The 6-part series premieres Sunday, January 17, 2016 at 10/9c.
Based on real events, MERCY STREET takes viewers beyond the front lines of the Civil War and into the lives of a diverse cast of characters — doctors, nurses, contraband laborers and Southern loyalists — who intersect in the chaotic world of Union-occupied Alexandria, Virginia, and the Mansion House Hospital.
Take a look:
For every man killed in battle, two died of illness or disease. Bad drinking water and food, poor clothing and mosquitoes were a major cause of illness. Caring for the sick and wounded during the Civil War was a major problem.
Most doctors didn’t understand the need to wash their hands to prevent infections. Often the injured died from infections, rather than from the wound itself. Medicine was also very primitive. The only treatment for a broken arm or leg was to amputate, or cut off the limb. Hospital care also left much to be desired. Hospital care varied from buildings, churches, barns and tents to wagons in the middle of a battle field.
Here is a featurette on the accuracy:
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