The Blue and the Gray is a television miniseries

Miniseries

A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...

 that first aired on CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 in three installments on November 14, November 16, and November 17, 1982. Set during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, the series starred John Hammond, Stacy Keach

Stacy Keach

Stacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...

, Lloyd Bridges

Lloyd Bridges

Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...

, and Gregory Peck

Gregory Peck

Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...

 as President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

. It was executive produced by Larry White and Lou Reda, in association with Columbia Pictures Television

Columbia Pictures Television

Columbia Pictures Television was the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems . The studio changed its name on September 4, 1974.-1974-1982:...

, then owned by The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...

.

Synopsis

The plot revolves around the families of two sisters; Maggie Geyser and Evelyn Hale. The Geysers are southern farmers from Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...

. The Hales own a small newspaper in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...

. The Geysers are generally indifferent to the issue of slavery but are sympathetic to the Southern cause. The lone exception in the family is son John, an artistic young man who becomes sympathetic to the plight of southern slaves

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

 and free blacks

Free Negro

A free Negro or free black is the term used prior to the abolition of slavery in the United States to describe African Americans who were not slaves. Almost all African Americans came to the United States as slaves, but from the earliest days of American slavery, slaveholders set men and women free...

. The Hales are pro-Union and anti-slavery, but like many northerners at the time they hope for a peaceful solution to the nation's problems.

The drama begins in 1859 when John Geyser, the primary protagonist, becomes bored with life on the farm and travels to Pennsylvania to work as an artist correspondent for the newspaper of his uncle Jacob Hale, Sr. John's first assignment takes him to the trial of abolitionist John Brown

John Brown (abolitionist)

John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...

 where he meets and befriends the mysterious Jonas Steele, a former Jayhawker

Jayhawker

Jayhawkers is a term that came to prominence just before the American Civil War in Bleeding Kansas, where it was adopted by militant bands affiliated with the free-state cause. These bands, known as "Jayhawkers", were guerrilla fighters who often clashed with pro-slavery groups from Missouri known...

 and Pinkerton detective

Pinkerton National Detective Agency

The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...

.

After falling out with his family over the issues of slavery and secession over the Christmas of 1860, John returns to Pennsylvania for good. John's three brothers Matthew, Mark, and Luke will eventually serve in the Confederate Army. His three male Hale cousins Jake, Malachi, and James join the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

. Caught "betwixt and between", John will not fight for the South but is unwilling to bear arms against his own brothers. After being reunited with Jonas Steele, who has joined the Union Army as a scout, John becomes a war correspondent

War correspondent

A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...

 for Harper's Weekly

Harper's Weekly

Harper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor...

. John travels with the Union Army and witnesses many of the important events of the Civil War including First Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...

, the Peninsula Campaign

Peninsula Campaign

The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...

, the Siege of Vicksburg, the Wilderness

Battle of the Wilderness

The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...

, Lee's surrender at Appomattox

Battle of Appomattox Courthouse

The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was the final engagement of Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, and one of the last battles of the American...

 and Abraham Lincoln's assassination

Abraham Lincoln assassination

The assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, as the American Civil War was drawing to a close. The assassination occurred five days after the commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee, and his battered Army of...

. The Battle of Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...

 is a prominent focal point of the story although John Geyser does not witness it firsthand. During the course of the war John meets and falls in love with Kathy Reynolds, a Washington socialite turned battlefield nurse. Two of the Geysers, Matthew and Mark, are killed. Even the Hale family loses two children Mary and James. The two families share a poignant reunion after the end of the war.

Cast

Actor	Role
John Hammond	John Geyser
Stacy Keach Stacy Keach Stacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...	Jonas Steele
Colleen Dewhurst Colleen Dewhurst Colleen Rose Dewhurst was a Canadian-American actress known for a while as "the Queen of Off-Broadway." In her autobiography, Dewhurst wrote: "I had moved so quickly from one Off-Broadway production to the next that I was known, at one point, as the 'Queen of Off-Broadway'...	Maggie Geyser
Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...	Ben Geyser
Kathleen Beller Kathleen Beller Kathleen Beller is an actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in Promises in the Dark...	Kathy Reynolds
Brian Kerwin Brian Kerwin Brian Kerwin is an American actor.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Kerwin won the Theatre World Award in 1988 for the off-Broadway play Emily. His Broadway theatre credits include the 1997 revival of The Little Foxes and the Elaine May comedy After the Night and the Music in 2005...	Malachy Hale
Bruce Abbott Bruce Abbott Bruce Paul Abbott is an American actor. He has appeared in movies such as Re-Animator, Bad Dreams, The Prophecy II, Out of Time, and Bride of Re-Animator, and the TV series Dark Justice....	Jacob "Jake" Hale, Jr.
Cooper Huckabee Cooper Huckabee Cooper Huckabee is an film and television actor.-Early life:Huckabee attended Davidson High School in Mobile, Alabama. At USM, he received an Athletic Administration Degree.-Acting career:...	Matthew Geyser
Michael Horton Michael Horton (actor) Michael "Mike" Horton is an American character actor and voice over artist most remembered for his long-running role as Jessica Fletcher's nephew, Grady Fletcher, on the television series Murder, She Wrote...	Mark Geyser
Julia Duffy Julia Duffy Julia Duffy is an American actress from Minneapolis, Minnesota, specializing in character roles, best known as the spoiled rich girl and Dick Loudon's inn maid, Stephanie Vanderkellen, on the 1980s sitcom, Newhart.-Career:Duffy's early caeer included parts in soap operas such as One Life to Live,...	Mary Hale Steele
Penny Peyser Penny Peyser Penny Peyser is an actress. She graduated from Emerson College in Boston in 1973.-Career:Peyser is best known for her role as Cindy in the 1980s series Crazy Like a Fox...	Emma Geyser Bedell
Warren Oates Warren Oates Warren Mercer Oates was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia...	Major Welles
Sterling Hayden Sterling Hayden Sterling Hayden was an American actor and author. For most of his career as a leading man, he specialized in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Later on he became noted as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr...	John Brown John Brown (abolitionist) John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
Diane Baker Diane Baker Diane Carol Baker is an American actress who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959.-Early life:...	Evelyn Hale
Dan Shor Dan Shor Daniel Shor is an American veteran actor, director, writer and teacher with a career spanning over 30 years.- Early life :Shor was born and raised in New York City. Attended McBurney school from 6th thru 8th grade...	Luke Geyser
Gregory Peck Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...	Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
Paul Winfield Paul Winfield Paul Edward Winfield was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film Sounder which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Winfield also portrayed Dr....	Jonathan Henry
Robert Vaughn Robert Vaughn Robert Francis Vaughn, , is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work. His best known roles include the suave spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., wealthy detective Harry Rule in the 1970s television series The Protectors, Albert Stroller in...	Senator Reynolds
Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun was an American television and film actor, screenwriter and producer, best known for his roles in Westerns.-Early life:...	General George G. Meade
Gregg Henry Gregg Henry Gregg Lee Henry is an American theatre, film and television character actor and rock, blues and country musician.-Biography:...	Lester Bedell
David W. Harper David W. Harper David William Harper is an American actor.Harper is most noted for the role of Jim Bob Walton, which he first portrayed in the 1971 movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, and subsequently in the series The Waltons...	James Hale
Robin Gammell	Jacob Hale, Sr.
Geraldine Page Geraldine Page Geraldine Sue Page was an American actress. Although she starred in at least two dozen feature films, she is primarily known for her celebrated work in the American theater...	Mrs. Lovelace
Rip Torn Rip Torn Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...	Gen. Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
Gerald S. O'Loughlin Gerald S. O'Loughlin Gerald Stuart O'Loughlin, Jr. is an American television, stage, and film actor and director who was primarily known for playing tough-talking and rough-looking characters.-Career:...	Sgt. O'Toole
John Voldstad	Alvin Mooney
Gregg Palmer Gregg Palmer Gregg Palmer, originally Palmer Lee is an American actor, known primarily for his prolific work in television westerns...	Bull Run Colonel
Julius Harris Julius Harris Julius W. Harris was an American actor who appeared in more than 70 movies and numerous television series in a career that spanned four decades.-Early life and career:...	Swamp Preacher
Royce D. Applegate Royce D. Applegate Royce D. Applegate was an American actor and screenwriter. Born in Oklahoma, his most visible role was that of Chief Petty Officer Manilow Crocker on the first season of the Steven Spielberg-produced television series seaQuest DSV.In 1985, Applegate played tragic family man-turned-kidnapper Donald...	1st Cell Reporter
Noble Willingham Noble Willingham Noble Henry Willingham, Jr. was an American television and film actor.-Career:Willingham had appeared in more than thirty feature films, including Harry's War , Up Close and Personal , City Slickers , The Last Boy Scout , City Slickers II , Ace Ventura: Pet Detective , Chinatown...	Cavalry General on Balloon Field
Paul Benedict Paul Benedict Paul Benedict was an American actor who made numerous appearances in television and movies beginning in the 1960s...	Arbuthnot
William Lucking William Lucking William Lucking is an American film, television, and stage actor perhaps best known for his role as Piney Winston in the drama series Sons of Anarchy.-Film and television:...	Capt. Potts
Charles Napier Charles Napier (actor) Charles L. Napier was an American actor, known for his portrayals of square-jawed tough guys and military types.-Early life:...	Maj. Harrison
George Newbern George Newbern George Young Newbern is an American television and film actor best known for his roles as Bryan MacKenzie in Father of the Bride and its sequel Father of the Bride Part II as well as Danny in Friends...	Private Lawrence 'Coward' Jones
Walter Olkewicz Walter Olkewicz Walter Olkewicz is an actor who played Marko in Wizards and Warriors and Coach Wordman in Making the Grade. He also guest starred in many TV shows including Night Court, Seinfeld, ER, and Who's The Boss...	Pvt. Grundy
Duncan Regehr Duncan Regehr Duncan Peter Regehr is a Canadian writer, multi-media artist, and film and television actor. He has also been a figure skater, an Olympic boxing contender, and a classically trained Shakespearean stage actor in his native Canada, before heading to Hollywood in 1980...	Capt. Randolph
John Vernon John Vernon John Keith Vernon was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada.-Early life:...	Secretary of State Seward

DVD release

The Blue and the Gray was released on Region 1 DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

in 3- and 2-disc sets. The first was released on November 6, 2001, and the second on July 26, 2005. The 3-disc edition runs 381 minutes, while the 2-disc edition is an abridged 296-minute cut.