The Blue and the Gray (miniseries)

The Blue and the Gray is a television miniseries that first aired on CBS in three installments on November 14, November 16, and November 17, 1982. Set during the American Civil War, the series starred John Hammond, Stacy Keach, Lloyd Bridges, and Gregory Peck as President Abraham Lincoln. It was executive produced by Larry White and Lou Reda, in association with Columbia Pictures Television. A novel of the same name by John Leekley, Bruce Catton and Ian McLellan Hunter was published as a companion to the series in 1983. The colors in the title refer to United States Army and Confederate States Army uniforms of the period, respectively.

The drama begins in 1859 when John leaves the Geyser family farm for Pennsylvania, where he gets a job as an artist correspondent for the paper owned by his uncle, Jacob Hale, Sr. Johns first assignment takes him to the trial of abolitionist John Brown, where he meets and befriends the mysterious Jonas Steele, a former Jayhawker and Pinkerton detective. Jonas returns with John to Gettysburg and falls in love with Johns cousin Mary, but is afraid to commit to her, thanks to his troubling dreams that seem to predict the future.After falling out with his family over the issues of slavery and secession during Christmas of 1860, John returns to Pennsylvania, while Johns brothers Matthew, Mark, and Luke join the Confederate Army. Johns cousins, Malachy and Jake Hale, join the Union Army. The Hales youngest child, 16yearold James, lies about his age to join the Union Army, but contracts an illness and dies before he sees any action. 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 for Harpers Weekly. John travels with the Union Army and witnesses many of the important events of the Civil War, including First Bull Run, the Peninsula Campaign, the Siege of Vicksburg, Battle of the Wilderness where his brother Mark is killed in front of him, Lees surrender at Appomattox and Abraham Lincolns assassination. ........

Source: Wikipedia