Original subtitles

[breathing heavily]

[dogs barking in background]

[men yelling indistinctly]

something's gone through here!

he's headed for the creek!

let's get him!

[men yelling]

rick's got somethin'\nin his mouth!

head left here!

[men yelling indistinctly]

all right! come on, boys!\nlet's get him!

samuel pinkney\nwas accused of killing

a white\nplantation owner.

Some of what you've been\ntaught about the american

south before the civil war\nis true, some is not.

Sam was condemned without\na trial and killed for crimes

that my research suggests\nhe did not commit.

He had lived peaceably on\na plantation in culpepper,

virginia, owned by\none sarah mccullough.

Unfortunately, we may never\nknow the whole story regarding

samuel pinkney and this is\nboth a sad fact of history

and, for me,\na personal tragedy because...

Samuel pinkney\nwas my distant grandfather.

[people murmuring]

i do wish we had a complete\npicture so that samuel pinkney

would finally be free.

Thank you.

Professor hawkins?

yes?

jessica fletcher.

Oh, the writer?

yes.

Ha! i've read several\nof your books.

I enjoy them thoroughly.

Oh, thank you.

You know, i was most\nintrigued by your lecture.

You know, i believe that we\nmay share a common heritage.

We do?

well, i believe\nthat sarah mccullough,

the woman you say owned\nsamuel pinkney was

a very distant aunt of mine.

Really?

well,\ni've always heard about that

side of my family who came\nover from ireland and settled

in virginia, oh, around the\nturn of the 18th century.

In fact, that is the\nreason i came down here.

I wanted to come\nto culpepper and try\nto make the connection.

Well, consider\nyourself connected.

I have to say though it's a\nlittle disconcerting to learn

that my distant aunt\nwas a slave owner.

Well, sadly,\nthe skeleton of slavery

resides in a lot of family\nclosets down here.

Well,\nnevertheless, i do have

a sense of responsibility\nand a need to apologize.

Ohh.

The only responsibility you\nhave we all have, and that's

for the living.

Well, i couldn't agree more.

How are you so sure\nthat samuel was owned

by sarah mccullough?

well, this...

Read the inscription.

"to samuel pinkney\nfrom s. Mccullough"?

my cousin gave this\nto me several months ago

and it prompted me to look\nfurther into things.

Maybe you have some\ninformation that could help me

fill in some of the blanks.

I really don't know\nanything about my aunt,

but i am curious.

You said in your lecture\nthat you believed that samuel

was wrongly accused of murder.

Tell me, what facts lead\nyou to that conclusion?

there's a cemetery,\nnot too far from here,

where i have found samuel\npinkney's second grave.

His second grave?

miss fletcher, samuel pinkney\nis buried in 2 places.

"samuel pinkney, born august\n4, 1832. Died june 25, 1860."

yes, those are\nthe dates on this marker,

but this is from a headstone\nin a cemetery in pennsylvania.

"samuel pinkney, born august\n4, 1832, culpepper, virginia,

died november 6, 1894."

this is the same man?

you tell me.

According to the newspaper\naccounts from that period,

samuel pinkney was killed\nhere in virginia and the dates

on this marker\ncorrespond with that.

But this is from a headstone\nthat i had found in pennsylvania

in a county where\nmy people settled.

Now, both men have the same\nname, same date of birth,

same town of origin.

But this death date\nis 30 years later.

Exactly.

And there's some other facts\nthat i found at the local

historical society that\ndon't line up either.

I'd be very\ninterested to see those.

The white plantation owner\nwho was murdered was named

robert mercer and\nhere's a photograph.

You know, judging from these\nglowing reports, you wonder

why anybody would have\nwanted to murder him.

He looks like a very\ndecent sort of person.

One of our more\nnoteworthy virginia sons,

lost before his time and\nmurdered on his wedding night.

I'm stanford thornton.

I'm a longtime\nstudent of the south

and war between the states.

I assume you were\ndiscussing the pinkney case.

Yes, do you know\nsomething about it?

i know it was a tragedy.

The articles say he was going\nto receive a fair trial.

It was just a shame\nthat he chose to run.

Well,\ngiven the climate of the day,

you wonder if pinkney felt\nthat the verdict was already

in before the trial started.

I know there were abuses\nin the antebellum south,

but not in our county.

That is, of course,\nif you don't consider

slavery itself an abuse.

Oh, we all agree.\nslavery was wrong.

But i find that people are\nsometimes, shall i say,

overeager to paint every\nsoutherner with the brush

of racial bigotry.

Our finer southern institutions\nare often misrepresented.

I'm touching on that very\ntopic in my lecture across

the way in the park.

Hmm. Cassandra is\nlecturing here, too.

I'm sorry, i didn't\ncatch your name.

Ms...

Hawkins.\ndr. Cassandra hawkins.

What is your interest\nin the pinkney case?

samuel pinkney was\nmy distant grandfather.

Really? i see.

I trust there's no\nagenda in your pursuit.

Agenda?

i believe that personal\npilgrimages can sometimes lead

people to make historical\nevents what they want

them to be rather\nthan what they are.

I agree.

If you ladies will excuse me.

Oh, dear.\ni must get to my lecture.

If anyone ever\nhad an agenda.

That man's agenda's more\nobvious than a politician

trying to get votes.

You know him?

oh, he's forever trying

to influence how we present\nhistory here at the museum,

as if he's the self-appointed\nprotector

of all things southern.

Would you be so kind as\nto put on these gloves?

the letters are quite fragile.

Now i have some documents that\ni think might be of some help

and some personal effects\nfrom the mccullough estate.

You have some documents\nfrom my aunt sarah?

oh, yes, some\nwere preserved.

Most,\nunfortunately, were lost.

She didn't have any children\nso there was nobody

left to maintain her legacy.

These are her letters?

mm-hmm.

Uh-huh, i see.

1846, 1852.

I think you're going\nto want to read this one.

It should be dated\njune 20, 1860.

It's about the murder.

Now that is just\nbefore samuel died.

Now that was written to\na friend, abigail pennington,

in charlottesville.

"dear abigail, you\nprobably read in the papers

"about the accusations leveled\nagainst my friend and faithful

"servant, samuel pinkney,

"regarding that\ndreadful murder.

"but i sensed that something\nwasn't right at the reception

the other day after\nthe mercer wedding."

[chatter]

[horses neighing]

judge martin! well!\nwhat a pleasure!

great to see you!

why, thank you.

Very nice to see you.

[overlapping chatter]

[horses neighing]

oh, thank you.\nplease enjoy yourself.

Hello, people.\ny'all come on in now.

Come on in.

Ooh, mary.

You looked simply regal\ncoming down that aisle.

Tell me who made your dress.

I had it sent from atlanta.

Oh,\ni believe you're spoiling this

daughter of yours, mr. Hart.

Well, nothing's too good\nfor my mary.

I should say so, sir.

My, look at that picture.

Culpepper's most beautiful\nyoung lady has stolen

the heart of its most\neligible bachelor.

I know they're going to make\na beautiful home up there

on that big old spread of his.

My princess has\nfinally got her kingdom.

Miss ashland, general.

My lady,\nyou look beautiful.

I did not fall in love\nwith a piece of property,

jed bucknell, i fell in love\nwith a man, a man who isn't

carried off by the\nfirst breeze that comes

in fluttering her eyelashes.

Well,\nmrs. Mercer, unlike some people

here, i've been\ntraining to fight

for our beloved south.

Of course, i never dreamt i'd\nhave to come back and fight

for my girl, too.

What you consider a battle,\ni believe mary would

characterize as\na willing surrender.

Sweet are the spoils of war.

[horse neighing]

mary,\nwould you just look at you.

Your mother, god rest\nher soul, she would have

been so proud.

My goodness me,\nthis is so exciting.

Miss sarah.\ncharles.

I brought the\nextra silverware.

Where shall we put it?

just have sam drive it\naround back to the kitchen.

Jim and mary bell are there,\nthey'll attend to it.

Charles, i'm sorry i didn't\nget these to you yesterday,

but we've been quite\nbusy with plans

for the wedding and all,

and i guess that sam just\nplum forgot.

They're just like\nchildren, aren't they?

always forgetting everything,\nexcept what time supper is.

Pardon me.

Well, i see he didn't forget

to wear his sunday best\nnow, did he?

if i didn't know any better,\ni'd say you were trying to

upstage the lucky\ngroom himself.

I was just trying\nto honor miss mary

on her special day, sir.\nspend my own money.

Your own money?\nis that a fact?

yes, sir.

Miss mccullough.

You're not paying this\nslave wages, are you?

he earns it.

It's not much, but it's an\nincentive to do good work.

You do yourself\none better, ma'am,

if you get a hold\nof a good overseer.

His whip would give sam\nplenty of incentive

to do a good job.\nain't that right, sam?

won't it, sam?

why, that is a mighty fine vest\nyou're wearing there, sam.

Don't get all\ntouchy with me, boy.

I'm just looking at\nyour fancy button now.

Now you see what you\nmade me go and do?

slaves shouldn't be\nwearing such things anyway,

should they?

ah!

that was uncalled for.

What's uncalled for,\nmiss mccullough, is you paying

this slave wages.

Here now!

why don't y'all just\nmake your way right on

into the house? i know mary\nbell's got some treats

and spice punch\nfor everybody.

I think we could all stand to\ncool down a little bit here.

Jeb!

sam?

i'll be seeing you, boy.

Yes, sir, mr. Hobbs.

I will thank you\nto consider that today

is mary's wedding day\nand just leave it alone.

Now we don't want\nto ruin her special day,

now would i, sir?

ma'am.

Sarah, my profound\napologies.

Thank you, charles.

It's a good thing that\nsomeone still recognizes

a violation\nof human dignity.

[dog barking]

get.

I am sorry, sam.

That's all right,\nmiss sarah.

I'd best be getting this\nchina around to the kitchen.

This here old dog don't\nlike me being here either.

[dog barking]

go on.

Yes, this is a very\nhappy day for me, thank you.

Well, quite a party, robert.

It's awful generous\nof mr. Hobbs

to put on such an affair.

Well, he does\nindulge that girl.

But now you gotta.

You better hang\nonto your purse.

I'll do my best\nto provide for her.

I'm sure\nyou will, sir.

But, you know, you could\nimprove your financial

position by simply selling\nme that 120 acres

you've got next to my land.

As i said before, when\ni'm ready to sell it...

I know. I'll be\nthe first to know.

Yes, sir.

Ha ha ha.\nwhat i don't understand

is why you don't put some crops

in there... Tobacco,\nkeeping a grassland

can't be\nthe most profitable.

Oh, that's\nquite an undertaking.

Sure.

I can handle a few cattle\nand sheep, and, of course,

i have my\nleather goods business.

Now i know a man\nin lauden county,

he's about to sell\nsome real good field hands.

Why, with the work they'd\noffer, you could recoup your

investment rather quickly.

I don't reckon i'm\nready for all that.

Well... Ha ha... Look, robert,

i know you're not partial\nto owning slaves.

So, you just get yourself a few.

You don't have to work\nthe poor creatures to death.

I mean,\nyou'll be doing them a favor...

You provide them\na home and meals.

It's better than they could\ndo on their own out there.

Will i have\nto dance all afternoon

and never once\nwith my husband?

if you'll excuse me,\nmr. Ashland.

Certainly, sir. Ma'am.

So i need to know how much\nlivestock and how many hands

you want to sell.\nso, you get back to me.

Powder flask\nand bullet holder.

And best of all, gentlemen,

it fires 6 shots\nbefore having to reload.

Yes, sir.

I get 6 yankees\nwithin 50 yards...

I'll show them just how\nhot old dixieland can be.

Well, let's just\nhope this whole thing

can be resolved\nwithout bloodshed.

With all due respect,\nmr. Hobbs,

those yankees have proven\nthey're not willing to uphold

our rights here in the south.

So, why, i'm afraid, sir,

we're just going to\nhave to assert ourself

by a show of arms.

Well,\ni've certainly taken

that position in my newspaper

and i've only had a handful

of naysayers attack\nmy editorials.

Mr. Ashland, you are\npreaching to the choir here

with that rag, sir.

Why, everybody in this room

knows exactly what\nour priorities are.

Don't we, gentlemen?

we start a war with the\nyankees, and for every gun

of ours, they're got factories\nup north can make 100.

Mr. Mercer, are you saying\nthey're better than us?

no, not better, bigger.

If there's a war, they'll\njust keep coming and coming.

I reckon if you're\nnot vested in the south,

then you have no interest\nin preserving her.

Your implication,\nmr. Bucknell?

my implication, mr. Mercer?

well, let's see,

you're always off doing business\nwith the northerners.

Why, i even hear you're\na proponent of free cotton.

Now, could you explain that\nfree cotton to me when you

have to pay\na slave to pick it?

the idea has merit,\nthat's all.

It better be all, mr. Mercer.

It better be.

♪ oh, i wish i was in\nthe land of cotton ♪

♪ old times there... ♪

mr. Hobbs, sir!

yes, sir.

Do you mind, sir, if i\nkeep this in your gun case

for safekeeping?

not at all.

Sarah.

Everything all\nright, charles?

fine, fine.

We just ran out of ice,

so i just want to make sure\ny'all are comfortable.

Well, i think\nthat uncomfortable

is the proper word.

We're all overstuffed\nas housecats around here.

Now, look, i could have sam\nrun over to my ice house

and get some.

Oh, now, sam doesn't have\nto be out running around.

Is there a problem?

excuse me, sir.

Mr. Hobbs, the guests are\nwondering when you're fixing

to cut the cake.

They're having trouble\nfinding the bride and groom.

Have you see them?\nyes, i have.

Well, i've seen robert.\nrobert's out back with sam.

Well, how about\ni go fetch him?

would you do that?

and have him meet us\nin the ballroom.

I certainly will.

Sam?

miss sarah.

Robert,\neverything all right? sam?

oh, yes, ma'am.

The wagon was sounding\na little funny.

Probably just a split rim.

Yeah. Robert,\nthey're looking for you.

They're getting ready\nto cut the cake.

I better be\ngetting back inside.

Charles said\nthey run out of ice.

Sam, could y'all run over\nto our place and get some?

oh, yes, ma'am.

Sam, why don't you fetch\nsome over at my place?

it's closer.

Sure enough, mr. Mercer.

Here.

You'll need these.

Thank you.

Don't be\ntoo long, sam.

I appreciate\nyour trust in sam.

Well, how's that?

with your keys?

most people around these\nparts wouldn't do that.

Who's not going\nto trust sam?

[crying] jeb, this isn't\nthe time or the place.

Mary?

there you are.

I believe they're\nwanting to cut the cake.

Well, yes, of course.

Everybody wants to\nsee the lovely bride.

So pure and altogether\ninnocent.

I guess our little princess\njust can't handle all

the emotions of her\nnewfound bliss.

I want you to say it.

Say what?

call me by my name.

Mrs. Robert mercer.

Mmm.

[moaning]

[2 thumps]

i thought i heard something.

It's just the\nbeating of my heart.

[chuckling]

mmm!

[crash]

[horse neighing]

what is it?

i don't know.

There's something out there.

I better check.

Oh, robert, come now.

It'll only be a minute.

I think someone's down\nat the harness shop.

Can you see anything?

no, i can't.

I'll be right back.

I'm not going anywhere.

[door opens and closes]

[door creaking]

[creaking]

[man breathing]

what are you doing here?

[gunshots]

robert!

hyah!

[horse neighing]

robert.

Mary,\ni promise you, this tragedy

will not go unpunished.

I can assure you i will use\nevery resource at my disposal

to bring whoever did\nthis to justice.

Mary, you say you saw\na man on horseback.

Yes.

What did he look like?

i didn't see his face.

Was it a slave?

no.

Would you please stop asking\nme all these questions?

cornelius, jeb, please!

who'd do such a thing?

i don't know.

I can't even imagine.

Charles.

What have you got there,\nmr. Ashland?

it's a button,\na brass button.

Let me see that.

That's sarah's\nslave's button.

Are you sure?

positive. Saw the same button\non that vest of his.

Let's go.

Now remember, boys, we don't\nwant to scare this slave off

or hurt miss sarah.

Y'all take it slow and easy\nuntil we get to the barn.

[nickering]

come on out, sam!

we know you're in there!

there's a light on in\nthe barn, gentlemen.

I think he's home.

Come on out, sam!

yeah, sam, come on out!

sam!

where are you, boy?\nwe know you're in here.

Come on, boy!\ncome on, boy!

where are you, sam?

where are you?

check in the stalls.

Be careful, boys.\nhe could have a weapon.

Hold on, y'all.\ni got him.

[all yelling at once]

i'm going to\nhurt you, sam.

Throw that!

[grunting]

[groaning]

bring it down!

aah!

come on!\nget him up!

get him up! get him up!

there you go!\nhold it! hold it!

i've got it.

What did robert mercer ever\ndo to you to deserve what you

done to him, boy?

i ain't done nothing.

Don't lie to me!\naah!

hold up!\nwe'll tie him!

what in the\nworld is going on?

stay out of this,\nmiss mccullough.

It's got nothing to\ndo with you, ma'am.

For no reason?

you're about to hang a man\ni've known since he was a boy?

it's got everything\nto do with me.

Sarah, poor robert\nmercer was murdered tonight.

Murdered?

yeah,\nwe found this here button

no more than 3 feet from\nwhere somebody shot him.

Now you tell me\nthat isn't sam's.

Off of sam's fancy\nvest he's wearing.

Mr. Bucknell\ntore that button off.

Shut up.\nwell, he's right.

Anybody could\nhave picked it up.

They never did\nfind that button.

You accusing\none of us, boy? huh? uh!

aah!

lookee here.\nwhat have we got?

look what he stole.

Not only is he a lying\nmurderer, he is also a thief.

That's his watch.

"to samuel pinkney\nfrom s. Mccullough."

he didn't steal it.\ni gave it to him.

What are you doing, sarah?

pandering to your slave?

he does deliveries for me.

I want him to be on time.

It's... It's just good business.

Now, y'all listen to me.

I'm as destroyed as everyone\nelse about what has happened

to robert here,\nbut to hang a man

over a button\nis sheer lunacy.

Now despite what y'all\nmay think about my treatment

of him, he is my legal\nproperty and you are not doing

anything to him until\nthe sheriff becomes involved

and we have\na proper investigation.

Now you all get home\nand cool your heels.

Well, we're going to get\nthe sheriff over here.

You can't protect him.

You better stay put because\nif you run, i swear to god,

i will personally hunt you\ndown and shoot you like a dog.

Let's take care\nof that poor face.

I didn't kill mr. Mercer.

I believe you.

But what on earth were\nyou doing in this barn

at this hour of night?

i was out.

Where?

look, sam, i want\nto believe you.

But, doggone it, i can't\nif you're not forthcoming.

Please, ma'am, if\nyou want to turn me over

to those men, go ahead.

They already think i'm guilty,

so you can just\npass your judgment

and join right up with them.

But i ain't telling\nyou where i was.

"i don't believe sam did it

"and i intend to\nfind out who did

"and what i can do\nhelp this poor man,

"who i consider\nmy dear friend.

Affectionately,\nsarah mccullough."

and that's all we know\nabout the whole affair,

other than what's\nin the newspaper.

Her endeavor to prove\npinkney's innocence stopped

with that letter.

Well,\nher efforts didn't necessarily

stop, i mean, just\nwhat we know of them.

True.

Do you know any other\nfacts about sarah?

well, by this time,\nshe was a widow.

Her husband had died\nseveral years earlier.

The land records indicate

that the estate\nwas passed onto her.

She sold most of it off,

except for the house and a small\nparcel to sustain herself.

Another thing i'm curious\nabout is sarah's journal.

Now it is alluded\nto in her letters.

Is there any way that we\ncould get our hands on that?

it's anybody's guess\nwhere that might be,

if it still exists at all.

What do you know\nabout abigail pennington,

the woman\nthat sarah was writing to?

one of her relatives\npassed on a few years ago.

They auctioned off her things.

A woman over in spotsylvania\ncounty bought the items,

but i don't know believe they\nwere of any historical value.

I don't suppose you could\nremember the name of the woman

who bought them?

miss laura lee custer.

She lives over\nin fredericksburg.

Ah!

ok.

Oh, my.

He finally got his audience.

[speaking indistinctly]

i'd like to talk to him.

Why?

you didn't get enough\nof his rhetoric already?

well, i certainly don't\nappreciate his positions.

But he claims to have reviewed\nsome of the old documents

and he might be just\nthe person to help us

to find sarah's journal\nand some other clues.

I'd like to lay\ndown a challenge.

A challenge? jessica.

Meet these challenges\nhead on for the sake

of future generations.

And that is why, my friends,

it is so important...\nto preserve the culture,

we must preserve the past.

Thank you.

Uh, mr. Thornton.

Ah. Ladies.

I am sorry you\nmissed my speech.

I addressed some of the\nissues we discussed earlier

in more detail.

I find that when you\nthoroughly examine the facts,

it helps us all understand\nhistory a little bit better.

Oh, i couldn't agree\nwith you more.

Well, like, for instance,\ndon't you find it curious

the mention of a journal in\nsarah mccullough's ledger?

you did read it, of course.

I read the ledger.

Yes, i don't recall\nmentioning the journal.

Yes,\nbut if there was one and it

turned up, you'd want\nto know about it?

well, most assuredly.

Attention!

colonel thornton, private\nweber reporting

for duty, sir.

Private weber\nand i are involved

in a civil war reenactment.

Oh.

These ladies\nhere are reviewing

their own little\npiece of history.

They are researching\nthe pinkney case.

They're not part of the\nnorthern aggression, are they?

i hope they don't want\nto change history.

Don't tell billy.

He doesn't know\nthe war's over.

It's just that i find that\ncolonel thornton's desire

to uphold the unique character\nand beauty of our people

always seems to\ncome under attack.

Preserve the past, right, sir?

well, no one is denying\nthe unique beauty of the south.

It's just that some people\nwant to paint a picture that

is inaccurate of its history.

This country still\nhas a lot of disunion.

I think that men like colonel\nthornton serve us well

by trying to solidify\nour cultural heritage.

Cultural heritage?

or do you mean\nracial division?

well, you can call\nit what you will.

But when a nation affirms its\nunifying traditions, there's

always a lot less disagreement\nand a lot more unity.

Well, we certainly don't want\nto fight any wars again.

Good afternoon, ladies.

My husband put most\nof the pennington antiques

up here in the attic.

You all are welcome\nto go through this,

although i don't know\nwhere anything is.

Oh, i'm kind of a pack rat.

I like the antiques,

but, well, i like\nthe modern junk as well.

Well, thank you.\nwe'll just start digging.

All right. Ha ha.

Well, i'm just so sorry.

I would have sworn i kept\nthat stuff up here somewhere.

Ha. You did check\nthose 3 boxes.

It says pennington\non this one here.

Yes, i've already\nlooked there.

There's just old china\nand crystal, mostly.

Wait a minute.

What's this?

jessica?

just as i suspected.

1872.

This box must\nhave been packed

right after the end\nof the war.

You know, when i kept china\nand glass, i always put a wad

of paper between the pieces\nso they don't get broken,

just like these.

There's dozens\nof them in here.

1868, 1866.

Wait, look, look,\nhere's one. June 22, 1860.

Well, that's just 2 days\nafter the last letter.

It's from sarah.

[laughs]

"dear abigail,\nmuch has happened

"since i wrote to you last.

"in sam's defense, i took it\nupon myself to look into this

"dreadful matter regarding\nrobert mercer's murder.

"i went to the scene of this\nheinous crime, not having

"the slightest notion\nof what i might find.

"i noticed several peculiar\nthings about the harness shop

where robert was killed."

"packages arrived and\nwere sent on safely.

Levi stillman." hmm.

We figure sam\nwas laying for him.

Robert come through\nthat door and bang.

I found this in the wall.

Hmm.

Well, mary said\nshe heard 2 shots.

This one must have missed.

Well,\nnot many people have guns that

can fire more than one shot.

I know there are\nnone at my place.

Well, sam might have found\none somewhere else.

Why, jeb bucknell was showing\nus his colt walker pistol

at the reception.\nhe can fire 6 shots.

And does it take bullets\nthat are conical like this?

is that why\nyou come up here?

just to stir up some\nimplausible scenario?

no. Just trying\nto find the truth.

There. There's a good boy.

Morning, miss sarah.

Heh. Sheriff underwood.

I figured you'd be out\nhere sooner or later.

You seen sam today?

oh, i'm sure he's around.

I'm not going to arrest him,

at least not until i\nget all the evidence in.

But you're going\nto have to promise me

you'll keep a close\neye on him for me.

So they can make\nit legal to hang me?

sam, it's not going to do you\nany good to get antagonistic.

I have to gather all these\nfacts so that when the circuit

magistrate comes through here,\nhe can render a decision.

You might want to consider\nthis in your investigation.

I found it in robert\nmercer's harness shop.

Well, that looks like lead\nfrom a colt revolver.

I understand that jeb\nbucknell has one of those.

Is that a fact?

yeah,\nhe was showing it

off at the reception.

Heh. Well, i'll be going\nout there this afternoon.

I think i'll just have a\nlittle talk with him about it.

Well, i'll be very\ninterested to hear

what he has to say.\nmay i join you later?

suit yourself.

He didn't come out\nhere to reassure me

that i'd be treated fairly.

He came out here\nto check up on me.

No. He might be\nan advocate, sam.

Miss sarah, the day the law\nstands up for a slave be

the day that them blue ridge\nmountains fall flat.

Yeah,\nbut we've got to keep

believing that we can\nconvince them of the truth.

Believe.\ni tell you what i believe.

I believe that we's all\ncalled on to bear something.

No matter where\nyou find yourselves,

if you stand up for the truth,

you're going to ruffle\nsome feathers.

You're going\nto experience some pain

from those who don't\nwant the truth.

I resent you even suggesting

that my pistol killed\nrobert mercer, sheriff.

Now, don't get yourself\nall in an uproar, jeb.

We just want to take\na look at it.

Well, it couldn't\nbe jeb's gun, sheriff.

I got that right here\nin my gun cabinet.

And every man who attended\nthe reception knew it.

Aha, you see?

here it is, right there,\nthe way i left it.

Charles?

now we all saw mr. Hobbs\nput that pistol in that case

at the reception.

[clock chiming]

well, it looks to\nbe the same caliber.

And if you'll notice,\nthe markings on this mold

match perfectly with the\nbullet miss sarah found.

That slave of yours.

That's what happened.

He come here and he stole\nmy pistol out of that box.

The last time anyone saw\nthat pistol was right here

when charles put it\naway that evening.

Now, sam wasn't in\nthe house after that.

In fact, shortly afterwards\ni sent him out to get ice.

Are you saying that somebody\nat my daughter's reception

stole that weapon and used\nit to murder robert?

sam got another\nslave to help him.

That's what happened.

There's more than one slave\ninvolved in this, sheriff.

Yeah, but what\nwas the motive?

gentlemen, please.

I mean,\nthe fact that we're all

overlooking is what\nreason would sam have

for killing robert?

and somebody here did?

well, you tell me.

Daddy, what's going on?

it's nothing, sweetheart.

You go on.

Jeb, where's your pistol?

it's been misplaced,\ndarling.

But it'll turn up.

It's your gun.

It's your gun\nthat killed robert.

Now you just\nsettle yourself down.

I had nothing to do with this.

You sure enough\nwanted him dead.

Now, mary, you hush\nthat kind of talk.

Mary,\ni was asleep in this house

when robert mercer was killed.

He's right, mary.\nright here under our own roof.

You've got to believe me.

I am telling you\nthe truth on this.

Did you hate him that much?

hat\nbucknell's pistol was used

still doesn't eliminate\nsam as a suspect.

You tell me, how did he\nget the gun out of the house?

i don't know.\nbut the circuit magistrate

will be through here\nin a few days

and if we don't have something\nsubstantial by then,

i'm afraid i'm going\nto have to arrest him.

Good day, miss sarah.

Good day, sheriff.

Oh,\nfor god's sakes, mary,

will you please listen to me?

i will not discuss\nthis further, jeb.

I will hear no more of\nyour feeble explanations.

As you wish, mary.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk.

I'm sorry you had to\nfind out about the pistol.

That's all so disturbing,\nso very disturbing.

Tell me, that day\nat the reception when i

found you two...

I did love jeb, but i\ndon't love him anymore.

And you told him that\nat the reception?

yes. I mean, i told him\nthat months ago.

Months?

i told him it was over.

And there wasn't\nany reason for him

to believe that it\nwasn't true?

absolutely none.

Miss sarah, i-i loved robert.

Will you excuse me?

sam, so you didn't go

into the house during\nthe reception at all?

i didn't go in that\nhouse that whole day.

Miss sarah, i was just out\nback listening to the good

time that y'all was having.

Now is there anyone\nwho could vouch for you?

mary bell, jim, you.

You saw me with mr. Mercer.

But he ain't here to tell,\nnow is he?

in fact, they're probably\ngoing to use that against me.

We wasn't doing anything\nbut looking at a split rim.

And that's all\nyou were doing?

yes, ma'am, that's\nall we was doing.

Miss sarah, i appreciate all\nyour efforts, but it ain't

going to make\na bit of difference.

A slave is always guilty.

Well, we always\nhave hopes, sam.

I mean, they can't\ntake that away from us.

Hope.

You tell me what\nthat word mean?

well,\ni don't pretend to fully

understand it,\nbut i certainly do know

that we can't live\nwithout it.

Sometimes it's awful\nhard living with it.

I ain't so sure\ni believe in believin' no more.

The poor soul.

This letter only raises more\nquestions than it answers.

But they're good questions.

Who stole the pistol?

who was to get the\nfood that sarah found?

and the letter tells\nus where to look next.

Like that levi stillman...\nthe fellow that mercer

was sending the packages to.

Cassandra?

as a scholar, you take a\nrather cold look at history,

but this is isn't like looking\nat someone else's life,

this is part of my own.

[sighs]

it's as if samuel is crying\nout to you, but there's

nothing you can do about it.

Exactly.

And that's what this whole\nprocess has been like.

The more i learn about him,\nwhat he went through,

the injustice,\nit consumes me.

And there's no release because\nthose people have gone on.

And here we are, left with\nthis sense that a wrong has

been committed and...

And there's nothing\nwe can do about it.

Well, i've done some\nsearching into my own past.

What i've learned is, these\ndiscoveries, even what i'm

finding out now about sarah,\nthey show us more about those

people and what they endured.

But, more importantly,\nthey do reaffirm who we are.

Perhaps.

But it doesn't hurt any less.

I don't think\ni should continue.

Oh, but, cassandra,\nyou can't quit now.

You might have a chance\nto finally clear his name.

I mean, wouldn't you just\nlove to give him that gift?

to right that wrong?

[sighs] let's see.

Maybe this... Family\nregistry could help.

Here's a levi stillman,\nlived in warrenton,

family were quakers, pacifists.

Oh, yeah,\nthere's lots and lots

of folks around these\npart got quaker roots.

Well, do you recognize any\nof his descendants, laura lee?

well,\ni'm no historian, but i'll be

happy to look and see if\ni know any of the names.

Oh. Well, i'll be.

I didn't know she had\nstillman blood in her.

Who?

well, eliza hoops.

Oh, she's quite a character.

I guess she'd be levi stillman's\ngreat granddaughter.

Is she still alive?

well, there's no date\nof death in the registry.

I know she lives up\naround warrenton.

Her family's had a home\nup there for 200 years.

My goodness, she has\nto be over 100 by now.

Oh, hello.

You say you're from england?

no, ma'am.\nnew england.

Oh. Did you bring lobster?

uh, not this trip.

Just as well.

I don't like eating anything

that can pinch harder\nthan i can.

Uh... You wanted to know\nabout my grandfather?

actually, it would be\nyour great grandfather.

Levi.

You knew him?

is he here?

no, ma'am, he's not,\nbut do you

remember when he was?

do you remember anything\nabout a friend

of his named robert mercer?

oh, i had a cat\nnamed mercer once.

I don't think she's going to\nknow anything about telegrams

and packages sent north.

Great grandpa sent\npackages all the time.

Great grandpa\nlevi sent packages?

yes, on the train.

The train?

yes.

Came right through\nhere, it did.

No, it must have\nbeen a depot nearby.

Not nearby.

Right through here.

We rode it all the time and\nit had a magic compartment.

Magic compartments?

yes, my cousins and i\nrode it all the time.

Came right through this room.

Shh!

don't disturb the passengers.

All aboard!

train's leaving!

hurry up, you'll\nmiss the train!

i think you should sit down.

You could hurt yourself.

No, no, no.\nall aboard!

ride in the magic compartment.

[clicking]

all aboard!

you want a ride?

grandpa said lots\nof folks did.

Lots of black folks.

It's not a real train.

It's the underground railroad.

Yep.

All the way to philadelphia.

The packages robert\nwere sending to the north

were runaway slaves.

Ladies, ladies, i appreciate

all these theories\ny'all are coming up with.

No, but these are more\nthan just theories.

I mean,\nthere is considerable evidence

to suggest that robert\nmercer was working

on the underground railroad.

Samuel pinkney\nand other slaves

in the county\nprobably knew about it.

Well, don't you see,\nhe wouldn't have murdered

robert mercer if this man was\nhelping his people to freedom.

Ma'am, just because\na merchant sent a package

doesn't mean that\npackage was a slave.

You women are coming up with\nthese meaningless things

and using them to spin fairy\ntales about how you wish

things happened rather than\nthe way they really were.

And you're not?

i write books that spell out\nfacts and i use these words

to inform, not to influence.

Now if you will excuse me,

i have a real piece\nof history to recreate.

Excuse me.

Look what they've\ndone to my car!

ohh.

Those are your words,\nmr. Thornton.

Do you still think you\nhave no influence?

i don't know what to say.

It's not what you say now.

It's what you have\nsaid in the past.

I had nothing\nto do with this.

You may not carry a rifle,

but your words are\ncertainly weapons.

It's those very sentiments

that can fuel this kind\nof behavior.

Surely, as an historian,\nyou have seen that there are

those in this world who hate\npeople who aren't like them.

Now do you really want to give

them more reasons to justify\nthat hatred?

i've always felt very\nstrongly about the traditions

of the south, but it was\nan intellectual debate.

I was simply trying\nto preserve...

Preserve what, mr. Thornton,\nyour noble past?

and just what about that past\nare you wanting to keep alive?

because in spite of this\ntown's accomplishments,

this was a place where one\nman could own another,

where children could be ripped

from their parents' arms\nand never see them again.

A place where a human being\nwith passions and desires had

to deny the very spark that\nmakes him human... His own will.

Meanwhile, the good\ntownspeople just went

on about their business.

They saw no shame in it.

Is that what you're\ntrying to preserve?

not just prejudice, but\nthe right not to notice when

something is happening\nright in front of you?

i have always\nsought the truth.

That was my sole motivation.

Oh, the truth!

that is the most elusive\nof all mysteries.

All right, men!

you know the insidious thing\nabout a lie is that the best

ones are closest to the truth.

But if you find one\nmore bit of evidence...

It all becomes clear.

We're looking\nin the wrong place.

What?

aunt sarah's journal,\nit's not here in culpepper.

How'd i miss that?

what do you mean,\nit's not here?

this is where she lived.

Yes, but it's\nnot where she died.

Look, she died in a field\nhospital in manassas.

The men in uniform\ntriggered it.

So?

well, she would have taken\nthe journal with her, right?

having no living relatives\nhere, her possessions would be

with her in the\nplace where she died.

So chances are, if the journal\ndoes exist, it's in manassas.

I believe you're correct.

What you ladies need is\nsomeone to guide you through

the battle of manassas.

Someone who has studied\nit in detail, perhaps?

yes,\nbut more importantly, someone

who wants to help find\nthe truth in all this.

Hmm,\nthe truth. The truth.

Wait a minute.

If she didn't die from wounds,\nhow would she...

Perhaps she succumbed\nto some disease or other.

Disease?

where?

well,\nthere were places other than

the field hospitals.

There were infirmaries where\npeople were quarantined

if they fell ill\nafter the battle.

In manassas?

in manassas, i believe\nthere was a church.

[bell tolling]

is your home...

That's a good sign.

There might be some papers.

No, that's it.

No papers.

You're not going\nto believe this.

Look what i found.

The journal of sarah\nmccullough, 1858 through...

Well, she never finished.

Well, of course,\nshe never finished.

She died.

Go ahead, read it.

"june, 1860, today i decided\nto press on with my inquiry.

"there was a peculiar sense\nof duplicity in the air.

"everyone acquainted\nwith the murder seemed\nstrangely guarded.

I wondered what\nthey were hiding."

charles, the one question\nthat no one seems to be

asking is why.

I mean,\nwhat on earth would be

the motive for sam?

he and robert were\nthe best of friends.

Friends?

oh, come, come, sarah.

A slave can never truly\nbe a friend to a white.

Oh, they'll pretend to\nbe your friend, but no,

no, they'll turn on you.

Is that what you heard\nthe day of the reception

out back of your barn?

well, pinkney had worked\nhimself into a dither.

Are you saying that robert\nhad words with samuel?

well,\ni certainly wasn't privy

to their dispute, but, yes,\nthat slave of yours and robert

had an altercation.

Well,\nif robert was upset with sam,

how come he turned right\naround and entrusted him

to get ice from his house?

well, honey, how\nin the world would i know?

look, robert never did know\nhow to handle the slaves.

You can see how it\nfinally caught up with him.

I'm telling you, sarah,\nyou cannot trust them.

He trusted sam enough\nto give him the keys

to his place.

He gave him his keys?

well, there you have it,\ndon't you see?

it's those very keys\nthat gave sam access

to the harness shop.

Well,\nthat's interesting that a man

with a key would\nfind it necessary

to break open the lock.

What?

i was over at\nthe harness shop.

Whoever killed robert\ndidn't have any key,

they forced\ntheir way in that night.

Now you look here, sarah,\nyou're upset, but you be

careful or you may get more\nthan you bargained for.

Daddy, we're going out.

Oh, you and jeb?

yes, i need to get my mind off\nof all these ill feelings.

Well, honey, i know jeb's been\na great comfort to you.

My efforts in regards to\nmary are most certainly quite

contrary to what miss\nmccullough's been insinuating.

I'm just trying to find\nout who killed your husband.

Why,\nyou're interested in freeing

your slave who did it.

So you're not\nconvinced that it was sam?

i saw sam that night.

I saw him fleeing\nrobert's workshop.

I'm quite tired of all\nthe talk to the contrary.

Now if you'll excuse us,\njeb and i are going riding.

Well, i think that's\na splendid idea.

I think the fresh air\nwill do you good.

Oh,\ndaddy, i seem to have

misplaced my riding crop,\nmay i borrow yours?

of course, darling,\nit's in the tack room.

Y'all run along now\nand enjoy yourself.

Thank you, mr. Hobbs.

Miss mccullough.

[horse neighing]

there, there, now.

What on earth!

help.

Who are you?

name's bess.

Please don't hurt me, ma'am.

You ain't going\nto hurt me, is ya?

i don't mean no harm.

Well, what is this all about?

bess, wait.\nsam!

miss sarah, this\nis all my doing.

Don't let her scare you.\ni brought her here.

In this, this...

That's a false\nbottom, ma'am.

I made it.

It's for hiding slaves, ma'am.

Runaway slaves.

You, sam?

yes, ma'am.

When i'm out delivering eggs,\ni pick them up.

And where do you take them?

now you come out with this,\nsam, or so help me...

I took them to\nmr. Mercer's house.

That is,\nuntil he got killed.

You weren't supposed to\nknow none of this, ma'am.

I didn't want this\nto be your trouble.

Well,\nit's my trouble now.

Mr. Mercer, he sent them\non north on the railroad.

He sent them to freedom.

And this woman here?

this here bess.

She my wife.

Your wife?

yes, ma'am.

She from mr. La trobe's place.

We got married in\nsecret last fall.

Well,\ny'all could have told me.

We was afraid to\ntell anybody, ma'am.

Mr. La trobe, he a hard man.

He might have sold bess,\nsent her way on down south.

I never would have\nseen her again.

I'm sorry, ma'am.

I ain't never meant\nto lie to you. I...

I was with bess the night\nmr. Mercer got killed,

had gone over to see her.

Well, there's your alibi.

Bess here can vouch for your\nwhereabouts that evening.

No, no, ma'am.

Ain't nobody going\nto believe that.

They don't know we's married.

They just going to think\nwe made all that up

and they gonna send bess\naway for sure.

That's why i brought her here.

I need to get her on up north.

You ain't gonna tell it,\nis you, ma'am?

please?

hyah! hyah! come on!\nlet's go!

look out there!\nlook out! whoa! whoa!

mary, sam, get over here.

Daddy, what's wrong?

mr. Hobbs, what is it?

you know that creek\nbetween here and rawlor's house?

yes, sir.

Well, i'm checking out\nthe west pasture

and i see something\ngleaming in the mud right down

in that creek bottom.

Do you recognize this?

that's my revolver.

So it is your pistol.

How did it get there?

well,\nthat road is the most direct

route between here and\nsarah mccullough's house.

You tell me.

I shall kill him, mr. Hobbs.

I will shoot that\nmurderer where he stands.

Now you hold on, jeb.

Don't you go running\noff by yourself.

It might be too dangerous\nfor one man to handle.

You let me go get\nashland and the others.

Yes, sir.

Mary, you get in\nthe house and lock up.

Jim, saddle my horse!\nstand aside, jeb.

Hyah! hyah! hyah!

miss sarah,\ni didn't tell you

because i wanted\nto protect you.

I wanted it to be me that\ntook the risk, not you.

But whether you\ntold me or not,

it doesn't change\nwhat you did.

Yes, ma'am, i know,\nbut you've got to see...

You're not\nhearing me, sam.

What i'm saying is you\ndon't need to apologize.

What you're doing\nis a good thing

and i don't hold it\nagainst you.

I reckon i should,

being a right proper\nsoutherner that i am.

I should be enraged.

Stealing other men's property.

Ma'am,\nfrom what sam tells me, you're

the kind of right\nproper southerner

that would be outraged

about making a man be\nsomebody's property.

[sighs] sam,\ni always knew you'd marry

someone who'd\nspeak her mind.

Yes, ma'am.

Then i reckon you won't\nget offended when we tell you

about our other surprise.

Sam?

come on, jeremiah.

There ain't no use\nhiding nothing now.

Good heavens!

what else have you got\nstashed in my barn?

that's it, i swear.

This here is jeremiah jessup.

Oh, i know,

he's from the halstead estate.

I recognize him.

How did he get here?

i got him the day\nof the wedding.

He was actually hiding down\nat the bottom of the buckboard

while we was driving over\nto mr. Hobbs' reception.

Well, no wonder that dog\nwas having such a fit.

That old dog about\ngave me and mr. Mercer away.

My goodness.

Do you suppose anyone saw\njeremiah at the reception?

i don't think so.

I mean,\ni don't rightly know.

If they did, that\nwould explain...

Explain what?

sam! sam, they coming.

Slow down, jim.\nwhat are you talking about?

mr. Hobbs and jeb.

They going to get\nall the white folks.

They found jeb's pistol\nin the creek.

Says you threw it in there\nafter killing mr. Mercer.

They going to lynch you, sam.

No!

thank you.

Look, you best\nbe getting on back.

They ain't going to take\ntoo kindly to you being here.

Cut across the meadow\nbecause they gonna be coming

down the road.

We gots to get you and\njeremiah out of here.

And you as well, sam.

It's time you took that\ntrip on the railroad.

I ain't do what they said.

I didn't ditch no gun.

I know you didn't...

And i think i have\na good idea who did,

but there's no time now.

Now you've all got\nto get going.

Now i will pick\nup some supplies

and meet y'all down\nat kane bridge later.

Go on, sam.

Now i won't take no.

Go on!

thank you.

Hyah! hyah!

hyah! come on, boys!

come on! whoo!

[men yelling]

where's that\nmurdering slave of yours?

what is this all about?

we found jeb's pistol.

Just where\nyour sam threw it.

Mm-hmm.\nnow where is he?

or has he already run off?

well, i can assure you\nthat sam has not run off.

But in your present\nstate of mind,

i'm loathe to tell you\nhis whereabouts.

Now i'm going to go and\nfind sheriff underwood.

You hold on there.

You ain't going\nnowhere, sarah.

The time for protecting\nthat man is done gone.

You're going to tell\nus where he is.

So you can lynch him?

now listen here, sarah,\nyou have to understand...

Gentlemen, he's down\nsouth at morgan's place.

You give me that.

Uh-uh-uh.\nit says right here...

Monday, milk and cheese run.

Now you have no right.

That's where\nhe is, isn't it?

come on, sarah, out with it!

she's not going\nto tell you, mr. Ashland,

but it's all over her face.

That's where her slave is.

Let's get him.

Come on!

[men yelling]

hyah!

tsk, tsk, tsk.\nget on there, ned.

Hurry up, ned!

hyah! hyah!

hyah!

hey, morgan, what\nyou doing out here?

i've just been hunting.

Sarah mccullough's slave\nbeen to see you today?

no, sir, i haven't seen him\nfor a couple of weeks.

She tricked us, gentlemen.

I'm sure he's on the run now.

It's getting dark soon.

He's going to be hard to track.

Men, let's\ngo get the dogs,

then we'll go back to her\nplace and pick up the scent.

Hyah! hyah!

[dogs barking throughout]

[men yelling]

let's go, pick up\nthe scent over there.

No.

What you hear, sam?\nshh!

[men yelling]

go on up that way. Go on.\nkeep going, keep going.

No, sam.

We've got to get to that\nbridge, meet miss sarah.

No, they might have followed\nher there.

We gonna split up.

You take bess, travel east,

work your way down\nthe embankment to the ravine,

hide out in the woods\ndown there.

If everything checks out\nall right over here,

i'll get the provisions\nfrom miss sarah

and i'll meet you over there.

Go on.\ncome on.

Go on!

[men yelling]

right over here!

see anything up there?

no. Get those dogs through.

Check down there\nin them bushes.

[men yelling]

sam!

sam, are you there?

ah!

ah!

oh, sam!

ohh.

Sam! oh, sam! [cries]

[groaning]

we gotta make it\nto the woods. Come on!

oh!

y'all get on up here. Go!

hold on, hold on.

Come over there.

Easy, easy.

Is it clean through?

yeah. Yeah, it\nwent clean through.

Sweet jesus.

[dogs barking]

where is he?

there's 3 of them.

3?

3, as i said,\nmr. Ashland, 3.

Another buck and a female.

They went in that\nthicket right down yonder.

But i wing picked\nhim pretty good.

All right.

That boy ain't going to\nbe to move too fast at all.

Ya'll get them dogs down\non that blood trail.

Now hold on! hold on!

we can't go down in this\nembankment with the dogs.

Kane bridge is just yonder.

We're going to cross over\nthere, we'll pick up their trail

and then we'll circle on back.

Let's go!

y'all get on! get on!

go!\ncome on!

fast!

oh, god in heaven!

what have they done?

once he rests a spell,\ni'll carry him.

Come on, sam,\nwe gotta keep going.

I ain't going anywhere.

Come on, sam, you've got to.

Bess, no.

You go.

You and jeremiah go.

I'd just slow you up.

I wouldn't be\nfor no good anyhow.

No, i'm staying with you.

Listen to me, woman.

Freedom.

Freedom is still\nthere for you.

You and the little one.

Sam.

Sam?

there's another pinkney\ncoming, miss sarah.

It was going to be my joy.

Oh.

But you've\ngot to go, bess.

That's my only\nchance at freedom.

You and that child.

Jeremiah, promise me you\ngonna take care of her.

I'll protect her\nwith my own life, i will.

All right.

Here's what\nyou're going to do.

They going to be coming\nover that bridge up there.

Y'all going down this\nway a little bit.

There's a river.

Float downstream\nas long as you can.

Make your way to warrenton.

You're going to find\nthat little house

that we talked about.

Mr. Levi stillman,\nthat's the man's name.

He's a friend of mr. Mercer's\non the underground railroad.

He's going to help you\non from there.

You understand?

yeah.

[crying]

hush.

Listen, no,\nthis here for you, bess.

That's the only thing\nin this world that own

that i hold dear.

Now... You give that to the\nlittle one, you understand?

and you tell him...

You tell him the man's name\non that watch.

Now... Go home.

No.

Go on, woman.

No.

Go!

no.

Jeremiah, get her.

[sobbing]

sorry, ma'am.

I didn't mean to bring\nyou into all of this.

Oh, no, don't, sam.

I didn't mean to tarnish\nyour name, and you know that's

what they're going to do.

You're very decent, ma'am.

No, sam, you're the decent\none in all this.

I mean, you could have gone up\nnorth on that train any time

and you chose to stay behind\nand help the others to freedom.

Any association they want\nto make between you and me

i would consider it an honor.

You know... I looked up at\nthat star many times and sent

others on, guided by it,\ntold them that was going to be

their promise\nto a better life.

Some of them,\nthey seen that life,

when all i got\nwas the promise.

You know, when i said i don't\nbelieve in believing no more?

that ain't true.

Having that promise\nand believing even

when you can't see...

That do keep you.

That...

Sam.

[dogs barking]

come on!\nget back!

here now!

i told y'all i\nwinged him, didn't i?

what you was hell bent\non from the beginning,

you've accomplished.

There's still 2 more\nof them, gentlemen.

Get on it!\ngo on, boys!

get them while the dogs\nstill have a scent!

it's a shame he\nbrought it to this.

He? you're the ones with\ninnocent blood on your hands.

Now, sarah,\nwe're going to try

and find a way\nto look past the fact

that you helped this man\nescape from the law.

Sending us down on that wild\ngoose chase down at morgan

spencer's place...

Now that was your deduction,\nand it proved as wrong as your

assumption about this\nman's guilt, didn't it?

don't you be pointing an\naccusatory finger at us!

robert mercer's blood\nis crying from the grave.

Don't even presume to know\nthe conscience of robert

mercer because i can assure\nyou that his motives

are far removed from your own.

Now this whole thing's been\na terrible tragedy, sarah,

but it's over now.

Now we need to be\ngetting on back.

It's not over.

There's still\na few things missing.

And i think you know what\ni'm talking about, charles.

Now,\nsarah, we're not all going to

stand here and listen\nto you while you rant.

Have you found\nyour riding crop?

jeb, did it ever turn up

when you and mary\nwent out for your ride?

no, ma'am, but what's\nthat got to do with all this?

of course, you never located\nit because it wasn't in your

tack room like you said,\nwas it, charles?

sarah, we've all been\nthrough a lot here tonight.

It wasn't there because\ni went back and i found it.

Right there in robert mercer's\nharness shop, where you left

it the night you murdered him.

Why, that's outrageous!

is it?

no one saw it the next day.

Blended right in... It being\na leather shop and all.

And, suddenly, i remembered

noticing it when\ni was over there.

Probably triggered\nyour memory as well.

But when you went back to find\nit, i had already been there

to get it myself.

Now, was it at that point\nyou concocted the story

about pinkney throwing\nthe pistol in this creek?

you knew exactly where in the\ncreek it was because you threw

it there the night of your\ndaughter's wedding, the night

that your suspicions\nwere confirmed

that your new son-in-law,\nrobert mercer,

was running slaves\non the underground railroad.

You saw sam him helping him,\ntoo, and you didn't know what

to do with yourself.

You couldn't fathom your\nown daughter being married

to robert... A man who never\nknew how to handle a slave.

So you came up with a plan.

You'd murder robert.

What are you doing here?

you take the button that\npopped off of sam's vest

and plant it right there\nat the scene of the crime,

then you could\nget sam as well.

Oh, it was a good plan.

Get rid of both of\nthe men in one stroke.

The only crime being setting\nthe slaves in the county free.

You couldn't bear\nhaving this be your

grandchildren's legacy.

[laughing]

that is... That is\nquite a story, sarah.

It's true, isn't it?

yes, yes, it is.

And you're right\nabout one thing, sarah.

It needed to be done.

The hobbs name would\nnever be sullied.

Gentlemen, i don't think any\nof this needs to be revealed.

Y'all know what\ni'm talking about.

If the slaves ever get wind of\nthis, you think they're going

to sit still?\nwith a war brewing?

they're going to be\nlike thirsty cattle

and smell water\nand stampede.

There'll be no stopping them.

That what you want?

how about you, cornelius?

is that what you want?

no. I see.

But i know exactly\nwhat you do want.

That land of mercer's.

That's legally\nmary's property now.

I'm sure she can be\ninduced to sell it to you.

And you,\njeb, i know what you want as

well... Mary herself.

You and i both know she never\nhas really gotten over you.

I'm sure those affections\ncan be rekindled...

With her daddy's blessing.

She will know the truth.

Oh, from you?

oh, you can conjure up\nyour version of it,

but mary's already convinced\nit was sam that did it.

And i don't think she's gonna\ncotton to the idea that her

husband was helping\nrunaway slaves.

You can't hide\nthis from everyone.

People going to hear\nwhat they're going to hear.

And i'm sure cornelius\nhere will print the proper

interpretation of the\nfacts in his newspaper.

Am i right, cornelius?

i think we all\nagree what happened.

So... You can squawk all you\nwant, miss sarah, but it will

only confirm what everybody in\nthis county already suspects

about you... That you're\npartial to the slaves

and your attitude's only served\nto undermine our way of life.

You're right.

People can think what\nthey want about me.

But the blood of robert mercer\nand now samuel pinkney cries

for justice and that\nvoice will be heard.

Gentlemen... Follow me.

"therefore, i shall exert\nall means at my disposal

"to exonerate samuel and robert,\ndespite the insidious

machinations of the people\ni have called neighbor."

she said nothing more?

no, she... She mentions\nthe beginning of the war.

And... Well, now she does say\nthat she was confronted by

a neighbor to stop rumors\nabout mercer's murder.

She obviously tried\nto make it right.

Yeah.

And then she went off to\nhelp on the front lines.

Her last entry was\naugust 6, 1861.

She mentions her\nillness there.

That's about 3 weeks after\nthe first battle of manassas.

But this still doesn't\ntell us anything

about jeremiah and bess.

Oh, on the contrary.

I think it tells\nus everything.

They got the watch

and the watch wound up\nin pennsylvania.

And i think we can assume\nthat they made it to freedom.

And once they got there,

jeremiah jessup probably\nwanted to change his identity.

But, certainly, bess didn't\nwant to change her name.

She wanted that little baby\nto have her daddy's name.

Jeremiah jessup assumed\nsamuel pinkney's name.

His date of birth,\nhis complete identity.

And that's why\nthere are 2 graves

with the same\nname on them.

And the historical record\nconfirms that mary hobbs sold

the land to cornelius ashland\nand then married jeb bucknell.

Well, mary and\nbucknell weren't involved

in the murder, but it sounds\nlike they deserved each other.

Heh. Ashland wasn't\ninvolved either,

but he got what he wanted.

Hobbs plan worked.

History was altered.

Not if i have anything\nto do with it.

Quite a legacy\nsamuel left, isn't it?

oh, yes.

Without his ordeal, i never\nwould have come to know

so much about my own roots.

I'll say.

All that spunk and\ndetermination has to be passed

down through the genes.

Samuel, bess made it\nonto pennsylvania.

Yes, she did.

And that child\nof yours was born.

A little girl.

And she grew up\nand had a son,

who had a son,\nwho had a daughter,

who had a son... Who had me.

I know why sam\nsent that watch on.

He wanted it to keep time\nuntil he got his own justice.

It doesn't have to\nmark time any more.

Samuel pinkney...\nyou're finally free.