Photo courtesy of Erik Heinila/PBS
By Rachael Keeney
When the PBS series Mercy Street premiered at the beginning of 2016, Alexandria organized 10 visitor experiences designed to expand upon the true stories referenced in the Civil War-era TV drama. In anticipation of the show’s return last night, Alexandria announced 40 new Mercy Street visitor experiences, including tours, exhibits and lectures. Coupled with last year’s events, there are now 50 opportunities to dive deeper into the world and history of Mercy Street and Union-occupied Alexandria and the predominant social and racial tensions.
Mercy Me! Get into Character Costume Station
Jan. 22-Dec. 31
Alexandria Visitor Center: 221 King St.
Find out how you would look in Mercy Street-era garb by paying the Visitor Center’s dress-up station a visit. Strike a pose and share a photo on social media using the hashtag #MercyStreetPBS.
Civil War Wine Dinner with Gray Ghost Winery
Jan. 26, 7 p.m.
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum: 134 N. Royal St.
At 7 p.m., enjoy your first course at what once was the City Hotel while chatting with representatives from Gray Ghost Vineyards, a vineyard that was operated by Confederate commander John S. Mosby. Top off the evening with more 19th-century food and wine in the main dining room.
From Slavery to Freedom and This Tide of Wounded tours
Feb. 4 & 18
Lee-Fendall House 614 Oronoco St.
The Lee-Fendall House looks at the true stories of Mercy Street’s “contrabands” by studying the house’s enslaved inhabitants in the From Slavery to Freedom tour, held at 2 p.m. Early birds can opt for the 10 a.m. This Tide of Wounded tour, which covers how the Lee-Fendall house once acted as a Civil War hospital.
Love and Romance Between the Lines
Feb. 11, noon-4 p.m.
Carlyle House Historic Park: 121 N. Fairfax St.
Reenactors will portray lovebirds Frank Stringfellow and Emma Green while you enjoy an era-appropriate chocolate treat at this open house event. The Who These Wounded Are exhibit will also be open at this time.
Freedom’s Fight in Alexandria Walking Tour
Begins Feb. 11
Kate Waller Barrett Library: 717 Queen St.
This walking tour, led by John Taylor Chapman, lasts one hour and 15 minutes and will discuss Alexandria’s role in domestic and international slave trade and recognize those who fought back.
Photo courtesy of C Mouledoux for Visit Alexandria
“Sweet as Sin” lecture and candy tasting
Feb. 18, 11 a.m.
Alexandria Black History Museum: 902 Wythe St.
Candy historian and author Susan Benjamin will discuss African-Americans’ role in the candy-making industry, particularly sugar production, in a lecture that draws from her book, Sweet as Sin: The Unwrapped Story of How Candy Became America’s Favorite Pleasure. Guests will get to taste-test candy made using 19th-century recipes.
“Starving the South” lecture and book signing
Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m.
The Lyceum: 201 S. Washington St.
Learn about food’s role in battle, military campaigns and civilian life during the Civil War. Specifically, this lecture will consider why the South suffered from hunger while the North, despite it being the smaller agricultural region, managed to both feed its troops and export a surplus to Europe.
James Green and Thomas Day: Furniture, Family, and Race in 19th Century Virginia
March 18, 2 p.m.
Lee-Fendall House: 614 Oronoco St.
Virginia Sectional Furniture 1800-1860 author Hal Stuart will compare and contrast two prominent 19th-century furniture-makers, Thomas Day and Alexandria’s own James Green. Green’s store is featured in Mercy Street.
“Building Houses Out of Chicken Legs: Black Women, Food, and Power” lecture and book signing
March 25, 11 a.m.
Alexandria Black History Museum: 902 Wythe St.
Dr. Psyche A. Williams-Forson’s lecture will address the relationship between food, culture, racism, slavery, travel and entrepreneurship through the ages, drawing from her book, Building Houses Out of Chicken Legs: Black Women, Food, and Power.
Apothecary of Mercy Specialty Tour
Through April 9
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum: 107 S. Fairfax St.
This 45-minute walking tour through a family-owned apothecary offers a new perspective on the thematic elements central to the Mercy Street series. Groups are capped at 15 people.
This Terrible Disease
Through Dec. 31
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum: 107 S. Fairfax St.
The Leadbeater family’s drugstore sold a variety of medications necessary for treating the diseases that plagued soldiers and civilians—smallpox and malaria especially. Prescriptions, records and information about the store’s customers will be on display.