be congratulated.
Yes.
I certainly hope your daughter shares your opinion, Nicholas.
I confess I'm a bit worried.
- They should have arrived long before this.
- They probably got a late start.
We've got plenty of time before dark.
Why don't we have a julep while we're waiting? Very well.
Papa, there's been a most terrible accident.
What happened, Main? - Their carriage horses slipped and bolted.
- Our carriage was thrown in the river.
Monsieur Main, he risked his life to rescue us and then he told me that he was a neighbor of Monsieur LaMotte's.
I am most grateful, Monsieur.
Please, sir, anybody would have done the same.
What about Maum Sally and Villefranche? They're still with the carriage, Papa, but they're fine.
I told them you'd send fresh horses.
I'll do better than that.
Nathaniel! Come over here, boy.
I want you to organize a rescue party.
I'd like to stay and help, but I'm afraid I have a steamer to catch.
What a shame, but once again, Monsieur, my thanks.
And mine.
Now remember, you promised to write.
I will.
- Madeline, you must be exhausted.
- I am, Papa.
I have not properly introduced you to Monsieur LaMotte as yet.
Station's over there.
It's as far as I go.
Well, ladies, goodbye.
And I'll see you in two years.
I'm sorry.
You'll be needing help getting that to the station.
- No, thank you.
I can manage.
- Will you listen to that? Where you are from, country boy? I'm from South Carolina.
And going to West Point, or I don't know one when I see one.
Yes, that's where I'm headed, so if you could get your foot off my trunk.
I got a train to catch.
Thank you.
Now listen here, soldier boy me and my friends will get that on the train, or you'll go on without it.
- How much to load it? - $2.
It's worth maybe 25 cents! Who do you think you're talking to? We ain't no part of your slave labor.
No, sir.
No, you're not.
So if you'll just stand aside, I'll handle it myself.
We'll load it or you'll load it the price is the same, $2.
Don't put your hands on me again, sir.
Or you'll what? Thanks.
Orry Main.
George Hazard.
- Glad to know you.
- Not as glad as I am to know you.
Pennsylvania.
Lehigh Station.
South Carolina.
I'm on my way to West Point.
So am I.
I had no idea this trip would be so eventful.
You're probably the first real Southerner I've ever met.
You're my first damn Yankee.
I used to think that all Yankees ever did was peddle jackknives, tin ware, and try to beat their neighbors in court.
Well, we've got some like that.
And I guess there're probably some Southerners who eat pork and collards, sleep all day and beat their slaves all night.
Some of us do think slavery's outdated, you know we favor more modern methods in spite of what some folks believe.
I know that.
My family owns an ironworks.
We've got labor problems, too.
- Hazard Iron? That's your family? - Yes.
I hope you don't consider that peddling jackknives.
- No, not at all.
You make farm machinery.
- Yeah.
I believe that mechanization is the key to the South's future.
Sounds like you want to be a farmer, not a soldier.
- I do.
- Then why're you going to the Point? I want to learn something, George.
The military academy is the best all-round education a man can get in this country.
I want to improve Mont Royal.
Maybe even build a cotton mill.
I've wanted to be a soldier all my life.
Thank God I've got an older brother who can take care of the ironworks, or I couldn't do this.
- I think you'll be a good one.
- I hope so.
We'll have to be pretty tough to make it through West Point, though.
No leave for two years They say the hazing is hell.
I've never been too great at book learning.
I just wonder if I'll make it through.
You'll make it through.
- I'll bet money on it.
- You will? What are you doing? That's a $10 note! That's right.
When you graduate from West Point you give that half back to me, plus another $10.
What if I don't graduate? Then I'll give you mine, but that's not gonna happen.
This is one bet I'm going to win.
- I trust the wine is to your taste, Nicholas.
- A fine vintage, Justin.
From France, of course, and quite costly.
I have it shipped up by an importer on the Gulf.
If there is a war with Mexico it's going to play havoc with my wine cellar.
You expect President Tyler to fight over Texas? He must, sir.
It's a point of honor.
Mexico repudiating its treaty, guaranteeing Texas its independence? Some say Mexico intends to sell Texas to Britain.
Aren't those fears being exaggerated by those who want Texas to enter the Union as a slave state? Where did you hear that, my dear? I encourage my daughter to read and question, sir.
She has an excellent mind.
A mind hardly seems necessary, Nicholas when one has the face of an angel.
Left, right, left! - Attention! - Fire! Fire! Once again, gentlemen.
Charge.
Move! Go, gentlemen, strike the melons! Ready.
Fire! Charge cartridge! Draw sabers! Ram! This company can load and fire three times a minute! It's like I always knew it would be.
Only better.
Think we'll ever be able to learn all this? Are you joking? We'll be experts in no time.
Well, so far, we haven't even been able to find our barracks.
He looks helpful.
Excuse me, sir.
- My friends and I are plebes - No, sir, you are not! - Sir? - You are things, sir.
To become plebes, you must first survive the entrance examination.
Until then, you are lower than plebes.
You are the lowest of the low.
You are things, sir.
Remember that.
I'm beginning to wish I'd never seen this trunk.
- Here, these belong to you two.
- Thank you.
- I'm Ned Fisk.
- George Hazard.
Orry Main.
Thank you.
I come from Ohio.
Lehigh Station, Pennsylvania.
I know, you've never heard of it.
I'm from a place called Mont Royal, South Carolina.
It's near Charleston.
You're a planter, are you? - My father is.
We grow cotton.
- With slave labor.
You can sleep someplace else.
I may have to be here with your kind, but I don't have to like it.
- And just what's my kind, friend? - Slave owners! My pa's got a small tobacco farm.
He can't get decent prices because of Southern competition.
I had to wait two years to get here because there was no money for the trip.
That's unfortunate, but it is hardly my fault.
The hell it isn't.
It's yours and every slave owner's in this country.
Well, there's nothing anybody can do about it here.
So we'll just have to live and let live, all right? Your visit has been distressingly brief, Miss Fabray.
Or may I call you Madeline? Yes, it has been a short visit.
And I'm not sure that we know each other well enough for first names yet.
Perhaps we should get to know each other better.
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
- You two seem to be enjoying yourselves.
- It was a wonderful ride.
It's a pity we have to leave this afternoon.
You see, my dear? It's the opinion of the majority.
And the majority rules.
A well brought up young lady is ruled by her father.
Isn't that right, Nicholas? Alas, I am ruled by my business appointments in Charleston but, Justin, your hospitality has been beyond compare.
We are most grateful.
I promised Maum Sally I would supervise Villefranche.
She is afraid his injury has made him forget how to load a carriage.
Shall I help, Papa? No.
Enjoy your breakfast.
I shan't be too long.
Your father is very indulgent with his slaves.
Maum Sally is our freed servant.
And my father is kind to everyone, no matter who they are.
Of course.
Miss, I apologize! I'm most terrible sorry.
Don't distress yourself, Nancy.
I have to change anyway.
- Lf you'll excuse me.
- Of course.
If that ever happens again, it'll be the whip.
My name is Bent.
Cadet Bent.
I, sirs am your drillmaster.
Elkanah Bent, sirs, of the great and sovereign state of Georgia.
And you, sir, are from Ohio.
Yes, sir.
- I can't hear you, sir.
- Yes, sir! To most of us from the Southern states, the word Ohio means one thing Oberlin College where white and black students defy convention by studying together as equals.
You consider yourself the equal of a nigger, sir? No, sir! I mean, yes, sir.
What is your comment on that, sir? Or do you have one? No, I don't.
You will reply, "No, I don't, sir!" No, I don't, sir! Thank you, sir.
I know how difficult that must have been, sir because you gentlemen from South Carolina consider yourselves superior to the gentlemen from Georgia, do you not, sir? - No, we don't, sir! - Good, sir! I'm pleased you agree with me.
Surprised, but pleased, nonetheless.
And you, sir.
How do you feel about the South as compared with your section of the country, sir? The East, I believe? - Which do you think superior, sir? - Why, the East, sir! - What did you say? - I said, the East, sir! Nothing but dirt farmers down South! Present company excepted, sir! As always.
Mr.
Hazard the potmaker from Pennsylvania.
You will step forward, sir! I shall use you to demonstrate a fundamental principle of marching, sir.
And Mr.
Main our hothouse lily from South Carolina.
You seem amused.
You step forward, too, sir! Now, sirs you'll raise these buckets to your sides and keep them at a 90-degree angle to your bodies at all times.
Now, sirs! The principle of which I spoke is commonly called the goose step, sirs.
On command, you will stand on one leg thus, your right leg, sirs! On the command, "Front," you will fling the raised leg forward, thus, sirs! Now, sirs, begin! Stand! And front! Down! Front! Down! Continue, sirs! Not one drop of water is to be spilled, sirs! Keep your arm up, sir! Arms up, Main! Arms up, sirs! Up, sirs! Get your legs down, sirs! Keep your arms up, sirs! Up, Main! Up, sirs! And up, sirs! Yes, sirs! Up, sirs! And continue, sirs! Let's see 90 degrees, sirs! Up, sir! No slacking off, sir! Halt, sir! Stay where you are, sir! Up on your feet, Mr.
Main.
You have not yet mastered the principle.
Cadet Bent.
These two men have been drilled sufficiently.
You will return them to rank, sir, and dismiss the squad.
Yes, sir! Fall in, sirs! Squad dismissed! Good for you, boys.
You stood up to him.
Called his bluff.
Call that a bluff? By the way, Hazard, we haven't really met.
My name is George.
So is mine.
That makes three.
I'm George McClellan.
And I'm George Pickett, from Virginia.
So am I.
From Virginia, that is.
Tom Jackson.
- Are you all right, Mr.
Main? - Fine, Tom.
The name's Orry.
That Cadet Bent is a little tetched, I think.
Thank God for that upperclassman, whoever he was.
His name is Ulysses, but they call him Sam.
Sam Grant.
The mail, sir.
One for you and one for Miss Madeline.
Thank you, Maum Sally.
I have something for you, child.
Why didn't you tell me there was a letter for me this morning? Because I only just arrived.
Now, who or what could be so important? He says he's always thinking of me, and that he can't wait to see me again.
"Even though the training at the academy is sometimes "merciless "the thought that" The thought that I'll be here when he gets home helps him through it.
He says a whole lot for such a short acquaintance.
What else he got to say? You're mighty taken with that Mr.
Main, aren't you? Madeline, dear, may I speak with you? Yes, Papa.
Justin LaMotte has written to say he will be here in Charleston on business the first of the month.
He asks permission to call on us.
Well, that's fine.
I'll have something special prepared for dinner that night.
I hope you will be as pleased to see Justin as I will.
Of course, Papa.
He's your friend.
Mr.
Fisk, sir.
You hold your saber like a hose, sir.
You parry as though you were scaring crows, Mr.
Fisk.
You are nothing more than a miserable, clumsy little farmer.
But I'm supposed to make a soldier out of you.
En garde.
Set yourself down.
Bend your elbow.
Straighten your knee.
I said, bend your elbow, sir! Your head, Mr.
Fisk! Parry! Seconde! Point! Parry seconde! Seconde! Point! Parry seconde! You're a joke, Mr.
Fisk.
On the battlefield, you'd be cut to ribbons.
And rightly so.
You, sir are the sorriest excuse for a soldier I have ever seen.
All right, sirs.
Who shall we have next? Let's have you, Mr.
Main.
At your service, sir.
My pleasure.
Drummer, sound mess call.
Squad dismissed! Where did you learn how to handle a sword like that? My father thought it was something every Southern gentleman should know, so he gave me lessons.
You sure gave Bent a lesson.
Look, child.
These were the cuttings Mr.
LaMotte sent from Resolute last fall.
They're very pretty.
You look so sad.
Still thinking about Orry Main? I can't seem to do anything else, Maum Sally.
His letters were so wonderful.
I think they were part of the reason that I fell in love with him.
But he doesn't write anymore.
You got to forget about him.
Young men always making promises they never going to keep.
That's what Papa says.
"Soldiers have wandering hearts.
" He tells me I should forget him, but I can't, Maum Sally.
I can't, no matter what I do.
Madeline, it seems our guest has arrived early.
He says he could not deny himself the pleasure of our company any longer.
Monsieur LaMotte, how nice to see you again.
You're more lovely than ever, Miss Fabray.
But I do wish you would call me Justin.
I think it is proper, my dear, after all this time.
As you wish.
Justin.
Splendid.
I will tell Uncle John to have an extra place set for dinner, sir.
Thank you, Maum Sally.
Justin, I've been saving a very interesting brandy for you.
If you'll excuse me, I will have it brought up from the wine cellar.
You're too kind, Nicholas.
I know it isn't proper, but I took the liberty of bringing you this.
I hope you'll accept it.
That was very thoughtful of you Justin.
I really shouldn't accept it, but I love surprises.
It's beautiful.
Thank you.
Not half so beautiful as you.
I'll never make it, George.
Mahan is gonna eat me alive in that class.
I wasn't cut out for West Point.
Don't say that.
You ride a horse better than any man here.
You're a good marksman.
Lord knows, you're handy with a saber.
That won't do any good if I can't remember what's in these books.
I'll get you through it.
We'll drill it till you know it backwards.
It doesn't seem any use right now.
I don't even want to be a soldier.
But you want to improve Mont Royal, don't you? Maybe I should find another way.
I think there's something else that's bothering you.
And I don't think it has anything to do with military history.
How long has it been since you've heard from Madeline? - Fisk.
- Ned.
I thought you'd gotten used to us, Fisk.
I haven't heard you talk about moving to another barracks I'm not moving to another barracks.
I have to resign from the academy.
My pa took a fall from a hayloft.
Laid him up real bad.
They need me to run the farm because there's nobody else.
I'm sorry, Fisk.
That's tough luck.
If there's anything we can do You could help, Mr.
Planter's son, but you won't.
You're gonna keep on working your slaves and undercutting prices so that folks like us will always live hand-to-mouth.
You can save your sympathy.
Put it in the bank with all your money.
Come on, what do you say to a trip to Benny Havens? - This hour? - You need a bracer, don't you? We already have more demerits than any other two men in our class.
Over 150 each.
And whose fault is that? All right, so those demerits came from Bent.
Just the same, over 200 skins in one year, and we're out.
- And if we're caught at Benny's - We won't get caught.
Who would be crazy enough to go out on a night as cold as this? Come on.
Careful.
That ice is soft.
George, you're right.
Who would be crazy enough to go out on a night like this? Here we are.
Now, you just face the wall there.
You come around here.
Now, remember what I said.
Don't face one another and that will take care of your boys' honor code.
So if an officer was to ask you if you'd seen one another drinking you could swear on oath that you hadn't seen nothing.
Thank you, Benny.
To your health.
George, listen.
I've been thinking.
We could make things right for Fisk.
How's that? We both get allowances.
We could give him the money to hire somebody to run his farm.
Then he could stay at the Point.
Fisk is too proud.
He wouldn't accept charity like that.
Yes, he will.
If we make it a loan.
We'll just give him a long time to pay it back.
Might leave us a little short of cash, though but it would sure be worth it.
You're right.
It would.
Let's do it.
Now don't you feel better? Yes.
A little.
I just keep thinking No.
About Madeline? I just don't understand why she doesn't answer my letters.
There could be a hundred reasons.
You hardly know her.
I know her well enough to believe that she What is it? Nobody.
Just a civilian from the village.
Don't you do that to me.
You took 10 years off my life.
You boys best get moving.
Just seen the Corporal go round to the back door.
Damn.
Go.
Stop, you there! The path's up ahead.
George.
Help! He's fallen through.
Good, that ought to slow him down.
George, we can't leave him here.
He might drown.
I was afraid you'd say that.
Help me.
Careful, George.
It's cracked.
Lie down.
Hold on, Bent.
We'll get you.
Take my hand.
Come on.
Bent, you can't stay here.
Bent, you gotta get back to your barracks.
You'll get pneumonia.
I know.
I can make it without any help from either of you two.
That gracious "thank you" made it all worthwhile.
At least he can't put us on report.
We saved his life.
Don't let that get around the barracks, or we're in trouble.
You sound awful, Orry.
You really should report to the medical officer.
I'm fine, George.
Hazard, Main.
You have both been placed on report, sirs.
Bent.
He really did report us.
After saving his life.
Can you beat that? Come in.
What do you want, Main? Request permission to report to the infirmary, sir.
Why? You look healthy enough to me.
I think I'm very ill, sir.
I think you're a malingerer, Main.
I think you just want to avoid your assigned duties.
Cpl.
Bent, I swear Permission to report to the infirmary denied.
Now I'll show you what happens to shirkers, Mr.
Main.
As of right now, you start 10 hours of extra guard duty.
You are dismissed, sir.
- Cadet Grant, isn't it? - It is.
What are you doing out here in this weather? Working off demerits, sir.
You're a sick man.
You should be in the hospital.
No, sir.
Thank you, sir.
I'm all right.
Shall I ask a tactical officer to have you relieved? No, sir.
I have to work off these demerits, sir.
You'll make a good soldier, Mr.
Main if Cpl.
Bent doesn't kill you first.
If Grant hadn't had that tactical officer send someone to relieve you you might have frozen to death.
We should have let Bent freeze.
You're the one who insisted we go back.
Anyhow, it's better that it turned out this way.
Grant and his friends are keeping their eyes on Bent.
That will make him ease up on us.
Don't you think that somehow in Bent's twisted mind he'll see that as our fault and come down even harder? No.
He's too much of a coward to go up against Grant.
He'd rather bully underclassmen.
I never met anybody like him before.
I believe the word is "bent.
" There's another reason why I'm glad you didn't freeze.
What's that? I wanted to thank you for loaning me the money to stay here.
I guess I might have been wrong about Southerners.
Maybe some of them.
But remember, Bent's from Georgia.
Yes.
George.
- Would you mail that for me? - Sure.
Still wooing Madeline? - Lf she doesn't write me soon - I'm sure she will.
But even if she doesn't, I've still got a sister who's not married.
We've got to go.
Goodbye.
Hello, Mr.
McCullough.
Our foundry's down here, and there's the new library building.
Mom! Dad! They're here! This is your house? Hi, George.
George, hello.
Come on.
At last.
- Hello, Mother.
- Welcome home, son.
Doesn't he look grand? I thought we'd never get here.
Those were the longest two years of my life.
- It's good to have you here, George.
- Thank you, sir.
I want you to meet my parents.
This is Maude and William Hazard.
How do you do? - It's a pleasure.
Welcome to Belvedere.
- Thank you.
George has written us so much about you.
It's kind of you to have me here.
And these are my brothers, Stanley and this is Billy.
- Are those real sabers? - Here, take a look.
Don't touch that, Billy.
It's dangerous.
My brother obviously forgot to introduce me, Mr.
Main.
Of course not.
I'm Virgilia Hazard.
Pleased to meet you, Miss Hazard.
I've heard so much about you.
George tells us you're a Southerner.
Yes.
From South Carolina.
Do you keep slaves? My family does, yes.
Are you evil, Mr.
Main? Oh, no.
Not again.
Virgilia.
Great men like Mr.
Garrison keep trying to show Southerners the evil they're doing.
And it's our duty to take Virgilia.
I thought I asked you to stop reading that abolitionist nonsense.
It's not nonsense, Father.
It's God's truth.
I'm afraid her causes are Virgilia's way of making up for not being born a man.
Don't you patronize me, Stanley Hazard.
That will be enough, Virgilia.
- Now, I think we should all go indoors.
- Yes, by all means.
I hear congratulations are in order for you.
Mother wrote that you were engaged but she didn't tell me who the lucky girl was.
My fiancée is Miss Isabel Truscott from one of the best families in Pennsylvania.
I've no doubt.
George wrote that you might be interested in seeing the foundry.
Yes, sir.
I want to know all there is to know about Hazard Iron.
It's the busiest operation of its kind in the country.
Our boilerplates wind up on everything from ships to fire engines.
Anything that uses a steam generator.
- Like a cotton mill? - Like 10 or 12 of them.
I take it you found that impressive.
More than that, sir.
Your foundry is a revelation.
I'm sure it's a good idea to build a cotton mill in South Carolina.
I just hope I can make my father see that.
Surely he must be aware that the economy of the South would be much stronger if more cotton were processed there.
Yes, sir.
But he has a very strong bias against any form of industry.
My God.
That's a shame.
Father, I think this requires your attention.
Would you excuse me for just a moment, please? Yes, sir.
- Who lives there? - Our workers.
Immigrants mostly.
Irish, German, Welsh.
A lot more than when I left.
I know.
They're not much better than your slave quarters, are they? They're worse.
At least our workers have a choice.
We don't own them.
We don't force them to work here.
They can leave whenever they want.
An empty belly is a pretty good reason to stay.
Are you saying that you don't like the way that we run the foundry? I don't have to like everything about what you do any more than you have to like everything we do.
I guess you're right.
I guess there's probably room for improvement on both sides.
I know there is.
That's why I wanted to visit and learn from you Yankees.
You're really serious about this cotton mill, aren't you? After the army, I'm dead serious if I can talk my father into it.
If Hazard Iron supplies the parts, you won't get a better deal.
I'm planning on using that argument on my father.
They sure don't feed us like this at West Point.
I'm glad you were the one who was there.
Soup, Mr.
Stanley.
- Late again, Billy.
- Sorry, sir.
Now, don't forget to put your napkin on your lap, Billy.
Salt and pepper, Mr.
Main? - Thank you, Miss Truscott.
- You're welcome, Mr.
Main.
I'm sorry you have to leave so soon.
Yes, there's a friend I have to see in Charleston before I head home.
A friend, Mr.
Main? I think it must be a lady.
And how do your instructors feel about your president? Well, sir, they like him.
Even when they don't agree But I've enjoyed my stay here very much.
Have you read something on Mr.
Polk's views? I think that Polk will annex Texas if he's elected president.
After all, he's a committed expansionist.
But it's wrong.
Texas belongs to Mexico.
And if he does, there will be war.
I just hope that Orry and I don't graduate too late to fight it.
They say we'll see action with Gen.
Zachary Taylor.
Wouldn't that be something? Mr.
Polk believes in Manifest Destiny, all right.
If this country is to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific, there will be plenty of action.
We know that.
Unless God strikes him dead first, which he deserves.
Can't any of you see? Expansionism is just another name for perpetuating the foul institution of slavery.
Virgilia, be quiet.
No, Mother.
Not this time.
I can't just sit by and listen to my own brother and a slave owner tell us how eager they are to fight when everyone knows that this a devil's war.
George, to annex Texas as a slave state I see you're still reading your abolitionists, Virgilia.
I'm doing more than reading, George.
I've joined their cause, and my allowance goes to support it.
Virgilia.
I have a right, Father.
I'm a grown woman, and I must decide for myself now.
And I will fight the ungodly evil that lives in the South.
Miss Hazard Perhaps if you knew more about our Southern way of life you wouldn't be so quick to condemn.
Mr.
Main, I know all I need to know.
And I will not sit down at a table with a man who chooses to keep his fellow human beings in bondage.
Orry, I'm afraid I have to apologize for my sister.
She sometimes lets her emotions run away with her.
Why don't you tell us some more about your plans for the cotton mill, Orry.
Yes, sir.
Strawberries.
Blueberries.
Berries, fresh berries, sweet berries, out on your front street.
Fresh berries.
Ain't nobody home, sir.
This is the Fabray house? Yes, sir, but they is all gone now.
Gone where? Me can't rightly say, sir.
But that house there been closed up for nearly a week now.
Thank you.
Yes, sir.
Strawberries! Blueberries! Berries, fresh Orry, you're home! Hello, sir.
I'll take care of him.
- Are you feeling all right, sir? - I'm just tired, son.
And worried about the cotton crop.
We didn't get enough rain after the spring planting.
Irrigating by hand is keeping the slaves away from other work.
The crop is still liable to be small.
We could still make a profit in spite of that if we milled our own cotton.
Son, we've argued this point before.
Father, you should have been with me at Hazard Iron.
I saw a hundred ways to improve Mont Royal.
You seem very anxious to change your home.
We can't ignore progress, sir.
We'll be left behind.
That's what the Hazards said and I'm very sure your friends know a great deal about running their foundry but a cotton plantation is different.
Every year, the South counts for less on a national level because we cling to manual labor.
That's enough, son.
I said I don't wish to discuss it.
Daddy, if you You just got home.
Go join your mother in the parlor.
I'll be along directly.
- He does, too! - Does not! - He does! - Not! All right.
Who does or doesn't do what? Brett says Priam doesn't deserve to get whipped.
And I say he does.
We don't punish our slaves that way.
We have ever since Salem Jones got here.
The new overseer Father wrote me about? Yes.
And Priam doesn't do anything bad.
But Salem Jones whips him anyhow.
Because Priam's uppity like his sister.
What has Semiramis got to do with this? Ever since Salem Jones has been sleeping with Semiramis Priam's been acting strange, and getting whipped a lot.
You two go upstairs, and be nice.
Who the hell are you? I'm Orry Main, Mr.
Jones.
Mr.
Main, sir I was coming up to meet you just as soon as I finished with this.
This is why I'm here.
What has Priam done? Why are you beating him? No crime, exactly.
It's his attitude, sir.
Priam don't show the proper respect.
A good overseer knows how to get a man's respect without beating him.
And we don't whip slaves at Mont Royal.
So you let Priam go.
Your father told me to handle these slaves any way I see fit.
I don't see fit to let you whip them.
Especially because it appears you enjoy it.
Now you do what I tell you and you let him go.
Now! Cuffey, Caesar! Get him down! You've been away two years, you'll be two more at the academy then another four in the army.
You're not running Mont Royal yet, and you'll not interfere with those who do.
Salem Jones gets more work out of the Negroes than anyone ever has.
That doesn't make him right.
Cruelty, like what I saw yesterday, makes both of you wrong.
Does it? Well, Salem Jones knows a thing or two.
What about that slave, Nat Turner, murdered 55 white people in cold blood? That was over 10 years ago in Virginia.
You think it couldn't happen here? With those abolitionists stirring up slaves against us.
Tillet, Orry, please.
We've got such a short time together while Orry's home on leave.
Let's not spoil it.
I'm sorry, Mother.
We're invited to a wedding this afternoon.
It wouldn't do for us to be fussing.
Whose wedding? Justin LaMotte.
I wrote you about it.
No, sir, you didn't.
Who is he marrying? Orry, she's the most beautiful girl you ever saw.
A Creole from New Orleans.
Her name is Madeline Fabray.
Do you, Justin, take Madeline for your lawful wedded wife promising to love, honor, and cherish her forsaking all others as long as you both shall live? I do.
And do you, Madeline, take Justin for your lawful wedded husband promising to love, honor, and obey him forsaking all others as long as you both shall live? I do.
In the sight of God and this company, I pronounce you man and wife.
We should pay our respects, son.
My very best wishes, Mrs.
LaMotte.
You are very kind, sir.
How nice of you to come.
Monsieur Main, I am so glad your family could come today.
It gives me the chance to thank you again for your courtesy toward my daughter.
Was she planning to marry Justin even then? No, she was not.
I had it in mind from the day I met him.
I knew he would be a perfect match for Madeline.
An older husband.
Wiser, more settled.
I see.
Tell me, how is life treating you in the military? As well as could be expected, sir.
Thank you.
Good day.
Cuffey, saddle my horse for me.
Yes, sir.
Orry, please don't go.
I have to ask you something.
What could possibly matter now? Why did you stop answering my letters? What? - I didn't.
You stopped answering mine.
- I didn't.
Papa.
It was Papa.
He destroyed your letters.
What? He wanted me to marry Justin.
But until now, I never knew how much.
Now it's too late.
Every day that I was away from you I kept thinking about the day I would make you my bride.
Better have this back now.
Don't you think I dreamed of you, too? I better leave.
Leaving, Main? See you again when you finish military school.
Come, my dear.
Our other guests are waiting.
Justin.
I didn't expect you so soon.
You've been up here half an hour, my dear.
I thought you'd be ready for me by now.
You're so beautiful.
So beautiful.
What's the matter with you? Nothing.
You're always so distant.
But not tonight.
I'll show you what it means to be my wife.
No! English
Come and see.
A green heron left it, I think.
She'll be coming back to nest.
- Then she'll be disappointed.
- Ashton, put that back! - That isn't yours! - It is now! No, please, you can't take a mother bird's baby! I'm sorry, Brett.
You're right.
You found it, you put it back.
If I can't have it, nobody can.
Miss Ashton, Miss Brett! You stop it now! I say stop it, hear? Come along, you're wanted to the big house.
Mr.
Orry's just about to go.
Come along now, little ladies.
It's time to say goodbye to your big brother.
You made sure you saw to Mr.
Orry's trunk? Yes, ma'am.
Priam put it on the steamer this morning.
- Thank you so much.
- Welcome, ma'am.
He's as eager to get started as I am, Priam.
I'm gonna miss all of you so much.
Remember to keep warm.
You won't be used to the cold up North.
And come back to us.
- I will.
- Safe.
I expect you'll do well, Orry.
Now, Tillet, tell him what you told me.
Son, I know we've had our disagreements in the past.
Sometimes your behavior has been a little less restrained than I might have wished for.
Your father's forgotten how he was at your age.
Perhaps I have.
I want you to know I'm very proud of you.
It's no small thing for a man to have a son at West Point.
Thank you, sir.
I'll do my best for you.
I know you will.
Orry! What in the world happened to you two ladies? Brett fell down, and I had to help her up.
I picked this for you.
Thank you, Brett.
That was sweet.
I found you a present, too.
- Liar.
- Brett wouldn't let me keep it.
Well, I'll tell you what.
This will be from you both to remind me how much I love you.
And Mont Royal.
Whoa, son.
Help! Praise the Lord.
Somebody heard us.
Please don't move.
A snake's gotten in the carriage.
Sweet Jesus.
Please be very still no matter what happens.
It is poisonous.
I'm sure it is, Maum Sally or the young gentleman wouldn't be so concerned for us.
- You are very brave.
- Thank you very much, sir.
It was my pleasure.
- Would you help Maum Sally first? - Miss Madeline, I can wait.
Maum Sally, if we argue, we'll both catch cold.
- Careful.
- Thank you, sir.
Thank you very much.
We can never repay you, sir.
And I don't even know your name.
It's Orry, Orry Main.
I'm from Mont Royal, just up the river.
My name is Madeline Fabray.
I'm delighted to meet you.
My father and I have only recently come from New Orleans to Charleston.
I'm afraid our driver isn't used to South Carolina roads yet.
The horses slipped and bolted.
It must have been terrifying.
Maum Sally and I are traveling to meet my father.
He has business at a plantation near here.
I'd be happy to escort you there.
I haven't told you where it is yet.
Perhaps it's out of your way.
I'm headed for Charleston.
Actually, much further than that.
I'm on my way to West Point.
- The military academy? - Yes.
I won't be back this way for two more years.
I'm so sorry - that we haven't had more time to talk - You know it's customary in this part of the country for a lady to give a gentleman a token if she wishes to thank him properly.
- I see you collect them.
- Ma'am? Tokens.
This is from a lady who stole my heart six years ago when she was born.
My little sister, Brett.
Miss Madeline, Mr.
Villefranche tell me we got trouble.
- How is he, Maum Sally? - He got a bump on the head, that's all.
But he told me we will never reach Resolute before dark now.
The LaMotte place, that's where you're going? - Yes.
You know it? - They're neighbors of ours.
Let me take you there.
We can send back horses and men for the carriage.
- But how? - Do you ride? - Yes, of course, but - Then it's settled.
Miss Madeline, you hardly know this gentleman.
I'll be safe, Maum Sally.
Whoa, boy.
I feel I can trust him.
I don't know why, but I do.
You'll all be safe at Resolute long before dark, I promise.
You see? Ready? How much further? Resolute's just around the next bend.
I've dropped something.
That was very clumsy of me.
Yes, it was.
Thank you.
Maum Sally would say that wasn't ladylike.
That I should have given you this instead.
I've never met anybody like you, Miss Fabray.
I'd be honored if you'd write to me at the military academy.
I'd like that.
Well, I suppose we should be going.
Resolute is quite impressive, Justin.
You are to be congratulated.
Yes.
I certainly hope your daughter shares your opinion, Nicholas.
I confess I'm a bit worried.
- They should have arrived long before this.
- They probably got a late start.
We've got plenty of time before dark.
Why don't we have a julep while we're waiting? Very well.
Papa, there's been a most terrible accident.
What happened, Main? - Their carriage horses slipped and bolted.
- Our carriage was thrown in the river.
Monsieur Main, he risked his life to rescue us and then he told me that he was a neighbor of Monsieur LaMotte's.
I am most grateful, Monsieur.
Please, sir, anybody would have done the same.
What about Maum Sally and Villefranche? They're still with the carriage, Papa, but they're fine.
I told them you'd send fresh horses.
I'll do better than that.
Nathaniel! Come over here, boy.
I want you to organize a rescue party.
I'd like to stay and help, but I'm afraid I have a steamer to catch.
What a shame, but once again, Monsieur, my thanks.
And mine.
Now remember, you promised to write.
I will.
- Madeline, you must be exhausted.
- I am, Papa.
I have not properly introduced you to Monsieur LaMotte as yet.
Station's over there.
It's as far as I go.
Well, ladies, goodbye.
And I'll see you in two years.
I'm sorry.
You'll be needing help getting that to the station.
- No, thank you.
I can manage.
- Will you listen to that? Where you are from, country boy? I'm from South Carolina.
And going to West Point, or I don't know one when I see one.
Yes, that's where I'm headed, so if you could get your foot off my trunk.
I got a train to catch.
Thank you.
Now listen here, soldier boy me and my friends will get that on the train, or you'll go on without it.
- How much to load it? - $2.
It's worth maybe 25 cents! Who do you think you're talking to? We ain't no part of your slave labor.
No, sir.
No, you're not.
So if you'll just stand aside, I'll handle it myself.
We'll load it or you'll load it the price is the same, $2.
Don't put your hands on me again, sir.
Or you'll what? Thanks.
Orry Main.
George Hazard.
- Glad to know you.
- Not as glad as I am to know you.
Pennsylvania.
Lehigh Station.
South Carolina.
I'm on my way to West Point.
So am I.
I had no idea this trip would be so eventful.
You're probably the first real Southerner I've ever met.
You're my first damn Yankee.
I used to think that all Yankees ever did was peddle jackknives, tin ware, and try to beat their neighbors in court.
Well, we've got some like that.
And I guess there're probably some Southerners who eat pork and collards, sleep all day and beat their slaves all night.
Some of us do think slavery's outdated, you know we favor more modern methods in spite of what some folks believe.
I know that.
My family owns an ironworks.
We've got labor problems, too.
- Hazard Iron? That's your family? - Yes.
I hope you don't consider that peddling jackknives.
- No, not at all.
You make farm machinery.
- Yeah.
I believe that mechanization is the key to the South's future.
Sounds like you want to be a farmer, not a soldier.
- I do.
- Then why're you going to the Point? I want to learn something, George.
The military academy is the best all-round education a man can get in this country.
I want to improve Mont Royal.
Maybe even build a cotton mill.
I've wanted to be a soldier all my life.
Thank God I've got an older brother who can take care of the ironworks, or I couldn't do this.
- I think you'll be a good one.
- I hope so.
We'll have to be pretty tough to make it through West Point, though.
No leave for two years They say the hazing is hell.
I've never been too great at book learning.
I just wonder if I'll make it through.
You'll make it through.
- I'll bet money on it.
- You will? What are you doing? That's a $10 note! That's right.
When you graduate from West Point you give that half back to me, plus another $10.
What if I don't graduate? Then I'll give you mine, but that's not gonna happen.
This is one bet I'm going to win.
- I trust the wine is to your taste, Nicholas.
- A fine vintage, Justin.
From France, of course, and quite costly.
I have it shipped up by an importer on the Gulf.
If there is a war with Mexico it's going to play havoc with my wine cellar.
You expect President Tyler to fight over Texas? He must, sir.
It's a point of honor.
Mexico repudiating its treaty, guaranteeing Texas its independence? Some say Mexico intends to sell Texas to Britain.
Aren't those fears being exaggerated by those who want Texas to enter the Union as a slave state? Where did you hear that, my dear? I encourage my daughter to read and question, sir.
She has an excellent mind.
A mind hardly seems necessary, Nicholas when one has the face of an angel.
Left, right, left! - Attention! - Fire! Fire! Once again, gentlemen.
Charge.
Move! Go, gentlemen, strike the melons! Ready.
Fire! Charge cartridge! Draw sabers! Ram! This company can load and fire three times a minute! It's like I always knew it would be.
Only better.
Think we'll ever be able to learn all this? Are you joking? We'll be experts in no time.
Well, so far, we haven't even been able to find our barracks.
He looks helpful.
Excuse me, sir.
- My friends and I are plebes - No, sir, you are not! - Sir? - You are things, sir.
To become plebes, you must first survive the entrance examination.
Until then, you are lower than plebes.
You are the lowest of the low.
You are things, sir.
Remember that.
I'm beginning to wish I'd never seen this trunk.
- Here, these belong to you two.
- Thank you.
- I'm Ned Fisk.
- George Hazard.
Orry Main.
Thank you.
I come from Ohio.
Lehigh Station, Pennsylvania.
I know, you've never heard of it.
I'm from a place called Mont Royal, South Carolina.
It's near Charleston.
You're a planter, are you? - My father is.
We grow cotton.
- With slave labor.
You can sleep someplace else.
I may have to be here with your kind, but I don't have to like it.
- And just what's my kind, friend? - Slave owners! My pa's got a small tobacco farm.
He can't get decent prices because of Southern competition.
I had to wait two years to get here because there was no money for the trip.
That's unfortunate, but it is hardly my fault.
The hell it isn't.
It's yours and every slave owner's in this country.
Well, there's nothing anybody can do about it here.
So we'll just have to live and let live, all right? Your visit has been distressingly brief, Miss Fabray.
Or may I call you Madeline? Yes, it has been a short visit.
And I'm not sure that we know each other well enough for first names yet.
Perhaps we should get to know each other better.
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
- You two seem to be enjoying yourselves.
- It was a wonderful ride.
It's a pity we have to leave this afternoon.
You see, my dear? It's the opinion of the majority.
And the majority rules.
A well brought up young lady is ruled by her father.
Isn't that right, Nicholas? Alas, I am ruled by my business appointments in Charleston but, Justin, your hospitality has been beyond compare.
We are most grateful.
I promised Maum Sally I would supervise Villefranche.
She is afraid his injury has made him forget how to load a carriage.
Shall I help, Papa? No.
Enjoy your breakfast.
I shan't be too long.
Your father is very indulgent with his slaves.
Maum Sally is our freed servant.
And my father is kind to everyone, no matter who they are.
Of course.
Miss, I apologize! I'm most terrible sorry.
Don't distress yourself, Nancy.
I have to change anyway.
- Lf you'll excuse me.
- Of course.
If that ever happens again, it'll be the whip.
My name is Bent.
Cadet Bent.
I, sirs am your drillmaster.
Elkanah Bent, sirs, of the great and sovereign state of Georgia.
And you, sir, are from Ohio.
Yes, sir.
- I can't hear you, sir.
- Yes, sir! To most of us from the Southern states, the word Ohio means one thing Oberlin College where white and black students defy convention by studying together as equals.
You consider yourself the equal of a nigger, sir? No, sir! I mean, yes, sir.
What is your comment on that, sir? Or do you have one? No, I don't.
You will reply, "No, I don't, sir!" No, I don't, sir! Thank you, sir.
I know how difficult that must have been, sir because you gentlemen from South Carolina consider yourselves superior to the gentlemen from Georgia, do you not, sir? - No, we don't, sir! - Good, sir! I'm pleased you agree with me.
Surprised, but pleased, nonetheless.
And you, sir.
How do you feel about the South as compared with your section of the country, sir? The East, I believe? - Which do you think superior, sir? - Why, the East, sir! - What did you say? - I said, the East, sir! Nothing but dirt farmers down South! Present company excepted, sir! As always.
Mr.
Hazard the potmaker from Pennsylvania.
You will step forward, sir! I shall use you to demonstrate a fundamental principle of marching, sir.
And Mr.
Main our hothouse lily from South Carolina.
You seem amused.
You step forward, too, sir! Now, sirs you'll raise these buckets to your sides and keep them at a 90-degree angle to your bodies at all times.
Now, sirs! The principle of which I spoke is commonly called the goose step, sirs.
On command, you will stand on one leg thus, your right leg, sirs! On the command, "Front," you will fling the raised leg forward, thus, sirs! Now, sirs, begin! Stand! And front! Down! Front! Down! Continue, sirs! Not one drop of water is to be spilled, sirs! Keep your arm up, sir! Arms up, Main! Arms up, sirs! Up, sirs! Get your legs down, sirs! Keep your arms up, sirs! Up, Main! Up, sirs! And up, sirs! Yes, sirs! Up, sirs! And continue, sirs! Let's see 90 degrees, sirs! Up, sir! No slacking off, sir! Halt, sir! Stay where you are, sir! Up on your feet, Mr.
Main.
You have not yet mastered the principle.
Cadet Bent.
These two men have been drilled sufficiently.
You will return them to rank, sir, and dismiss the squad.
Yes, sir! Fall in, sirs! Squad dismissed! Good for you, boys.
You stood up to him.
Called his bluff.
Call that a bluff? By the way, Hazard, we haven't really met.
My name is George.
So is mine.
That makes three.
I'm George McClellan.
And I'm George Pickett, from Virginia.
So am I.
From Virginia, that is.
Tom Jackson.
- Are you all right, Mr.
Main? - Fine, Tom.
The name's Orry.
That Cadet Bent is a little tetched, I think.
Thank God for that upperclassman, whoever he was.
His name is Ulysses, but they call him Sam.
Sam Grant.
The mail, sir.
One for you and one for Miss Madeline.
Thank you, Maum Sally.
I have something for you, child.
Why didn't you tell me there was a letter for me this morning? Because I only just arrived.
Now, who or what could be so important? He says he's always thinking of me, and that he can't wait to see me again.
"Even though the training at the academy is sometimes "merciless "the thought that" The thought that I'll be here when he gets home helps him through it.
He says a whole lot for such a short acquaintance.
What else he got to say? You're mighty taken with that Mr.
Main, aren't you? Madeline, dear, may I speak with you? Yes, Papa.
Justin LaMotte has written to say he will be here in Charleston on business the first of the month.
He asks permission to call on us.
Well, that's fine.
I'll have something special prepared for dinner that night.
I hope you will be as pleased to see Justin as I will.
Of course, Papa.
He's your friend.
Mr.
Fisk, sir.
You hold your saber like a hose, sir.
You parry as though you were scaring crows, Mr.
Fisk.
You are nothing more than a miserable, clumsy little farmer.
But I'm supposed to make a soldier out of you.
En garde.
Set yourself down.
Bend your elbow.
Straighten your knee.
I said, bend your elbow, sir! Your head, Mr.
Fisk! Parry! Seconde! Point! Parry seconde! Seconde! Point! Parry seconde! You're a joke, Mr.
Fisk.
On the battlefield, you'd be cut to ribbons.
And rightly so.
You, sir are the sorriest excuse for a soldier I have ever seen.
All right, sirs.
Who shall we have next? Let's have you, Mr.
Main.
At your service, sir.
My pleasure.
Drummer, sound mess call.
Squad dismissed! Where did you learn how to handle a sword like that? My father thought it was something every Southern gentleman should know, so he gave me lessons.
You sure gave Bent a lesson.
Look, child.
These were the cuttings Mr.
LaMotte sent from Resolute last fall.
They're very pretty.
You look so sad.
Still thinking about Orry Main? I can't seem to do anything else, Maum Sally.
His letters were so wonderful.
I think they were part of the reason that I fell in love with him.
But he doesn't write anymore.
You got to forget about him.
Young men always making promises they never going to keep.
That's what Papa says.
"Soldiers have wandering hearts.
" He tells me I should forget him, but I can't, Maum Sally.
I can't, no matter what I do.
Madeline, it seems our guest has arrived early.
He says he could not deny himself the pleasure of our company any longer.
Monsieur LaMotte, how nice to see you again.
You're more lovely than ever, Miss Fabray.
But I do wish you would call me Justin.
I think it is proper, my dear, after all this time.
As you wish.
Justin.
Splendid.
I will tell Uncle John to have an extra place set for dinner, sir.
Thank you, Maum Sally.
Justin, I've been saving a very interesting brandy for you.
If you'll excuse me, I will have it brought up from the wine cellar.
You're too kind, Nicholas.
I know it isn't proper, but I took the liberty of bringing you this.
I hope you'll accept it.
That was very thoughtful of you Justin.
I really shouldn't accept it, but I love surprises.
It's beautiful.
Thank you.
Not half so beautiful as you.
I'll never make it, George.
Mahan is gonna eat me alive in that class.
I wasn't cut out for West Point.
Don't say that.
You ride a horse better than any man here.
You're a good marksman.
Lord knows, you're handy with a saber.
That won't do any good if I can't remember what's in these books.
I'll get you through it.
We'll drill it till you know it backwards.
It doesn't seem any use right now.
I don't even want to be a soldier.
But you want to improve Mont Royal, don't you? Maybe I should find another way.
I think there's something else that's bothering you.
And I don't think it has anything to do with military history.
How long has it been since you've heard from Madeline? - Fisk.
- Ned.
I thought you'd gotten used to us, Fisk.
I haven't heard you talk about moving to another barracks I'm not moving to another barracks.
I have to resign from the academy.
My pa took a fall from a hayloft.
Laid him up real bad.
They need me to run the farm because there's nobody else.
I'm sorry, Fisk.
That's tough luck.
If there's anything we can do You could help, Mr.
Planter's son, but you won't.
You're gonna keep on working your slaves and undercutting prices so that folks like us will always live hand-to-mouth.
You can save your sympathy.
Put it in the bank with all your money.
Come on, what do you say to a trip to Benny Havens? - This hour? - You need a bracer, don't you? We already have more demerits than any other two men in our class.
Over 150 each.
And whose fault is that? All right, so those demerits came from Bent.
Just the same, over 200 skins in one year, and we're out.
- And if we're caught at Benny's - We won't get caught.
Who would be crazy enough to go out on a night as cold as this? Come on.
Careful.
That ice is soft.
George, you're right.
Who would be crazy enough to go out on a night like this? Here we are.
Now, you just face the wall there.
You come around here.
Now, remember what I said.
Don't face one another and that will take care of your boys' honor code.
So if an officer was to ask you if you'd seen one another drinking you could swear on oath that you hadn't seen nothing.
Thank you, Benny.
To your health.
George, listen.
I've been thinking.
We could make things right for Fisk.
How's that? We both get allowances.
We could give him the money to hire somebody to run his farm.
Then he could stay at the Point.
Fisk is too proud.
He wouldn't accept charity like that.
Yes, he will.
If we make it a loan.
We'll just give him a long time to pay it back.
Might leave us a little short of cash, though but it would sure be worth it.
You're right.
It would.
Let's do it.
Now don't you feel better? Yes.
A little.
I just keep thinking No.
About Madeline? I just don't understand why she doesn't answer my letters.
There could be a hundred reasons.
You hardly know her.
I know her well enough to believe that she What is it? Nobody.
Just a civilian from the village.
Don't you do that to me.
You took 10 years off my life.
You boys best get moving.
Just seen the Corporal go round to the back door.
Damn.
Go.
Stop, you there! The path's up ahead.
George.
Help! He's fallen through.
Good, that ought to slow him down.
George, we can't leave him here.
He might drown.
I was afraid you'd say that.
Help me.
Careful, George.
It's cracked.
Lie down.
Hold on, Bent.
We'll get you.
Take my hand.
Come on.
Bent, you can't stay here.
Bent, you gotta get back to your barracks.
You'll get pneumonia.
I know.
I can make it without any help from either of you two.
That gracious "thank you" made it all worthwhile.
At least he can't put us on report.
We saved his life.
Don't let that get around the barracks, or we're in trouble.
You sound awful, Orry.
You really should report to the medical officer.
I'm fine, George.
Hazard, Main.
You have both been placed on report, sirs.
Bent.
He really did report us.
After saving his life.
Can you beat that? Come in.
What do you want, Main? Request permission to report to the infirmary, sir.
Why? You look healthy enough to me.
I think I'm very ill, sir.
I think you're a malingerer, Main.
I think you just want to avoid your assigned duties.
Cpl.
Bent, I swear Permission to report to the infirmary denied.
Now I'll show you what happens to shirkers, Mr.
Main.
As of right now, you start 10 hours of extra guard duty.
You are dismissed, sir.
- Cadet Grant, isn't it? - It is.
What are you doing out here in this weather? Working off demerits, sir.
You're a sick man.
You should be in the hospital.
No, sir.
Thank you, sir.
I'm all right.
Shall I ask a tactical officer to have you relieved? No, sir.
I have to work off these demerits, sir.
You'll make a good soldier, Mr.
Main if Cpl.
Bent doesn't kill you first.
If Grant hadn't had that tactical officer send someone to relieve you you might have frozen to death.
We should have let Bent freeze.
You're the one who insisted we go back.
Anyhow, it's better that it turned out this way.
Grant and his friends are keeping their eyes on Bent.
That will make him ease up on us.
Don't you think that somehow in Bent's twisted mind he'll see that as our fault and come down even harder? No.
He's too much of a coward to go up against Grant.
He'd rather bully underclassmen.
I never met anybody like him before.
I believe the word is "bent.
" There's another reason why I'm glad you didn't freeze.
What's that? I wanted to thank you for loaning me the money to stay here.
I guess I might have been wrong about Southerners.
Maybe some of them.
But remember, Bent's from Georgia.
Yes.
George.
- Would you mail that for me? - Sure.
Still wooing Madeline? - Lf she doesn't write me soon - I'm sure she will.
But even if she doesn't, I've still got a sister who's not married.
We've got to go.
Goodbye.
Hello, Mr.
McCullough.
Our foundry's down here, and there's the new library building.
Mom! Dad! They're here! This is your house? Hi, George.
George, hello.
Come on.
At last.
- Hello, Mother.
- Welcome home, son.
Doesn't he look grand? I thought we'd never get here.
Those were the longest two years of my life.
- It's good to have you here, George.
- Thank you, sir.
I want you to meet my parents.
This is Maude and William Hazard.
How do you do? - It's a pleasure.
Welcome to Belvedere.
- Thank you.
George has written us so much about you.
It's kind of you to have me here.
And these are my brothers, Stanley and this is Billy.
- Are those real sabers? - Here, take a look.
Don't touch that, Billy.
It's dangerous.
My brother obviously forgot to introduce me, Mr.
Main.
Of course not.
I'm Virgilia Hazard.
Pleased to meet you, Miss Hazard.
I've heard so much about you.
George tells us you're a Southerner.
Yes.
From South Carolina.
Do you keep slaves? My family does, yes.
Are you evil, Mr.
Main? Oh, no.
Not again.
Virgilia.
Great men like Mr.
Garrison keep trying to show Southerners the evil they're doing.
And it's our duty to take Virgilia.
I thought I asked you to stop reading that abolitionist nonsense.
It's not nonsense, Father.
It's God's truth.
I'm afraid her causes are Virgilia's way of making up for not being born a man.
Don't you patronize me, Stanley Hazard.
That will be enough, Virgilia.
- Now, I think we should all go indoors.
- Yes, by all means.
I hear congratulations are in order for you.
Mother wrote that you were engaged but she didn't tell me who the lucky girl was.
My fiancée is Miss Isabel Truscott from one of the best families in Pennsylvania.
I've no doubt.
George wrote that you might be interested in seeing the foundry.
Yes, sir.
I want to know all there is to know about Hazard Iron.
It's the busiest operation of its kind in the country.
Our boilerplates wind up on everything from ships to fire engines.
Anything that uses a steam generator.
- Like a cotton mill? - Like 10 or 12 of them.
I take it you found that impressive.
More than that, sir.
Your foundry is a revelation.
I'm sure it's a good idea to build a cotton mill in South Carolina.
I just hope I can make my father see that.
Surely he must be aware that the economy of the South would be much stronger if more cotton were processed there.
Yes, sir.
But he has a very strong bias against any form of industry.
My God.
That's a shame.
Father, I think this requires your attention.
Would you excuse me for just a moment, please? Yes, sir.
- Who lives there? - Our workers.
Immigrants mostly.
Irish, German, Welsh.
A lot more than when I left.
I know.
They're not much better than your slave quarters, are they? They're worse.
At least our workers have a choice.
We don't own them.
We don't force them to work here.
They can leave whenever they want.
An empty belly is a pretty good reason to stay.
Are you saying that you don't like the way that we run the foundry? I don't have to like everything about what you do any more than you have to like everything we do.
I guess you're right.
I guess there's probably room for improvement on both sides.
I know there is.
That's why I wanted to visit and learn from you Yankees.
You're really serious about this cotton mill, aren't you? After the army, I'm dead serious if I can talk my father into it.
If Hazard Iron supplies the parts, you won't get a better deal.
I'm planning on using that argument on my father.
They sure don't feed us like this at West Point.
I'm glad you were the one who was there.
Soup, Mr.
Stanley.
- Late again, Billy.
- Sorry, sir.
Now, don't forget to put your napkin on your lap, Billy.
Salt and pepper, Mr.
Main? - Thank you, Miss Truscott.
- You're welcome, Mr.
Main.
I'm sorry you have to leave so soon.
Yes, there's a friend I have to see in Charleston before I head home.
A friend, Mr.
Main? I think it must be a lady.
And how do your instructors feel about your president? Well, sir, they like him.
Even when they don't agree But I've enjoyed my stay here very much.
Have you read something on Mr.
Polk's views? I think that Polk will annex Texas if he's elected president.
After all, he's a committed expansionist.
But it's wrong.
Texas belongs to Mexico.
And if he does, there will be war.
I just hope that Orry and I don't graduate too late to fight it.
They say we'll see action with Gen.
Zachary Taylor.
Wouldn't that be something? Mr.
Polk believes in Manifest Destiny, all right.
If this country is to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific, there will be plenty of action.
We know that.
Unless God strikes him dead first, which he deserves.
Can't any of you see? Expansionism is just another name for perpetuating the foul institution of slavery.
Virgilia, be quiet.
No, Mother.
Not this time.
I can't just sit by and listen to my own brother and a slave owner tell us how eager they are to fight when everyone knows that this a devil's war.
George, to annex Texas as a slave state I see you're still reading your abolitionists, Virgilia.
I'm doing more than reading, George.
I've joined their cause, and my allowance goes to support it.
Virgilia.
I have a right, Father.
I'm a grown woman, and I must decide for myself now.
And I will fight the ungodly evil that lives in the South.
Miss Hazard Perhaps if you knew more about our Southern way of life you wouldn't be so quick to condemn.
Mr.
Main, I know all I need to know.
And I will not sit down at a table with a man who chooses to keep his fellow human beings in bondage.
Orry, I'm afraid I have to apologize for my sister.
She sometimes lets her emotions run away with her.
Why don't you tell us some more about your plans for the cotton mill, Orry.
Yes, sir.
Strawberries.
Blueberries.
Berries, fresh berries, sweet berries, out on your front street.
Fresh berries.
Ain't nobody home, sir.
This is the Fabray house? Yes, sir, but they is all gone now.
Gone where? Me can't rightly say, sir.
But that house there been closed up for nearly a week now.
Thank you.
Yes, sir.
Strawberries! Blueberries! Berries, fresh Orry, you're home! Hello, sir.
I'll take care of him.
- Are you feeling all right, sir? - I'm just tired, son.
And worried about the cotton crop.
We didn't get enough rain after the spring planting.
Irrigating by hand is keeping the slaves away from other work.
The crop is still liable to be small.
We could still make a profit in spite of that if we milled our own cotton.
Son, we've argued this point before.
Father, you should have been with me at Hazard Iron.
I saw a hundred ways to improve Mont Royal.
You seem very anxious to change your home.
We can't ignore progress, sir.
We'll be left behind.
That's what the Hazards said and I'm very sure your friends know a great deal about running their foundry but a cotton plantation is different.
Every year, the South counts for less on a national level because we cling to manual labor.
That's enough, son.
I said I don't wish to discuss it.
Daddy, if you You just got home.
Go join your mother in the parlor.
I'll be along directly.
- He does, too! - Does not! - He does! - Not! All right.
Who does or doesn't do what? Brett says Priam doesn't deserve to get whipped.
And I say he does.
We don't punish our slaves that way.
We have ever since Salem Jones got here.
The new overseer Father wrote me about? Yes.
And Priam doesn't do anything bad.
But Salem Jones whips him anyhow.
Because Priam's uppity like his sister.
What has Semiramis got to do with this? Ever since Salem Jones has been sleeping with Semiramis Priam's been acting strange, and getting whipped a lot.
You two go upstairs, and be nice.
Who the hell are you? I'm Orry Main, Mr.
Jones.
Mr.
Main, sir I was coming up to meet you just as soon as I finished with this.
This is why I'm here.
What has Priam done? Why are you beating him? No crime, exactly.
It's his attitude, sir.
Priam don't show the proper respect.
A good overseer knows how to get a man's respect without beating him.
And we don't whip slaves at Mont Royal.
So you let Priam go.
Your father told me to handle these slaves any way I see fit.
I don't see fit to let you whip them.
Especially because it appears you enjoy it.
Now you do what I tell you and you let him go.
Now! Cuffey, Caesar! Get him down! You've been away two years, you'll be two more at the academy then another four in the army.
You're not running Mont Royal yet, and you'll not interfere with those who do.
Salem Jones gets more work out of the Negroes than anyone ever has.
That doesn't make him right.
Cruelty, like what I saw yesterday, makes both of you wrong.
Does it? Well, Salem Jones knows a thing or two.
What about that slave, Nat Turner, murdered 55 white people in cold blood? That was over 10 years ago in Virginia.
You think it couldn't happen here? With those abolitionists stirring up slaves against us.
Tillet, Orry, please.
We've got such a short time together while Orry's home on leave.
Let's not spoil it.
I'm sorry, Mother.
We're invited to a wedding this afternoon.
It wouldn't do for us to be fussing.
Whose wedding? Justin LaMotte.
I wrote you about it.
No, sir, you didn't.
Who is he marrying? Orry, she's the most beautiful girl you ever saw.
A Creole from New Orleans.
Her name is Madeline Fabray.
Do you, Justin, take Madeline for your lawful wedded wife promising to love, honor, and cherish her forsaking all others as long as you both shall live? I do.
And do you, Madeline, take Justin for your lawful wedded husband promising to love, honor, and obey him forsaking all others as long as you both shall live? I do.
In the sight of God and this company, I pronounce you man and wife.
We should pay our respects, son.
My very best wishes, Mrs.
LaMotte.
You are very kind, sir.
How nice of you to come.
Monsieur Main, I am so glad your family could come today.
It gives me the chance to thank you again for your courtesy toward my daughter.
Was she planning to marry Justin even then? No, she was not.
I had it in mind from the day I met him.
I knew he would be a perfect match for Madeline.
An older husband.
Wiser, more settled.
I see.
Tell me, how is life treating you in the military? As well as could be expected, sir.
Thank you.
Good day.
Cuffey, saddle my horse for me.
Yes, sir.
Orry, please don't go.
I have to ask you something.
What could possibly matter now? Why did you stop answering my letters? What? - I didn't.
You stopped answering mine.
- I didn't.
Papa.
It was Papa.
He destroyed your letters.
What? He wanted me to marry Justin.
But until now, I never knew how much.
Now it's too late.
Every day that I was away from you I kept thinking about the day I would make you my bride.
Better have this back now.
Don't you think I dreamed of you, too? I better leave.
Leaving, Main? See you again when you finish military school.
Come, my dear.
Our other guests are waiting.
Justin.
I didn't expect you so soon.
You've been up here half an hour, my dear.
I thought you'd be ready for me by now.
You're so beautiful.
So beautiful.
What's the matter with you? Nothing.
You're always so distant.
But not tonight.
I'll show you what it means to be my wife.
No! English