Overview
True Women is a 1997 American Western CBS TV miniseries based on the 1993 novel by Janice Woods Windle directed by Karen Arthur, starring Dana Delany, Annabeth Gish, Angelina Jolie, Julie Carmen, Tina Majorino and Rachael Leigh Cook. It was filmed in Austin, San Antonio, and McDade, Texas. The series covers five decades, from the Texas Revolution through Native American uprisings and the Civil War to the early stages of the women's suffrage movement. This miniseries was first aired on the CBS television network over two nights during May 1997.
Plot summary
The story starts with young Euphemia Texas Ashby (Tina Majorino) and her older sister Sara McClure (Dana Delany). When Euphemia gets back to the house from picking flowers she finds out that Sam Houston is coming to the house. Santa Anna is on his way so they must head east in the Runaway Scrape. While they attempt to cross a river Sara suffers from a miscarriage while her young son Little Johnnie dies in Euphemia's arms. Many other young and old Texans die and Euphemia is almost lost in a sea of graves. After a month and a week, Sam Houston defeats Santa Anna's army and Texas is reborn as the Republic of Texas. They now live in a new home with their horses. Their sisters Fannie and Jane Isabella come to live with them after their father dies at sea. They are very different from Sara and Phemie (Annabeth Gish) and must adapt to their new brutal life.
One year later, Sarah survives an encounter with Tarantula (Michael Greyeyes), a Comanche warrior, and his band of Comanches. Later, Euphemia's close friend Matilda "Maddie" Lockhart (Anne Tremko) is abducted by the Comanches and only later released. When given back, the Texans discover that she was brutally tortured, with the right side of her face disfigured by burn scars; the Comanche repeatedly awakened her by placing burning coals on her face. Maddie is bloody and shows signs of beating everywhere. She never fully recovers from her time with the Native Americans.
Euphemia is now sixteen and almost gets attacked by a panther when William King (Matthew Glave), a boy who she dreams about frequently, saves her. They continue to talk every day for the next five years and then get married. Sara's own husband dies in battle, and she gets remarried to a musician. Euphemia has a few children with William while they live happily together with the slave Tildy (Khadijah Karriem). They have a few horses, including one called Dancer.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).