NORTH AND SOUTH
NORTH AND SOUTH
NORTH AND SOUTH BOOKS I and II
25th Anniversary of North And South
 |
Orry Main and George Hazard
Warner Bros.
The three-part miniseries–"North and South," North and South II," and Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III"–is based on John Jakes' novel. This, the first, story involves friendships of two West Point Cadets (Patrick Swayze and James Read) who meet 20 years prior to America's Civil War. Each comes from a powerful family–Orry Main (Patrick Swayze) grew up on a Southern plantation, and George (James Read) is from the Northern steel business. But, they manage to maintain their friendship despite growing problems in the Nation.
 |
Patrick Swayze
1952-2009
Starring
James Read
Patrick Swayze
Lesley-Anne Down
Wendy Kilbourne
Terri Garber
Genie Francis
Jonathan Frakes
Lewis Smith
Olivia de Havilland
and
David Carradine
Two young men, George Hazard from Pennsylvania, and Orry Main from South Carolina, meet on their way to the United States Military Academy. They soon become close friends who frequently confront their regional differences within the frame of their friendship. During their time at West Point, Orry and George meet up with a sadistic cadet named Elkanah Bent from Ohio, who constantly torments the two companions. In time, Orry, George and a couple of other cadets enable Bent's expulsion from West Point.
Eventually, Orry and George graduate from West Point and become officers in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War. On a stopover in Texas on the way to Mexico, George courts a young Irish woman named Constance. George and Orry end up in the Battle of Vera Cruz, where Orry is badly wounded in the arm, resulting in its amputation. Orry is sent home after the battle, but George stays instead.
When George is released from the Army due to the death of his father, he and Constance return to George's home in Pennsylvania and marry. George and Orry eventually meet up again and resume their friendship as tensions strengthen between the North and South. Soon, Orry's sister Brett falls in love with George's brother Billy. Later, Billy and Orry's cousin Charles are classmates at West Point.
In 1858, as Orry is planning a trip to Pennsylvania, Brett begs Orry to take her with him so they can continue to St. Louis, where Billy is stationed with the Army Corps of Engineers. On the train back to South Carolina, the train is stopped by raiders under the command of the radical abolitionist, John Brown at the town of Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, then part of the state of Virginia. Brett and Orry are not harmed by John Brown's men, and are sent on their way to South Carolina.
Two years after the Mains and the Hazards rendezvous in Pennsylvania, Billy while in the U.S. Army as the American Civil War draws near. He is stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, at Major Robert Anderson's garrison at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, only a few miles away from the Main plantation. Billy is given leave and marries Brett the next day. A few nights later, Confederate forces under the command of Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard open fire on Fort Sumter, setting off the Civil War. So, Orry and George say their final good-bye before the war, hoping for the best for each other.
The book is followed by the novels Love and War and Heaven and Hell.
 |
 |
 |
Ray Herbeck Jr.
Historian and Technical Advisor
 |
NORTH AND SOUTH
Creator
series of novels by John Jakes
