Through the Lens of Mercy Street

Last Updated by Shauna Devine on

In this blog post, Devine discusses the development of scientific medicine and professional practice during the Civil War years.

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Epistolary Nation(s)

Last Updated by Jane Schultz on

In this blog post, Jane Schultz, Ph.D., discusses the cultural significance of letter writing in nineteenth-century America, especially during the Civil War.

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Reconstructing the Family Unit: Repairing Bonds Broken by Slavery

Last Updated by Kenyatta D. Berry on

In this blog post, Kenyatta D. Berry, J.D., discusses marriages of former slaves in Virginia and recounts her own family story.

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Mercy Street Season 2, Episode 6 GIF Recap

Last Updated by Mercy Street Editor on

Catch up on Episode 6, House of Bondage, with an episode recap. Warning: Spoilers ahead.

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'Freedom of Matrimony': Celebrating Love in an Era of Emancipation

Last Updated by Anya Jabour on

Anya Jabour, Ph.D., explains that for emancipated African Americans, wedding celebrations offered one of the first opportunities to enjoy freedom.

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Until Death or Distance: Romance and Marriage Among Contrabands

Posted by Audrey Davis on

Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the customs and challenges of marriage during slavery.

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Parasitic Diseases, Microscopy and the American Civil War

Last Updated by Shauna Devine on

Shauna Devine, Ph.D., discusses 19th Century microscopes and parasitic diseases and their treatments during the Civil War.

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African American Men in the Union Medical Service

Last Updated by Jane Schultz on

In this blog post, Jane Schultz, Ph.D., gives some background to Samuel Diggs' character by examining the real-life African American men who practiced medicine as surgeons during the Civil War.

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Mercy Street Season 2, Episode 5 GIF Recap

Last Updated by Mercy Street Editor on

Catch up on Episode 5, Unknown Soldier, with an episode recap. Warning: Spoilers ahead.

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Making a Change: Educating Former Slaves

Last Updated by Anya Jabour on

Anya Jabour, Ph.D., explains that even though they were denied education in slavery, African Americans were determined to have it in freedom.

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Roots of Resistance

Last Updated by Kenyatta D. Berry on

Genealogist Kenyatta D. Berry discusses slave resistance in the Colonies and Caribbean, and how education and resistance later went hand-in-hand.

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Code-switching and Fluidity as a Strategy for Survival

Last Updated by Audrey Davis on

Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the coping mechanisms African American characters must employ to survive plot twists and power struggles in Mercy Street.

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Nursing the Enemy

Last Updated by Jane Schultz on

In this blog post, Jane E. Schultz, Ph.D., details the relief work done by clergy and laypeople during the Civil War and the complex subject of nursing the enemy.

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Mercy Street Season 2, Episode 4 GIF Recap

Last Updated by Mercy Street Editor on

Catch up on Episode 5, Southern Mercy, with an episode recap. Warning: Spoilers ahead.

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'I Wanted to Do My Part': Women as Soldiers in Civil War America

Last Updated by Anya Jabour on

Anya Jabour, Ph.D., explores the multitude of women who dressed as men to fight—and die—in all the major battles of the Civil War.

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