MERCY STREET-Inspired Spring Tours Begin
as Season 2 is Announced

Alexandria, Virginia’s Tours, Exhibits and Events
Bring PBS’ MERCY STREET to Life

PBS Civil War Medical Drama Inspired By
Real Events of Civil War Alexandria

Alexandria, VA— As PBS announces a second season for its Civil War medical drama, MERCY STREET, Alexandria rolls out new tours inspired by the series. More than two dozen new tours, exhibits and events are launching in Alexandria in 2016.

PBS’ first American drama in nearly a decade is inspired by real events of Civil War Alexandria, Virginia. MERCY STREET follows the lives of two volunteer nurses on opposite sides of the conflict; Mary Phinney (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a staunch New England abolitionist, and Emma Green (Hannah James), a naive young Confederate belle. The two collide at Mansion House, the Green family’s luxury hotel that has been taken over and transformed into a Union Army Hospital in Alexandria.

Just outside of Washington, DC, Alexandria was a border town between North and South and the longest Union-occupied city of the Civil War. Ruled under martial law, Alexandria was the central melting pot of the region, filled with civilians, female volunteers, doctors, wounded soldiers from both sides, free blacks, enslaved and contraband African Americans, prostitutes, speculators and spies.

This historic city celebrates the national spotlight on its heritage by presenting new visitor experiences for fans of the PBS series, MERCY STREET.

Eight MERCY STREET-inspired tour options offer distinctive experiences, with a varied collection of walking tours and even a tour by land and water. Organizations offering guided tours include DC Military Tours, Alexandria Colonial Tours and the Lee-Fendall House. The National Women’s History Museum will launch a tour beginning in June.

Spring is also the ideal time to visit the city’s historic sites to enjoy new exhibits and events inspired by the series. These visitor experiences uncover the real people behind the characters on the show, the realities of Civil War medicine, changing roles for women, and the breakthrough experience of enslaved African Americans claiming their freedom. Kimpton's Hotel Monaco Alexandria is offering a "Have Mercy" package with MERCY STREET-inspired perks.

Located on the Potomac River waterfront just minutes from DC, Alexandria hums with a cosmopolitan feel against an extraordinary historic backdrop. With luxurious accommodations just steps from historic sites, galleries, boutiques and restaurants, visitors can turn a MERCY STREET excursion into a weekend getaway.

Find Alexandria experiences inspired by PBS’ MERCY STREET at www.VisitAlexandriaVA.com/mercystreet.

VISITOR EXPERIENCE DETAILS

TOURS:

Experience an inside access tour of 19^th century Alexandria. Inspired by the PBS mini-series “Mercy Street,” accompany a trained military historian through Civil War-era Alexandria and learn the actual history behind the TV show. Get behind-the-scenes stories of locations where “Mercy Street” characters lived, worked and played. 

Walk the same streets as the Green family and all of your favorite characters from “Mercy Street.”

Based on the PBS series, “Mercy Street,” Alexandria’s “The Mercy Walk” tour will give visitors and locals alike a feel for Alexandria and what it was like to live in an occupied city during the Civil War. This tour includes stops at the former Marshall House, the Confederate Statue, James Green’s furniture factory and the only portion of the Mansion House Hotel still standing today. Join us to hear the true stories of Alexandria, a true microcosm of the Civil War all within one city. Space is limited!

Join City Archaeologist Fran Bromberg and Black History Museum Director and PBS’ “Mercy Street” history consultant Audrey Davis as you learn about the history of contrabands buried in the cemetery, the fascinating archaeology behind its rediscovery, and how the site became a memorial.

Explore the “Mercy Street” story by land and by water on this guided tour of Civil War Alexandria. Accompany a trained military historian from DC Military Tours by boat through Alexandria’s 19th-century seaport and then by land for an inside access look at period sites depicted on “Mercy Street,” including a Civil War hospital and other parts of the city’s Civil War landscape.

Discover the real-life stories and locations of soldiers, citizens and former slaves that inspired the PBS drama “Mercy Street” in this walking tour of Old Town. Discover the challenges, triumphs and controversies of life behind the front lines in an occupied city during the Civil War. See the locations of hospitals, hotels, prisons and more that filled Alexandria during four years of conflict. Tour length is three hours and the route is approximately 1.75 miles. Parking is not available at The Lyceum’s lot for this program.

Alexandria was in a unique position during the Civil War. It was a city with Southern sympathies continuously occupied by the Union Army and virtually operating as a Northern supply depot due to its proximity to Washington, DC and its transportation infrastructure. The women who remained in Alexandria and those who came during occupation experienced the War not as a battle but a day-to-day way of life. This tour will explore the stories of a diverse group of women and their experiences living in Civil War Alexandria.

Fans of PBS’ “Mercy Street” drama series will learn about the real history behind the show on this self-guided walking tour, which features significant Civil War Alexandria sites all within walking distance of The Lyceum, which was seized and used as a hospital during the war.  

Ivy Hill Cemetery Self-Guided Tour
2823 Kings Cloister Circle, Alexandria, VA 22302
703-549-7413
www.ivyhillcemetery.net
 

Ivy Hill Cemetery presents a self-guided tour on the Green family and Frank Stringfellow, who are featured in the PBS drama “Mercy Street.” Chartered in 1856, Ivy Hill Cemetery is the final resting place of the Green family and Frank Stringfellow. Guided tours will be available upon request. Maps for self-guided tours are available at the Ivy Hill Cemetery office from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also available for download from Ivy Hill Cemetery’s website.

EXHIBITS:

EVENTS:

HOTEL PACKAGE:

• Deluxe guest room at the luxurious Hotel Monaco Alexandria with modern Civil War-inspired décor and rich Civil War history as the former location of the Marshall House where two of the first and most iconic deaths of the war occurred.
• Two handcrafted cocktails inspired by the Civil War era at adjacent restaurant, Jackson 20. “Lee’s Temptation” will feature Bulleit Rye, Sweet Vermouth, Fernet Branca and Flamed Orange Peel, while “Virginia Gentleman” will feature Buffalo Trace Whiskey, American Honey Liqueur, Angostura Bitters, Lemon and Ginger Beer.
• Two tickets to the Carlyle House Historic Park to learn more about the family and real events behind the PBS’s “Mercy Street.” Carlyle House and the adjacent luxury Mansion House Hotel, owned by the Green family, acted as a hospital and staff quarters during the Civil War and inspired the show’s characters and stories.
• 5 percent of proceeds from the package will be donated to the American Red Cross to help military members, veterans and families with emergency communications, training and support to wounded warriors and veterans.