BLAIR: Welcome, Colonel Lee. Welcome to my home.
Make yourself comfortable there, colonel.
Allow me to get to the point, sir.
I have been authorized by President Lincoln himself. . .
. ..with the full blessing of the War Department...
. ..to offer you full command of the Army with the rank of major general.
This Army being raised to quell this, uh, rebellion and to preserve the Union.
I assume this Army is to be used to invade those areas. . .
. ..to eliminate the rebellion by force.
Yes, sir, the Federal government has been challenged by these rebels. . .
. ..who have been most effective in changing the sentiments of state legislatures...
. ..challenging our Constitution and challenging our central government.
The attack on Fort Sumter cannot be ignored.
General, my home is right there across the Potomac.
Why, you can see Arlington House from your front door.
My family is spread all over this part of Virginia.
If you invade the South, your enemy territory will be right across that river.
Well, sir, there is no great outcry for secession in, uh, Virginia.
It's not a foregone conclusion that Virginia or Tennessee or Arkansas...
. ..or Kentucky will join the rebellion.
My friend, may I humbly submit that you're mistaken about Virginia.
As you know, the legislature is convening in Richmond this very day...
. ..to discuss the very issue of secession.
Now, perhaps you know their mind better than they themselves.
And I regret to say the president's hasty calling up of 75,000 volunteers. . .
. ..to subdue the rebellion in the cotton states. . .
. ..has done nothing to ameliorate the crisis. It has only deepened it.
I trust you're not being too hasty yourself, colonel.
This is a great opportunity for you to serve your country.
My country, Mr. Blair?
I never thought I'd see the day the president of the United States. . .
. ..would raise an army to invade his own country.
No, Mr. Blair, I cannot lead it. I will not lead it. No.
I'm sorry to hear you say that, sir.
I fear you're making a most dreadful mistake.
Sir, please convey my deep sense of honor and gratitude to the president...
. ..but I must decline his offer.
Please tell him.
Please be clear. I have never taken my duties lightly. . .
. ..but I have no greater duty than to my home, to Virginia.
Thank you, sir.
[SOLDIER SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
JACKSON: Gentlemen, if you are going to succeed at this institution...
...you have one common goal: To learn your lessons.
If you are placing your energies elsewhere...
...you will not succeed either with me or in your careers as military officers.
I had hoped you'd see that with a proper grasp of the artillery principles...
... I've laid before you today, you would learn to apply. . .
...these principles with great effectiveness in your field experiences.
But since you seem unable to grasp these principles...
... I'm forced to conclude I must repeat this lesson tomorrow, word for word.
Word for word.
[CROWD SHOUTING NEARBY]
CROWD [CHANTING]: Secession! Secession! Secession!
Hoist it! Hoist it up!
Major, listen to them. The leaders of our intellectual future...
...screaming for the destruction of our nation!
Sir, President Lincoln is raising the troops.
I....
I will not stay in a place where my students dishonor their country's flag.
Major, I'm leaving for Pennsylvania tomorrow.
War is the sum of all evils.
But if I know myself, all I am and all I have...
...is at the service of my home, my country.
Your country, Thomas?
Your country, my country. It's all one.
All one, Thomas. All one.
So that in the midst of the searching of souls and the gnashing of teeth...
...the delegates of this convention...
...harried by the actions of a belligerent usurper and the radicals of his party...
...have stumbled into secession.
Now God knows, I and many in this room have resisted it.
But how could there be union with a section of the country...
...that wants to impose its will through coercion?
Now that Virginia confronts the armed might of the United States...
...we Virginians have determined that not one spot of her sacred soil...
...be polluted by the foot of an invader.
[CROWD CHEERING]
God bless Virginia!
Now, in the memory of that great Virginian, George Washington...
...who was first in the hearts of his countrymen and calling also...
...upon the memory of his own gallant father, General Light-Horse Harry Lee...
...this convention now calls upon Robert Edward Lee to take command...
...of the armed forces of the Citizen Army of Virginia.
[CROWD CHEERING]
Mr. President, gentlemen of the convention...
... I'm profoundly impressed by the solemnity of the occasion...
...for which I must say I was not prepared.
I accept the position assigned me by your partiality.
I would have much preferred had your choice fallen on an abler man.
But trusting to Almighty God, an approving conscience...
...and the aid of my fellow citizens...
... I devote myself to the service of my native state...
...in whose behalf alone will I ever again draw my sword.
[CROWD CHEERING]
[PLAYING PIANO]
We must not fear the final result of this war, but many a loved one will fall...
...and many a heart throb with anguish...
...before we can breathe the exhilarating atmosphere of freedom...
...and feel the sweet assurance of safety and peace once more.
There's nothing in this life more dear to me than my children...
...except perhaps the memory of your wonderful father.
When you go to Richmond, and wherever this war takes you...
...you must not fear for us. We will be with you wherever you go.
Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life.
Now be on your way, and God be with you.
Y'all be coming on back, you hear?
We'll be back, Martha.
[MARCHING BAND PLAYlNG UPBEAT MUSIC]
Mr. Wilkes, sir.
Would you be kind enough as to autograph my playbill?
I was never much interested in Shakespeare. ..
- Mm-hm. - ...until I saw you play Richard III.
"A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"
Was ever woman in this humor wooed?
Was ever woman in this humor won?
[CHUCKLES]
Say, uh, haven't I seen you someplace?
WOMAN: Why, of course you have.
This here is Mr. Wilkes Booth, the finest actor in all of Richmond.
All the world's a stage...
...and we but its poor players.
What better role than a soldier's in defense of his home...
...his honor...
...and his beloved?
[CROWD CHEERING]
Good morning, major. This just arrived for you.
Cadet Norris, return to the lnstitute. My compliments to Colonel Smith.
I will be at his office within the half-hour.
Sir.
"You are ordered to report with the corps of cadets to camp instruction...
...to begin training and organization of the Provisional Army...
...for the defense of the Commonwealth of Virginia."
My esposita.
Come, before I leave, we must sit...
...read together, the verse.
Here.
Yes, here. Corinthians.. Second Corinthians, chapter five.
I have been thinking about this verse.
"For we know that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle were dissolved...
...we have a building of God.
A house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
O, Almighty God. . .
...grant that if it be thy will...
...thou wilt still avert the threatening danger and bring us peace.
Keep her whom I love in thy protected care.
And bring us all at last to the joy of thy eternal kingdom.
[MARCHING BAND PLAYING UPBEAT MUSIC]
[CROWD CHEERING]
MAN 1: Give them hell, sir!
MAN 2: Yeah, give them hell, men!
PASTOR: "The Lord is my light. My salvation. Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength in my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes...
...came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
Though unhost should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.
Though war should rise up against me.
In this will I be comforted."
REVEREND JENKINS: Secession is inexcusable.
Southerners and Northerners can still work together.
Slavery will eventually die of natural causes.
But the breakup of the Union will inaugurate wars...
...of a hundred generations in America...
...only to repeat the bloody history of Europe.
If Virginia adheres to the United States, I adhere.
Her determination must control mine. This is my understanding of patriotism.
And though I love the Union, I love Virginia more.
Private Jenkins, because of the high regard with which I hold your father...
...you are free to do as you please. You may return to his new home in Pennsylvania.
It is your decision. But, if you decide to stay with us...
...you may never again leave. If you do, you'll be treated as a deserter.
Colonel Jackson, sir. Father.
I am a soldier in the 4th Virginia.
And in the 4th Virginia I will stay.
And if needs be, die.
- Then I will take my leave. - No, sir.
It is I who will leave the two of you to have some time together on your own.
You may have this room for as long as you require it.
Thank you.
Farewell, colonel.
May we meet again in happier times.
And if not in this troubled world may we meet in. . . .
In heaven.
HARMAN: This train was on its way to Washington.
Its livestock's been requisitioned by the Confederate government.
There's enough damn beef in here to keep us fed for quite a while.
And as many steeds as would damn well meet our current needs.
With your permission, sir, we've made a selection of the more promising horses.
There's some damn fine ones here.
JACKSON: Mr. Harman, I fear you are a wicked man.
- This animal looks fit for the duty. - Then he's yours, sir.
That small horse over there, has he been assigned?
Well, it's a well-rounded sorrel, sir, but too small for you.
You'll have your feet dragging in the dust.
I was thinking of my wife, Anna.
He would make a fine present for her.
HARMAN: Well, that it would, sir. Shall I arrange for the purchase?
Leave the bill of the sale at my headquarters.
I will buy them both.
The Confederate Treasury is honored, sir.
And may you both sit well in the saddle.
What shall I call you?
- Good morning, sir. - Reverend Pendleton.
- How goes it with the artillery today? - You're just in time for a christening.
The men have decided to name the howitzers: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
I'm sure your men will spread the gospel wherever they encounter the enemy.
Has my son proven a worthy adjutant?
I'm certain Captain Pendleton will prove himself deserving of the family name.
ALL: Break! Guard! Charge!
As if you could ever get close enough to stick a man with this.
You can give me your bayonet if you have no further use for it.
What you gonna do with two of them?
You never heard of spare parts?
Pogue, your only hope is that some Yank puts you out of your misery.
Captain White.
How fare the scholars of Washington College?
Are they making their transition from books to bullets?
A few more days of drill, and my boys will surpass the cadets of VMl .
Drill, Professor White, drill and drill. Remember Alexander in Anatolia.
Caesar in Gaul. Napoleon in Iberia.
We march by day, and read Xenophon by night.
- We will be your Greek phalanx. - Then you must begin with the bayonet.
The bayonet must be for a Virginian what the sarissa was for a Macedonian.
If the Yankees dare set foot in Virginia, we must show them the bayonet.
Train with the bayonet and we shall keep our freedom.
WHITE: Yes, sir.
Sir.
Harman has a detachment ready to take your sorrel to Mrs. Jackson in Lexington.
The horse you chose is waiting at headquarters.
I've decided to keep this little sorrel for myself.
I prefer his gait to that of the larger horse.
Unlike the other, he has an even temper.
He will need it where we are going. Yes, I will keep it.
And Mrs. Jackson? What should we send her, sir?
Instruct Harman to make another selection.
My complete admiration in his choice of livestock, if not in his choice of words.
The man's vocabulary is extremely repulsive.
Yes, sir.
- Will that be all, sir? - Language is blasphemous...
...but he is a good quartermaster, a good quartermaster. You understand me?
- Yes, sir. - That's all.
Hyah!
SOLDIER 1 : Blue, gray, green, even red uniforms.
How are we to know who the enemy is?
SOLDIER 2: You dang fool, you just shoot at the man that's shooting at you!
I thought we was gonna be trained.
I could have done this walking on my own back in Staunton.
I never seen you walk in your life when you didn't have to. Nor me, neither.
What man in his senses would cross his street...
...when he could just be sitting on his front porch?
I done more walking this week than in my life and my daddy's life put together.
Who'll give us fresh shoes when these are but tatters and old bits of laces?
You'll excuse me, gentlemen.
Lieutenant Colonel Stuart reporting for duty.
Colonel Stuart.
- That's an impeccable hat, sir. - Thank you, sir.
- Colonel Stuart. You use tobacco? - No, sir. Not in any form.
Neither do I. I find I like it too much.
Sit down.
I understand from your record that you are West Point, class of '54.
Served since in the cavalry, Ft. Clark, Texas.
Operations against Apache, Comanche.
Fought with Longstreet and Ewell, sir.
Nasty business. Merciless climate.
Glad to be home, sir.
The Apache were defending their homes, as we will be defending ours.
If we fight as well as the Apache, I pity the Yankee invader.
Colonel Stuart, if I had my way, we would show no quarter to the enemy.
No more than the redskins showed your troopers. The black flag, sir.
If the North triumphs, it is not alone the destruction of our property.
It is the prelude to anarchy, infidelity...
...the loss of free and responsible government.
It is the triumph of commerce. The banks, factories.
We should meet the invader on the verge of just defense...
...and raise the black flag. No quarter to the violators of our homes and firesides.
Our political leadership is too timid to face the reality of this coming war.
They should look to the Bible. It is full of such wars.
Only the black flag will bring the North to its senses and rapidly end the war.
Well, colonel.
One way or the other, the South will give them a warm reception.
You'll be in charge of the cavalry in the Harper's Ferry district.
Your experience and your zeal will be invaluable.
Thank you, sir.
And, colonel...
...know that I will tell my men always to gallop toward the enemy. . .
...but trot away.
"Trot."
[CHATTERING]
The ratification vote for secession is in.
Reporting from all the counties of Virginia, the vote is 4-to-1 in favor.
[CROWD CHEERING]
And I'm proud to report that the vote in the Shenandoah Valley. . .
...is 31 30 in favor, 1 0 against!
[CROWD CHEERING]
In my own Rockbridge County, only one person voted against leaving the Union.
MAN: Probably the village idiot!
[ALL LAUGHING]
SOLDlER 1: Order!
- Parade, rest! - Parade.
Men of the valley.
Citizen soldiers.
I am here at the order of General Robert E. Lee, commanding all Virginia forces.
On April 15 of this year of our Lord, 1861...
...Simon Cameron, the secretary of war of the United States...
...sent a telegram to our governor to raise three regiments of infantry...
...to be sent to assist in suppressing the Southern Confederacy.
Governor Letcher's answer is well known to you, but perhaps not his words.
His wire to Washington stated:
"You have chosen to inaugurate civil war.
Having done so, we will meet you in a spirit as determined. . .
...as the Lincoln administration has exhibited toward the South."
Two days later the Virginia legislature were voting for secession.
Just as we would not send any of our soldiers to march in other states...
...and tyrannize other people...
...so will we never allow the armies of others to march into our state...
...and tyrannize our people.
Like many of you, indeed most of you, I've always been a Union man.
It is not with joy or with a light heart that many have welcomed secession.
Had our neighbors to the North practiced a less bellicose form of persuasion. ..
...this day might not have come. But that day has been thrust upon us...
...like it was thrust upon our ancestors.
The Lincoln administration required us to raise three regiments.
Tell them we have done so.
Soldiers! Commanding General Johnston's orders:
"General Beauregard is being attacked at Manassas Junction...
...by overwhelming forces."
We have been ordered to cross the Blue Ridge to his assistance.
Every moment now is precious...
...and the general hopes his soldiers will step out and keep closed ranks.
Well, this march is a forced march to save our country.
[CROWD CHEERING]
You must get some rest, sir.
I'll rest easier when Pendleton and the artillery make it up this mountain.
They'll make better time tomorrow, sir. It'll all be downhill.
You'll trust me to wait for the guns, sir?
Dr. McGuire.
You're an excellent practitioner, and I believe I will take your prescription.
[GRUNTS]
SOLDIER 1: No fires, no tents. Just like I always dreamed it'd be.
You suppose the Virginia legislature was gonna buy you your own personal tent?
That's fine for now.
You'll be humming a different tune when it's raining, you're all covered in frost...
...or you need me to dig you out of a snowdrift.
So damn dark the bats run into each other.
Old Hickory's just getting us fit for the fighting.
Old Hickory, Old Jack, Old Blue Light.
How many names you got for the old man, anyway?
Them VMI boys come up with the choice one.
They calls him "Tom Fool" when he's looking the other way.
I'll be a fool if I listened to you all livelong night.
SOLDIER 2: Old Tom Fool. That name ought to stick to him like a tick on a mule.
That's it! Step lively! Two at a time!
As quick as you can. No dilly, no dally.
One foot forward, then the other. Nothing pretty, nothing fancy.
Into the train. Do it lovely, do it ugly, all the same to me.
- Colonel Jackson. - Colonel Trimble.
- I understand you're a train man. - Baltimore and Ohio.
Spent most of my life building lines, and the past six months tearing them up.
No use in leaving them in fine fettle with a meddling Yankee.
If you'll excuse me, sir.
Got to move these men where they'll do the most damage to the enemy.
Excuse me, ladies.
Now that's the finest dressed man in the whole Confederate Army.
TRIMBLE: In you go! Up and over!
Through the brush and in the clover.
Crowd on in. Move it over.
[GUNFIRE NEARBY]
[SOLDIER SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
PENDLETON: That's General Bee's brigade!
Inform General Bee the 1st Virginians are on the field.
Ask him, can he hold long enough for me to deploy my men?
Yes, sir! I'll ask him!
They may not hold, gentlemen. We must assume they cannot.
- Mr. Smith. - Sir?
Instruct Imboden and Stanard to position their batteries in the center of the crest.
I want the 4th and the 27th regiments stationed as support.
I want the 5th Regiment posted to their right. . .
...the 2nd and 33rd to the left. Understood?
- Yes, sir. - Mm-hm.
[SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
Counter battery fire!
Eight hundred yards!
- Shell! Five-second fuse! - Fire!
Counter battery fire. Eight hundred yards.
Shell, five inch. Five-second fuse.
- Fire one! - Two!
- Three! - Five, fire!
Get primed!
Fire!
[SOLDIERS SCREAMING]
General! Our line on Matthew's Hill has broken. They are beating us back.
Then we must give them the bayonet!
1st Brigade, move up to a position just below the crest of the hill. And stay low!
- Sir. - Hyah!
Rally, men! Rally!
Look!
There is Jackson, standing like a stone wall.
Let us determine to die here today and we will conquer.
Rally behind the Virginians!
[SOLDIERS CHEERING]
Fix bayonets.
- Fix bayonets! - Fix!
SOLDIER: Fire!
Fill in there..!
Instruct the men to lay down! Hug the ground!
- Lie down, men! - Privates! First rank, lie down!
Second rank, kneel!
They are coming, boys.
Wait till they get close before you shoot.
Hold your lines!
[SCREAMING]
Halt!
Hold your fire!
Ready!
Aim!
Fire!
[SHOUTS]
Fire! Reload!
SOLDIER 1: Rise up! SOLDIER 2: Quickly, boys!
Rise up!
Quickly, men! Quickly!
Ready!
Aim!
Fire!
Reload! Reload, men!
Come on, boys! Quick and we can whip them!
- Easy, men. We have no orders to advance! - Get back in the ranks!
Steady, men. Steady!
Damn it.
Charge!
It's Cummings' boys.
- What are they doing? - Easy, Mr. Pendleton. Easy.
Good to have your dander up, but discipline wins the day.
SOLDIER: About-face! About-face, men! Aim! Fire!
For God's sakes, forward!
General, sir, the day is going against us.
If you think so, sir, you had better not say anything about it.
Rise up, rise up!
Rise up, Virginia!
Stand up, you men! Stand up, you free men! We're gonna charge them.
We're gonna drive them to Washington! Stand up, Virginia!
1st Brigade...
...reserve your fire...
...till they come within 50 yards. . .
...then fire!
And give them the bayonet!
And when you charge...
...yell like Furies!
- Ready! Aim! - Aim!
- Fire! - Fire!
Charge bayonets!
[ALL SHOUTING]
Charge!
Press on! Press on!
SOLDlER: I surrender! I surrender!
[SOLDIER PLAYING BUGLE]
[THUNDER CRASHING]
SMITH: General?
How is it you can keep so serene...
...and stay so utterly insensible...
...with a storm of shells and bullets raining about your head?
Captain Smith...
...my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed.
God has fixed the time for my death, I do not concern myself with that...
...but to be always ready, whenever it may overtake me.
That is the way all men should live.
Then all men would be equally brave.
Preliminary reports for the brigade, sir. One hundred and eleven dead.
Three hundred seventy-three wounded or missing.
And if I may ask, sir, how's your hand?
Just a spent bullet. No more than a scratch really, Mr. Pendleton.
I'm more than pleased with the part performed by the brigade during the action.
Through the blessing of God...
...they met the thus far victorious enemy and turned the fortunes of the day.
Good evening, gentlemen.
Tomorrow's a new day.
- Evening, general. - Evening, sir.
JACKSON: Oh, Mr. Pendleton?
Thank you for the report.
I will never forget these men.
Which is it tonight, John? Hamlet? Richard III? Or the Scottish play?
The schedule's posted.
I'm relieved to see you've prepared for your role.
I admit, my concentration has been impaired by the distractions of this war.
Mm. Then think "winter of our discontent."
And what a glorious summer it will be...
...when the South is free of these meddling Yankees.
Sometimes when I'm up on that stage...
...brandishing the prop sword or threatening with the mock word...
... I wonder if it's more farce than tragedy.
More posturing than art.
Harrison.
As we recite and declaim, others march and die.
Down in Mississippi...
...when all the other boys went hunting or fishing, I was reading books...
...learning Shakespeare sonnets by heart.
My daddy said art was the hardest thing.
That everything else seems more important at the time..
...but that we needed it more than air.
More than food, even.
So now it's politics instead of hunting.
Same old thing.
Gotta stay concentrated on what really matters.
Shakespeare matters.
Acting matters.
Gentlemen, new orders from the War Department.
The Confederate Army's been reorganized into three districts.
That of the Potomac will remain under General Beauregard.
The Aquia under General Holmes.
Um, I've been promoted to major general. . .
...commanding all forces in and around the Shenandoah Valley.
The entire army together will now be known as the Army of Northern Virginia.
Although I am being transferred to Winchester...
...the brigade must remain here at Centreville.
Begging your pardon, sir...
...but the men would prefer remaining under your command.
That's right, sir.
Couldn't the entire brigade be transferred with you to the Valley?
Gentlemen, such a degree of public respect, confidence...
...as puts it in one's power to serve his country must be accepted and prized.
But apart from that...
...promotion among men is only a temptation and a trouble.
Had this not come to me as an order, I should instantly have declined it...
...continued in command of my brave old brigade.
Sir, may we hope...
...that a formal entreaty to the authorities in Richmond...
...may effect a transfer of the entire brigade to the Valley?
Hear, hear.
I'll not stop you from making such a request.
But for now, we must prepare ourselves.
We shall all have our labors to perform...
...but with the help of an ever-kindly heavenly father...
... I trust he will enable us to accomplish them.
SOLDIER: Forward!
Rest!
Throughout the broad extent of the country...
...through which you have marched...
...by your respect for the rights and property of others. ..
...you have always shown you are soldiers, not only to defend...
...but able and willing both to defend and protect.
You've already won...
...a brilliant reputation throughout the Army of the whole Confederacy.
And I trust in the future by your deeds in the field...
...and by the assistance of the same kind providence who has favored our cause...
...you will win more victories and add luster to the reputation you now enjoy.
You already gained a proud position...
...in the future history of this...
...our second war of independence.
I shall look with anxiety to your future movements...
...and I trust whenever I shall hear of the 1st Brigade...
...on the field of battle...
...it will be of still nobler deeds achieved and higher reputation won.
In the Army of the Shenandoah, you were the 1st Brigade.
In the Army of the Potomac, you were the 1st Brigade.
In the 2nd Corps of this Army, you are the 1st Brigade.
You are the 1st Brigade in the affections of your general.
And I hope by your future deeds and bearing you will be handed down to posterity...
...as the 1st Brigade...
...in this, our second war of independence.
Farewell!
[ALL CHEERING]
SOLDIERS [CHANTING]: Jackson! Jackson! Jackson! Jackson!
Jackson! Jackson! Jackson!
CHAMBERLAIN: The universe itself is subject to rules, to law.
The super-abounding life lavished on this world of ours...
...is proof...
...that the play of infinite freedom...
...is here to help work out the will of infinite law.
The nature of the universe demonstrates...
...that freedom can only exist...
...as part of law.
STUDENT: Pardon me, Professor Chamberlain...
...but how does the study of philosophy intersect with real life?
If freedom can only exist as a part of law...
...how can we continue to tolerate slavery protected by law?
Lawrence, I know.
How?
I've noticed the way you've been looking into the children's room each night.
Blue.
Why blue uniforms? It should be red.
- Like the English, the color of blood. - Are you angry with me?
Lawrence, my darling Lawrence.
Do you remember when you were thinking of being a missionary?
And you wrote me saying that you wished your little wife...
...was willing for you to take whatever course you thought best...
...and was ready to help you in it with all her heart?
"Little wife." How could I ever have called you that?
Your spirit is vaster than oceans.
Then you wrote back.
And I have never forgotten what you said.
You said, "Well, dear, she is willing...
...and she feels that you know better about the matter than she does."
But now...
... I never think I know better than you.
I couldn't bear for you to feel that you must forever remain at a stand...
...just because you're married.
I always want to help you on in your excelsior striving.
But I had a dream about you, Lawrence. Last night.
While you were away, offering your services to the governor.
I saw you in my dream. There were boys in blue marching past.
Some of the boys that we know.
And there you were...
...riding ahead of them on a great, white horse.
Fanny, my love, I felt I had to go.
I offered the governor my services, wherever he wanted to place me.
I thought he'd probably order me to an officer.
- Speeches, administration. - Oh.
Lawrence...
... I know you. When you do a thing, you do it à l'outrance.
- So? He gave you a commission, didn't he? - They need serving officers.
Five new regiments are being formed now.
Maine has already sent 15. How could I refuse?
Poor Lawrence, damn you, you'll be good at it too.
You'll be good at soldiering just like you're good at everything else. So go.
Go do your duty to your country's flag...
. ..go on and get your medals for bravery, go and get yourself killed.
That poem of Lovelace.
That beautiful, horrible, damnable, lovely, sad poem.
I think that you recited it in my dream.
Lovelace. "Off to the English Civil War"?
I would not dare presume to quote it now.
Tell me not, sweet, I am unkind
That from the nunnery Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind
To warlike arms I fly.
True, a new mistress now I serve
The first foe in the field
And with a sterner faith embrace The sword, a horse, a shield.
Yet this inconstancy is such
As thou too shalt adore.
I could not love thee, dear, so much
Loved I not honor more.
You will be wounded.
You will be changed by the horrors of it.
But you will come home.
I believe that, my love. You will come home.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Come in.
You must be Mr. Lewis.
Ha, ha. There's some that calls me Uncle Jim.
Some calls me Big Jim. Some folks just calls me Jim.
I don't suppose you've heard any of the names I get called?
I heard Stonewall once.
That name properly belongs to the 1st Virginia Brigade, not to me.
- They were the ones who earned it. - Some folks says otherwise.
Folks say men can't fight without nobody up front to lead them on.
- I'm told you're a first-rate cook. - Ha, ha. Yes, sir.
They wasn't lying, told you that. Whatever you likes to eat, I can cook it.
Pan-fry, griddle, boil, bake. Roasted.
And I understand you're from Lexington. You come highly recommended to me, Jim.
Lexington is my home, general. Same as yours.
If I could do my share in defending my home...
... I'd be doing the same as you.
I heard it was Napoleon hisself said:
"An army can't march but on its stomach."
Well...
If you love your country...
...fear the Lord...
...and have no trouble getting up at 4:00 in the morning, the job is yours.
Yous got yourself a deal, general.
Sir.
My darling esposita.
Welcome to Winchester.
Thomas. Oh.
- Come in out of the cold. - Why, thank you.
- I have been thinking, Thomas... - Mm.
...that it may have been a blessing...
...that the Battle of Manassas was fought on my birthday.
Why is that?
In our old age, you will never forget it.
I will forget my own before I ever forget yours.
[WHISPERING] Oh, Anna.
Anna.
[WHISPERING] What is it, Tom?
What?
Everything in this life seems so fragile.
So temporary.
[IN NORMAL VOICE] When we are separated, I fear...
... I will never see you again.
I fear we may never have a child.
I fear I may lose you if we dare to have a child.
I know I should trust in the Lord...
...but then I see the face of my dear mama...
...of my first wife, dead and cold.
With our dead darling.
Dead before he could draw his first breath in this world.
And I am afraid.
And I am afraid to feel happiness.
Afraid to hope for it again.
I am afraid of God's judgment.
[IN NORMAL VOICE] We serve a loving God, Thomas.
We are in each other's arms.
We are together, and we are happy together.
And is our love not proof of his?
We must not fear, Thomas.
We will survive this war.
And we will have a child.
So help us, God.
[MARCHING BAND PLAYING UPBEAT MUSIC]
- Major Gilmore, stop that damn drumming! - Quiet!
- Stop that damn drumming! - Quiet!
This is a hell of a regiment.
Men of the 20th Maine Regiment of Volunteers...
...this is your commanding officer, Colonel Adelbert Ames.
[CROWD CHEERING]
Quiet! Quiet!
You do not cheer an officer.
You salute him.
20th Maine, I commend you for the enthusiasm...
...that has made you volunteer for service in Lincoln's Army.
I can see that many of you are strong and fit.
We Maine men know that life in the woods of Maine...
...toughens the muscles and stretches the sinews.
I've no doubt many of you have become good shots by hunting deer.
But tough muscles and skillful shooting are not enough to make a soldier.
That requires discipline.
Major Gilmore tells me you are in the habit of holding discussions with your officers.
That will cease from now.
An officer's orders are to be obeyed instantly and without question.
This regiment must learn to move as one man.
Otherwise we will all be killed.
- See if you can teach them to march. - Yes, sir.
Colonel Chamberlain.
Come with me.
When I say, "20th Maine, attention"...
...you bring your feet together.
Governor Washburn and Adjutant General Hodgson. . .
...have sent me an impressive report about you.
They say you will master any assignment you're given.
I shall certainly try, sir.
I, uh, understand you were in the Battle of Bull Run.
Wounded too. It taught me the need for discipline and proper procedure.
Take the act of shooting, for example.
When you're hunting in the Maine woods there's no difficulty in loading a rifle.
But in the panic of war, men act foolishly.
In Bull Run I saw a soldier forget to remove his ramrod from the barrel.
When he fired, out it flew with a dismal twang.
He lost the means of firing again and was killed soon after by a Rebel bullet.
Sergeant Tom Chamberlain reporting for duty, sir.
Tom, what on earth..? What are you doing?
I signed up, Lawrence, I'm in this regiment. I'm coming with you.
Did Father approve? How will he run the farm?
Once he heard you were colonel, he couldn't say no.
Besides, you know him, he'll be all right. They both will.
I'm giving them one less thing to cuss at.
Mama said so many prayers for the both of us, we got nothing to worry about.
Well, I guess I have one more responsibility. I have to look after you.
Me?
Lawrence, Mama told me to watch after you.
Just remember, lads, even a tin cup is a great weight after 20 mile.
Your precarious pegs won't last if you turn yourselves into pack mules.
And only one leg to a pant, if you please.
You'll soon be at the worn end of it...
...where your formal attire will be your shirt collar and boots.
In the U.S. Army we have the School of the Soldier...
...in which the soldier is trained and by numbers drilled.
Loading a musket is done in nine movements...
...performed over and over until they become automatic...
...or, as we call it, loading in nine times.
Aah! I see. Sergeant Chamberlain.
Loading in nine times. Demonstrate this.
Assume the musket has just been fired.
One, reach into cartridge box and withdraw cartridge.
Two, place cartridge between teeth.
Three, tear paper open.
Four, pour powder into barrel and charge cartridge.
Five, withdraw the ramrod. Six, ram the ball home.
Seven, return ramrod.
Eight, half-cock the hammer...
...remove old cap...
...and put a new cap on the cone.
Nine, shoulder arms.
All right, you have the idea.
But this must be done without thinking and much, much faster.
Here.
One, two, three, four...
...five...
...six...
...seven...
...eight...
...nine.
Practice until you can do it as fast as that.
It may save your lives. Colonel.
Line of battle consists of two lines of men, one behind the other. ..
...so that while one line fires, the other reloads.
Behind them is a line of, uh, file closers. Lieutenants and sergeants.
But two lines make a regiment unwieldy on the move...
...so we need to switch to column of fours.
We need to be able to change from column of fours to line of battle...
...and back again quickly.
It is not difficult to move from line of battle into column of fours.
It is harder to move from column of fours into line of battle...
...and if we're called to make that move, it will be when we're under fire.
You understand how important it is that these moves are learned so thoroughly...
...that the men can perform them in their sleep.
Company. . .
...halt!
Company, front!
Order arms!
Well done, colonel. That's a beginning.
But that move must be practiced and practiced and practiced.
Another month and we'll be ready.
But we leave for Washington tomorrow.
Shoulder arms!
Company, forward march!
[SOLDIER PLAYING DRUM]
Gentlemen, it's only September. Too soon for winter camp.
We have the momentum.
I propose we advance our army north into Maryland...
...because there the farms are plentiful and nearly untouched.
And with a fall harvest, we could feed our troops very well indeed.
And there is one other consideration.
Maryland is being held in the Union by force.
Our arrival may be viewed as a liberation.
We might receive some hospitality.
Might even receive a number of volunteers for service in the Army.
General, might this not be considered an invasion?
I don't believe so, general. No, sir.
With the Federal invasion of Virginia...
.I.the Confederacy proved who's the aggressor here.
We did not bring this war...
...and we fight now only to free the South of Federal occupation.
As I've said many times. . .
...if Washington will end their side of the fighting and recall their armies...
...this war will be over.
But in the meantime...
...we must show the enemy that they cannot win.
Cannot win.
Now, by moving into Maryland, we'd be in a position to push into Pennsylvania.
And so far, gentlemen, the bloody fields are Southern fields.
If we threaten the Northern cities...
...if we threaten to bring the blood into the North. . .
...there'll be pressure on Lincoln to end this war.
Amen.
Our presence, just the threat, could be sufficient.
LONGSTREET: General Lee...
...we'd be cutting ourselves off from our base of supplies, communications.
We'd be vulnerable from the rear, sir.
General Longstreet, you marched into Mexico with General Scott?
Yes, sir.
LEE: Did not General Scott cut himself off from his supplies and communication?
And by so doing, did he not bring a rapid end to that war?
And did he not accomplish all of that in a foreign land?
Well, this is not a foreign land.
The citizens will see we're not coming to vandalize as the Yankees did to us.
We've come to end the war quickly...
...and without any need to conquer or subdue anyone.
We proved our superiority on the battlefield.
That superiority may be all we need, gentlemen.
All we need.
- General Lee? - Yes.
Pleased to hear we're finally taking the war to the enemy.
Let them feel the scourge of this war that they began.
Yes, sir.
SOLDIERS [SINGING]: His torch is at thy temple door
Maryland, my Maryland
Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore
And be the battle queen of yore
Maryland, my Maryland
Morning to you, sir. Colonel Ames sent me to get you.
- Said you might be needing a drop of this. - Ah. Thank you. ...
Kilrain, sir. Sergeant Kilrain. Glad to be of service.
You know, colonel, uh...
...the boys...
We've been watching you, sir, that we have.
You've learned fast. Becoming a pleasure to serve under you.
Yes, well, ahem....
Are you a, uh, veteran, sergeant?
Aye, sir. I suppose you could say that.
Did me duty in the regular Army for a while.
Did the great long walk with General Scott, down south of the Rio Grande.
Uh, some men you fought with are on the other side. Almost all of their generals.
Oh, it gets worse than generals, colonel.
Some of the lads that I left lreland with are on the other side as well. lmagine that.
We left together to escape a tyranny...
...and end up shooting at one another in the land of the free.
I, too, have friends on the other side, sergeant.
And enemies.
Yes, sir.
No shortage of enemies, that's for sure.
We're ordered to remain in place.
The army is spreading out a couple miles up.
The enemy is dug in behind a small creek.
Antietam Creek, just this side of Sharpsburg.
We may be put into the battle at any time.
For now, get the men to step it up, finish breakfast and wait for orders.
- Got that? - Certainly, colonel.
[GUNFIRE NEARBY]
Whose guns are those? Has the attack begun?
Likely it's the first feeling-out, probing, testing of strength.
It's a game to the artillery boys...
...letting you know they can hit you when the time comes.
Lawrence. Lawrence, lookie here.
This is what we've been eating every day.
But you know what? I've gained some weight.
Hard to believe a man could gain some weight on a diet of worms.
[CHUCKLES]
Well, best eat up, sergeant. We're moving out.
Good morning, sir.
The Yankees are coming thick and fast in the woods before us.
We're making it hot for them.
We must hold this ridge. We must.
So pour it to them, Reverend.
Sir.
ROB: Sir, it's me, Rob.
My dear son. How are you, boy?
I'm well, sir.
I congratulate you for being in the fight and unhurt.
May God keep you so.
And remember, son, we must do all we can to drive these people back.
Yes, sir. We'll do our best, sir.
SOLDIER: Fire!
[SOLDIERS SCREAMING]
Mr. Pendleton, ride to General Hood, ask him can he maintain his position?
Yes, sir, can he maintain his position?
Hyah, hyah!
Fire!
Reload!
Fire!
It's good to be sergeant, isn't it?
To shoot a sergeant, you have to fire through two men.
A sergeant never fires his weapon until the men in front of him are killed...
...and then only unless you want to show off.
Move the men into this field and wait for further orders.
We're part of the reserve.
- Battalion, forward! - Forward!
[SOLDIER PLAYING BUGLE]
March!
[BOTH SHOUTING]
Compliments from General Jackson.
He wants to know, can you maintain position?
Tell General Jackson unless I get reinforcements...
... I must be forced back.
But I'm going on while I can.
Yes, sir. Reinforcements. Yes, sir.
[SOLDIERS SHOUTING AND GRUNTING]
- Load! - Load!
Take aim!
Fire!
Forward, men, forward!
Fire!
[SOLDIERS SCREAMING]
-General McClellan, sir. -General Hancock.
Had you heard that General Richardson had been wounded?
I heard he'd been wounded.
I'm sorry to tell you it is serious and you will assume his command.
Yes, sir. Of course, sir.
I'm honored to accept the command.
I'm sure you will perform this duty...
...with the skill and courage you have shown already.
We are on the move now, and we will drive the Rebels into the river before the sun sets.
Hold this position against any assault by the enemy.
Reply from General Hood:
"Tell Jackson unless I get reinforcements, I must be forced back."
- But he will go on while he can. - Good, good.
General McLaws, advance your--
Captain Morrison.
I think it advisable you keep your distance from me.
It would not do for Anna to lose both a husband and a brother on the same day.
Battalion, halt!
The battle may be moving our way. Keep them ready.
Yes, sir.
Courtesy of a lady admirer in Sharpsburg.
Think we can hold out against another attack?
I think they have done their worst.
I think there's little danger of our line being broken.
We won't be needed today, colonel.
The 5th Corps was not needed today, gentlemen.
Not according to the judgment of our commanding general.
The battle has been extremely costly.
The enemy has been checked, at great loss to both sides.
From what we can observe so far, we've gained little.
It's possible the fight will resume tomorrow.
He that created us gave us such strong argument...
...starting before and after, gave us not capabilities...
...and divine reason to fust inside of us unused.
Now, whether it be bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple...
...of thinking too precisely on the event...
...a thought which, quartered, hath but one part one wisdom...
...and ever three parts coward...
... I do not know why yet I live to say "This thing's to do"...
...sith I have cause and will and strength and means to do it.
Examples gross as earth exhort me:
Witness this army of such mass and charge...
...led by a delicate and tender prince...
...whose spirit with divine ambition puffed...
...makes mouths at the invisible event...
...exposing what is mortal and unsure...
...to all that death and danger dare, even for an egg-shell.
Rightly to be great is not to stir without great argument...
...but greatly to find quarrel in a straw when honor's at the stake.
How stand I then...
...that have a father killed...
...a mother stained...
...excitements of my reason and my blood...
...and let all sleep?
While, to my shame, I see...
...the imminent death of 20,000 men...
...that, for a fantasy or trick of fame...
...go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot...
...whereon the numbers cannot try the cause...
...which is not tomb enough or continent to hide the slain?
Oh, from this time forth...
...my thoughts be bloody...
...or be nothing worth.
He's mad. Did you see this?
It's nothing less than a call for a slave uprising.
Darling, I hardly ever get to see you.
Can't we put away the paper this one evening?
It'll put you in the foulest mood. It always does.
Well, here. Read it for yourself.
Lincoln plans a general emancipation on New Year's Day...
...for all slaves from states still in rebellion.
Yet another page from the Constitution torn to shreds.
But this is harmless, John.
See, it says right here:
"An emancipation of all slaves from the states still in rebellion."
But can't you see?
Those are the very states where the president has no authority and no power.
Why, yes. You're quite right.
I hadn't considered it in that light.
Now, can we fold up the paper into a nice little square...
...so that I can cut it up into a hundred little pieces...
...and throw it into the street?
[CHUCKLES]
Hmm.
Boyo, another round, if you please.
[BAND PLAYING SOMBER MUSIC]
Now, it says here in Blackmantle's Art of Punning...
...that "punning is an art of harmonious jingling upon words...
...which, passing in at the ears and falling upon the diaphragm...
...excites a titillary motion in those parts. . .
[BOTH LAUGHING]
...and this, being conveyed by the animal spirits into the muscles of the face...
...raises the cockles of the heart."
All right, then. Is everyone ready?
- Sure, why not? - Yes, sir.
Counties of England.
Who has the most dogs?
Bark-shire.
- Ha, ha. - Well done.
And from where did the first hermaphrodites come from?
Oh. Um, Middlesex.
Yeah. And from whence the first circus tumblers came?
Circus tumblers?
Somerset.
- Oh, Lord. - Somerset.
Well, I can see you've all learned rule number six:
Never speak well of another punster and never laugh at his puns.
[LAUGHING]
Somerset.
The Rebel sharpshooters was in the house.
That's what made them Yankees shell it so.
- Where was this? - Outside Winchester.
Them Yankees been through that town more times than there is flies on a mule.
Mm.
Where's your master now?
I ain't got no master no more.
Now he my boss.
See, I was sold at auction over in Fredericksburg once...
...and he bought me for $1200.
Then the war come, that didn't set right with him...
...so he gave me my freedom papers.
Now he pays me wages.
- No, sir. - Thirty dollars a month.
What he pay you for?
I can do anything I turn my hands to.
Then them Yankees come and burned down his house...
...and the next thing you know, the man who's paying me wages...
...is in the Confederate Army. And so am I.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
- Man, that's good! - Let's do this thing right here.
Hey, come on. Check it.
No, no, no. Gentlemen.
Stay where you are.
Greetings.
General.
[SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
How is our fine Prussian officer this evening?
I would've thought General Stuart would've had you at least...
...20 miles behind enemy lines...
...creating havoc and bewilderment in Washington.
[LAUGHING]
I would certainly prefer such a mission.
But tonight...
...tonight, general, I come bringing you a present.
General Jackson.. .
... I am greatly pleased to bring this present from General Stuart.
The general has gone to great lengths to secure for you this.
Would you like for me to open that for you, sir?
Thank you.
General.
This is some fine material. Look here.
That's gold braid.
You may tell General Stuart that I deeply appreciate this gift.
Please assure the general...
... I will treat it with the utmost of care...
...and see that no harm comes to it.
Mr. Pendleton, will you kindly place that uniform in my tent.
- And keep it neatly folded. - Sir.
No, general, no.
You do not understand.
General Stuart was most insistent.
He says now that you are a leutnant general...
...corps commander, you deserve a new uniform.
He was most insistent you try it on.
He will certainly ask, "How was the fit?"
Please, general.
Try it on.
[CHUCKLES]
General, that's some mighty fine coat. Ha, ha.
[ALL CHUCKLING]
[SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
That is the sweetest music I ever heard.
Ah, gentlemen.
Excuse us, General Burnside...
...General Hancock has information you may find useful.
Yes, General Hancock, a pleasure. Sumner, come.
We have visitors.
Sir, General Hancock reports the river can be forded the short way upstream.
There'll be no difficulty crossing. With your permission, we can move right away.
General Hancock, I appreciate your efforts at reconnaissance...
...but this possibility has been considered and rejected.
The pontoons will be here any time.
We'll cross with not only the men but also the wagons and supplies.
It would be foolhardy to send the men without the wagons, the big guns--
Excuse me, am I correct in my observation...
...that there's little force opposing us across the river?
Yes, you're absolutely correct.
For once we seem to have caught Lee by surprise.
Then, sir, if I may suggest, isn't it possible Lee is moving this way?
Certainly he's aware of our intentions. If we could occupy the town with infantry...
...it would make our job much easier when the bridges do arrive.
Yes, but that's risky. Those men could be cut off. ln this weather?
It snows one day, melts the next. The river could rise unexpectedly.
It will be best, I assure you, if we wait until the entire Army can cross together.
General Burnside, if we don't cross the river soon...
...General Lee will make every effort to stop us.
He will not let us move toward Richmond unopposed.
Where are General Jackson's forces now?
Shouldn't we attempt to occupy Fredericksburg...
...and possibly the Heights beyond now, while we have it for the taking?
Please allow me, sir, to at least send General Hancock's division across the river.
Surely they can carry enough supplies with them...
...and the artillery from this side can protect them against any advance by Lee.
Gentlemen, we will cross this river when the bridges arrive and not before.
I do not have the luxury of deviating from the larger plan.
The president approved my strategy, and I shall stick to it.
Once this Army is across the river, we will advance on Richmond in force.
We must not allow him...
...the luxury of attacking us as divided and separated units as he's done in the past.
And I will not make the same mistake as my predecessors.
So no, General Hancock.
You will stay on this side until the pontoons are in place...
...and the entire Army crosses together.
An irresistible, impregnable force.
TAYLOR: Did you know George Washington spent his boyhood not far from here?
And across that river, he's supposed to have thrown that silver dollar...
...and cut down that cherry tree.
That may be so, Mr. Taylor, but it has an even greater significance for me.
It's where I met my wife.
That's something these Yankees do not understand, will never understand.
You see these rivers and valleys and streams...
...and fields, even towns?
They're just markings on a map to those people in the war office in Washington.
But to us, my goodness, they're birthplaces and burial grounds.
They're battlefields where our ancestors fought...
...places where you and l learned to walk, to talk and to pray.
Places where we made friendships and, oh, yes, fell in love.
And they're the incarnation of all our memories, Mr. Taylor...
...and all that we are.
All that we are.
- What place is this? - Chancellor's Crossing.
We're another two hours or so from Fredericksburg.
We'll rest here for a short time.
Yes, sir. I'll see what the good folks can provide.
The general be fixing to eat something warm?
No, no, Jim.
We gotta ride on straight through to General Lee.
Don't want to get all warmed up just to feel the cold all over again.
[CHUCKLES]
You never seem to mind the cold much.
Oh. I minds it. I just don't shows it.
Now, Little Sorrel, I know this corn look poorly...
...but it sure beats no corn at all.
You heard from your family lately?
Ain't heared much for some time.
Yankee mail used to move quicker than Secesh mail.
Lord, from where you sit you can see the great distance...
...that separates our Southern men from their wives and children.
We pray that you watch over our families.
Lord, I ask you to watch over Jim Lewis' family...
...over his friends, his loved ones, wherever they may be.
Lord, I know you sees into the hearts of all men...
...just like you sees into the heart of old Jim Lewis.
And, Lord, I know there's no lying or deceitfulness...
...can hide from you.
You find the truth...
...in the bottom of the deepest pit of darkness.
There be no hiding from your truth and your ever-watchful eye.
Amen.
How is it, Lord?
Can you explain something to this old Virginia man?
How is it a good Christian man...
...like some folks I know...
...can tolerate their black brothers in bondage?
How is it, Lord, they don't just...
...break them chains?
How is it, Lord?
My heart is open and aching.
And I wants to know.
Lord, speak to us.
Speak to your children.
Speak to Jim Lewis and Thomas Jackson, your humble and obedient servants.
Speak to all of us.
Our hearts are open.
Lord, you show us the way, we will follow.
Amen.
[SIGHS]
- Jim? - Yeah.
What is the status of your family?
About half is free, half slave.
That's counting all the cousins and such.
You must know that there are some officers in this Army...
...who are of the opinion that...
...we should be enlisting Negroes as a condition for freedom.
That's what they says around the camp.
Your people will be free, one way or another.
The question is, if the Southern government will have...
...the good sense to do it first and soon.
And in so doing seal a bond of enduring friendship between us.
That's what they says, general.
God's plan is a great mystery.
It will be revealed to us.
That's all the fodder you get tonight.
We's going to a country where there's nothing more for an animal to eat...
...than there is what's in the palm of my hand. Ha, ha.
General Lee, fine day, sir.
We got batteries all along that hill, covering our front to the river.
Strong anchor on the north.
Tomorrow, guns will be positioned in those trees to the south.
We'll be able to cover the entire open ground, all of it.
General, they gonna come at us here?
Colonel Alexander...
...Federal troops amassed across that river are watching us prepare for them.
If I were General Burnside, I wouldn't attack here.
I'd move back upstream, come across from above us.
Burnside is not a man with the luxury of flexibility.
He's being pushed from behind by loud voices in Washington...
...by newspapers who demand quick action.
But we're here, and so he will attack us here.
We got batteries pointing from all angles.
They cross that canal, that'll slow them down.
We shall hit them from all sides.
No, sir, a chicken couldn't live on that field.
General Lee, sir.
General Jackson sends his respects...
...and advises his corps will deploy to the south of this position...
...by tomorrow, as you instructed.
Well, what are his men made of?
He's 150 miles away.
To General Jackson, dawn begins the minute after midnight.
General Hood, I've often wondered how it is that...
...Texas men, the most independent-minded in this Army of irascibles...
...have agreed to serve under a Kentuckian.
I have often wondered the same.
General Gregg, have you settled your differences with General Jackson?
No, General Hill, I have not.
Have you?
No, sir.
JACKSON: Tell me, general...
...do you expect to live until the end of this war?
Oh. I do not know...
...but I'm inclined to think I will.
I expect I will be wounded.
And you, general?
I do not expect to live to see the end of this war.
Nor can I say that without victory I would desire to do so.
- Get up. - Get up.
Sir?
Yes, Mr. Pendleton, you may enter.
Forgive me, general. There's a letter for you.
Courier was running a little slow today, but I thought you'd want to see it.
Yes, thank you.
Good night, sir.
ANNA: My own dear father:
As my mother's letter has been cut short by my arrival...
...I think it but justice that I should continue it.
I know that you are rejoiced to hear of my coming.
And I hope that God has sent me to radiate your pathway through life.
I am a very tiny little thing.
I weigh only eight and a half pounds...
...and Aunt Harriet says I am the express image of my darling papa.
My mother is very comfortable this morning.
Your loving daughter.
Thank you, Lord.
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you.
They've occupied all the buildings along the riverfront.
We will be lining up those pontoon bridges through a hail of lead.
Once across, the Rebs are sure to make us pay for every block.
Beyond the town is the canal which cuts across this open field...
...a field we'll have to cross to reach their entrenchments on Marye's Heights...
...another difficult obstacle in the face of artillery fire.
Down to our left we could burst through...
...turn Jackson's lines, push him back, trap Longstreet on top of the hill...
...surround him.
It's possible.
Turn Jackson's lines?
No, general, we'll meet them head on.
And it will be a bloody mess.
We'll march up to that hill there...
...and we'll eat their artillery fire all the way across this field.
We'll be able to look at ourselves and say:
"We're good soldiers. We did what we were told."
If we're not successful, we can say it was a good plan, but there were contingencies.
You can go back to your hometown...
...and tell the families of your men they died doing their duty.
The Rebs have fortified the high ground up the river.
And anyway, there are strong currents and obstacles to a crossing there.
Below Fredericksburg, the river is too wide.
And our earliest forces are clear down to Port Royal.
Fredericksburg is now the only place we can cross.
If Burnside doesn't cross here, he might as well resign.
That wily gray fox has outmaneuvered our command again.
And there's going to be hell to pay.
MAN: Hurry up! Let's go!
BARKSDALE: Pick your targets, boys!
Commence firing!
[SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
Them Yankees is coming, sure as Jesus. They got two pontoons across that river.
We got to get you and them children out of here.
Stop fussing with me. Get your family ready. We'll leave together.
Miss Jane, us done talked this over, and we decided to stay here...
...and look after the house. No use saying no more.
Martha, I won't leave you to the mercy of those blue devils.
Miss Jane, you know they ain't gonna be bothering us colored folks.
If we go with you, there won't be any food left in the pantry when we come back.
And we need to eat, same as you.
- Pastor Lacy, we must run to our lines. LACY: There's no time.
The streets are raining iron. To the basement.
[SHOUTS]
Anybody hurt?
Sam?
Easy.
Sam!
Can you get up? Easy! Easy!
Fall back, Mississippi!
Fall back!
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
JOHN: Mother? Are you here?
Oh, praise be! It's Master John!
- We're down here in the cellar! JOHN: The door is blocked!
I'll go around to the side!
Children, y'all stay right here. Mama'll be back.
Come out! There's an ambulance out front.
The enemy is crossing the river. Hurry!
- No! Martha, I won't leave without you. - I done told you, I'm staying.
Off with you then.
Come on, Martha.
Stay in the basement!
Hyah.
[SHOUTING]
Get the bayonets!
May God be with them.
May he strengthen their hearts and their arms for the coming struggle.
Give them the victory.
[CHATTERING]
Can I be of service to you fine Northern gentlemen?
Is this your master's place?
This is my place.
Children!
Sorry to have to bother you, ma'am.
Come on, let's go.
Go back inside. Hurry up.
Put a stop to this at once! Where are the officers?
Drop that, soldier. Now!
Get a message to Couch, to Hancock.
This will not be tolerated! This is an army, not a rabble!
Well, General Jackson, you are a most gallant sight this morning.
Thank you, General Stuart, your gift is much appreciated.
General Longstreet, show us where your troops are positioned.
Yes, sir. We're anchored on the north by Anderson's division...
...up on the bend in the river and Ransom's division...
...along and below the ridge of Marye's Heights...
...with Cobb's brigade dug in down on the road behind that stone wall.
Now, to their right, is General McLaws...
...and further down in the woods and to the right, Pickett and Hood.
General Hood is my right flank.
He's connected in those heavy trees over there with General Jackson's left.
Up here on the Heights, we have the Washington artillery...
...Colonel Alexander's batteries and support.
It's a strong line, general.
Very well.
General Jackson, would you please extend the line for us?
Um, General A.P. Hill is on the left, adjoining General Hood.
Position is supported by General Taliaferro and General Early.
Now to the right flank and behind is D.H. Hill.
We've built a road behind our lines running the entire length.
We can move troops as is necessary.
If the enemy penetrates our lines at any point...
...the reserves, Taliaferro and Early, can move rapidly to a new position.
If the enemy attempts to cut our center...
...or if General Pickett is pressed, we can change positions, sir.
Good, very good.
General Stuart, are you in a strong position for protecting...
...General Jackson's flank?
STUART: Oh, yes, sir.
We're covering the enemy from the river, as far out as our own lines.
If the Yankees move down river or threaten to turn General Jackson's line...
...we can block their advance until the line is moved.
Very well. Gentlemen, these deployments are sound.
The rest is in God's hands.
BOTH: Amen.
CHAMBERLAIN: In the Roman civil war...
...Julius Caesar knew he had to march on Rome itself...
...which no legion was permitted to do.
Marcus Lucanus left us a chronicle of what happened.
How swiftly Caesar had surmounted the icy Alps...
...and in his mind conceived immense upheavals, coming war.
When he reached the little Rubicon, clearly through the murky night...
...appeared a mighty image of his country in distress...
...grief in her face...
...her white hair streaming from her tower-crowned head.
With tresses torn and shoulders bare, she stood before him and sighing, said:
"Where further do you march? Where do you take my standards, warriors?
If lawfully you come, if as citizens, this far only is allowed."
Trembling struck his limbs.
And weakness checked his progress, holding his feet at the river's edge.
At last he speaks.
Oh, thunderer. . .
...surveying great Rome's walls from the Tarpeian rock.
Oh, Phrygian, house gods of lulus...
...clan and mysteries of Quirinus who was carried off to heaven.
Oh, Jupiter of Latium, seated in lofty Alba and hearths of Vesta.
Oh, Rome, equal to the highest deity, favor my plans.
Not with impious weapons do I pursue you.
Here am I, Caesar...
...conqueror of land and sea, your own soldier everywhere...
...now too if I am permitted.
The man who makes me your enemy, it is he will be the guilty one.
He broke the barriers of war and through the swollen river...
...swiftly took his standards.
When Caesar crossed the flood and reached the opposite bank...
...from Hesperia's forbidden fields, he took his stand and said:
"Here, I abandoned peace and desecrated law.
Fortune, it is you I follow.
Farewell to treaties. From now on, war is our judge."
Hail Caesar.
We who are about to die salute you.
General Zook! Move your brigade forward!
SOLDIER: Double quick, forward march!
[BAND PLAYING IRISH JIG]
[MARCHING BAND PLAYING UPBEAT MUSIC]
Steady, boys, steady. You'll soon be forward.
Is that to be General Meagher's position?
He's enjoying the privilege of an officer. Protecting the rear.
He's got a lame knee, for pity's sake.
Fair enough. Someone's got to keep Burnside company.
Quiet in the ranks!
Shoulder arms!
[SOLDIER PLAYING BUGLE]
Colonel.
20th Maine to the front.
Battalion! Shoulder arms!
SOLDIER: Shoulder arms!
Left face!
High-file right...
...march!
Come on, boys! Show them the cold steel! Irish brigade, move out!
Irish brigade, at the double-quick...
...forward march!
Front and center!
Double column, boys! Form up!
[SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
Forward!
Keep moving!
That's the lrish. What are those boys doing fighting in blue?
Don't they know we're fighting for our independence?
Did they learn nothing at the hands of the English?
They're Reb Irishmen. They're our brothers.
They've been misled to their fates.
Do your duty!
Steady, men! Steady!
Men, do your duty!
Battalion, halt!
Ready!
Aim!
Fire!
Load them up, boys, load them up!
Keep loading, boys!
Ready!
Aim!
Fire!
Load! Load! Load!
Ready!
Aim!
Fire!
Fall back! Fall back, men!
Now move! Move!
Fall back! Now!
Go to hell! Go to hell and damnation!
Move, boys!
Lie down here!
Lie down and load!
Load!
Load and fire!
Quickly!
Blaze away, lads! Do it, boys!
Fire, boys.
Fire!
Keep firing, men! Keep firing!
[SOLDIERS SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
Fall back!
Fall back, lads!
Every man for himself!
Fall back, men!
[SHOUTING]
[ALL SHOUTING]
- Caldwell's brigade, forward! Now! - Yes, sir!
At the double-quick! March!
[SOLDIER PLAYING DRUM]
- General Armistead. - Afternoon, General Pickett.
- See that last charge by Meagher's brigade? - Those fellas deserved a better fate.
Their bravery is worthy of a better cause.
My heart stood still as I watched it.
ARMISTEAD: I would not have believed that mortal men...
...could march into the face of such destruction.
LEE: General Longstreet...
...those people committing more fresh divisions at your lines...
...their mounting numbers may overwhelm our defense.
Sir, if they put every man they have on the field to approach me...
...give me plenty of ammunition, I'll kill them all before they reach my line.
Nevertheless, we must be prudent, general.
We must never ignore the unknown or the unpredictable.
Yes, sir. I'll take the necessary measures. Orders!
Send orders to Ransom's Tar Heels to advance his division...
...and to Kershaw to bring up his brigade to support Cobb at the wall.
Yes, sir! Hyah, hyah!
Forward, men!
[SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
General Griffin, sir.
There goes my first brigade to hell.
All right, get them ready.
20th Maine, fix bayonets!
Officers of the 3rd Brigade will dismount.
Shoulder arms!
All right, men, move them out!
Forward march!
[SOLDIER PLAYING DRUM]
Load! Five-second fuse!
She burst! The barrel burst!
SOLDIER: Stretcher! - General Lee, you all right, sir?
- Sergeant! Call for the surgeon! Quickly! - Here I go. Help me up, boys.
It's not yet our time, gentlemen.
Not yet our time.
General Kemper. General Kemper.
You are ordered by General Longstreet to proceed to your left in support of McLaws.
Take two regiments of your brigade into the sunken road behind the stone wall.
Yes, sir. At once.
Do your duty, general.
My horse. We go to where the fight is.
Commanding general has called us into battle.
We move at once.
[SOLDIERS CHEERING]
If we can whip the enemy here today...
... I tell you, from what l know...
...the Confederacy is surely established.
Men of Virginia...
...you who have fought on so many hard-won fields...
...today your country calls upon you one more time...
...to stand between her and the enemy.
And I know that you will do your duty!
[SOLDIERS CHEERING]
Brigade, halt! Form by battalion!
Pass them forward. Just load and pass them forward!
Fire!
20th Maine...
...halt!
AMES: It is not difficult to move from line of battle into column of fours.
It is much harder to move from column of fours into line of battle...
...and if we're called to make that move, it will be when we are under fire.
You understand how important it is that these moves are learned so thoroughly...
...that the men can perform them in their sleep.
[SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
Seems a terrible long distance up that hill.
It'll be shortened by those in the front.
Begging your pardon, sir.
The only thing that'll be shortened by those in front is their lives.
God help us now.
- Colonel, take care of the right wing. - Yes, sir. I'll watch them, sir.
Hail Caesar.
We who are about to die salute you.
20th Maine!
- Forward! - Forward!
- March! - March!
By the right of companies, to the front! March!
Right of companies to the front! March!
Form a line, boys! Form a line!
Form up a line! Form up a line!
Dress to the colors!
Come on, boys!
Dress to the colors!
Come on, boys.
Dress to the colors!
[SOLDIERS SHOUTING]
Keep your line, men. Keep your line. Close that gap!
Dress to the colors!
At the double-quick, men!
Double-quick, boys! Come on, boys!
Keep it tight, boys! Keep it tight!
Turn right, boys! Right!
Turn to the right!
Keep it tight, men! Keep it tight, men!
Come on, boys!
At the double-quick, boys! Come on, boys!
Forward, men. Keep moving!
Battalion, halt!
- Battalion, halt! - Battalion, halt!
Watch your line!
Dress to the colors!
Ready! Fire!
Reload, boys! Reload quickly!
Hold your line! Hold your line!
Two, three, four...
- ...five, six, seven... SOLDIER: Dress right! Dress right!
...eight.
- Steady! Steady! - Fire!
Load them! Let's go!
Keep firing! Keep firing!
Battalion, fight by fire!
Thattaway, boys, fire away!
Pour it into them!
Close the gap, boys! Pour it into them!
Fill this hole now!
All right, pour it into them, boys!
Steady now! Pour it into them! Dress that line down there!
- Sir? - What is it?!
Request permission to return to the rear, sir.
Permission granted. Permission granted.
All right, then, boys. Pour it.
No, no, Patrick, me boy. Just reload and shoot.
Pour it into them, boys! Pour it in to them!
Fill that line in!
Fill this hole now!
Dress to the right!
Fire!
Pour it into them, boys! Pour it into them!
Fire!
- Fall back, men! - Fall back! Fall back!
Fall back, boys!
- What did you do that for? - You'll thank me in the morning.
Oh, Mother. Oh, Mother, help me...
It's all right, Casey, I got you. Don't worry about a thing. I'll get you home.
SOLDIER: Quickly, men. Reload quickly!
It is well that war is so terrible...
...for we should grow too fond of it.
Yes, sir?
We're requisitioning your house for use as a hospital.
Come on inside out the cold.
You there.
You wounded?
Truly sorry, old fella..
Damn.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
- General Hancock, sir. - Surgeon.
This man is Major Sidney Willard of the 35th Massachusetts.
This way, sir.
Prepare to lift. Lift.
He's been shot twice in the chest, general. There's nothing I can do.
[SIGHS]
- Is there whiskey in this house? - Yes, sir.
Drink this, sir.
I love them people you done chased from this house.
I's known them most all my life.
The Beales is good people.
Mr. General?
I was born a slave.
And I wants to die free.
Lord knows I wants to die free, and I wants my children to be free.
Heaven help me.
May God bless you all.
[GASPS]
Damn it, Tom, you scared me half to death.
You? Lawrence, I thought you was with the beyond.
[LAUGHING]
[GROANING]
Mother?
I was able to secure the aid of a good spyglass...
...and could ascertain beyond all doubt that our house is still standing.
Oh.
Oh, I pray to God for Martha and her dear ones.
LUCY: But, Mother...
...it is a pitiful sight on the fields below Marye's Heights.
I should feel rancor in my heart for those invaders...
...but all I feel for them is sorrow.
Dear Lucy...
...when you were but a child in petticoats...
... I believe the year was 1847...
...there was a great famine in Ireland.
Those fields below the Heights were covered...
...with the finest crop of corn ever raised in this section.
The greater part of it was sent as a donation to the starving Irish.
I cannot help thinking...
...but that it helped to feed the poor victims of the lrish brigade...
...who fell on this very field today.
General Gregg.
General Jackson.
I wish to apologize...
...for the differences we had.
The doctor tells me you have not long to live.
I ask you to dismiss this matter from your mind...
...and turn your thoughts to God...
...and the world to which you go.
General...
...you know that I'm not a believer.
Well, then I will believe for the both of us.
How horrible is war.
Horrible, yes...
...but we have been invaded.
Lord, what can we do?
Kill them, sir.
Kill every last man of them.
Gentlemen.
[GROANING]
Oh, what I wouldn't give for a cup of Rio just now.
[GUNFIRE]
20th Maine! Return fire!
- Return fire! - Return fire!
Oh.
Patrick.
I hope you don't mind.
I know you're in heaven, but you got work yet to do down here...
...in this poor pitiless world.
- Colonel Chamberlain. - Mm.
Your orders are to withdraw. Withdraw to the city.
Colonel.
We are ordered to form a picket line and cover the Army's retreat across the river.
Colonel Chamberlain, did you hear me?
Yes, sir. We are to retreat, sir.
Captain Spear.
- Form the regiment. We're moving out. - Yes, sir.
Morning, general.
General Jackson would like to report the enemy is no longer in front of his position.
Go on, Mr. Pendleton.
General, the enemy has withdrawn back across the river.
The pontoon bridges are gone, sir, cut loose from their banks.
Major, summon General Longstreet.
I wanna know what's down below us here and I do not wish to wait for the fog to lift.
Yes, sir.
Captain Pendleton, you may return to General Jackson.
Express my appreciation for his diligence...
...and remind him we do not wish to give the enemy...
...an opportunity by exposing our troops to those guns on Stafford Heights.
When the fog lifts, any advance will surely receive a concentration of his artillery fire.
Yes, sir.
And, captain, I'm told you received a wound to your thigh.
I trust it's not serious.
Thank you for asking, general.
It's just a flesh wound.
Nothing serious at all.
MAN: Yankees.
Everywhere.
Where y'all been? Can't find my own house. Gone! Gone!
What y'all done with my house?
Where is it? Can y'all tell me that?
Well, can you? Can you?
20th Maine, halt!
You had a hard chance, colonel.
- I'm glad to see you out of there. - It was chance, general.
Not much intelligent design there.
God knows it wasn't I that put you in there.
That was the trouble. You should have put us in, sir.
We were handed in piecemeal, on toasting forks.
ALL [SINGING]: Steal away
Steal away to Jesus
Steal away
Steal away home
I ain't got long
To stay here
What you gonna do now that your master's dead?
Done already told you he my boss...
...not my master.
Well, one way or the other, he gone now.
Ain't much left for me here in Virginny.
My brother done run off with the Yankees. He in Chambersburg now.
Up north in Pennsylvania.
You planning on heading up that way?
Once I gets this body up to his kin in Winchester...
... I sees the way things is.
Well, it's good for you your boss got killed in the wintertime.
That's a long way to be carrying a man in a pine box.
White folks be killing one another for a while yet.
They're still plenty mad, and plenty of them.
But this here Rebel...
...give me my freedom papers.
He already with Jesus.
I'm just taking him home.
Amen.
"Men of the Army...
...although you were not successful in the recent battle...
...the attempt was not an error, nor the failure other than an accident.
No soldiers in the annals of war fought more bravely.
Condoling with the mourners for the dead...
...and sympathizing with the severely wounded...
... I congratulate the Army that the numbers of casualties...
- ...have been comparatively so small." - Compared to what?
The Scots at Culloden? The English at Bunker Hill?
The French at Waterloo?
"..the thanks of the nation."
Signed: Abraham Lincoln.
Battalion!
Dismissed!
At this Christmas season, when the good fairies are in the air...
...we can hardly wonder at the sudden miracle...
...that has shown us the Fredericksburg affair in its true light...
...and given us occasion for national joy instead of national sorrow.
[PLAYING PIANO]
General Jackson?
Do you know what these decorations signify?
[SIGHS]
I was wondering if someone would tell me.
- This is Santa's sled. - I see.
And this is stuff made of candy.
This is a gingerbread snowflake.
And this is a paper chain of angels.
Did you make this angel?
It's lovely.
- How old are you, Jane? - I'm 5 years old.
- How old are you? - I'm 38.
My father is 38. He's a soldier like you.
I haven't seen him for more than a year.
I've not met your father, but I'm told he's a very good man, very brave man.
I'm sure he misses you as much as I miss my daughter.
When did you last see your daughter?
I've never seen her.
She was born just days ago.
I want to see her more than anything in this world.
I want to see her as much as your father wants to see you.
You see that star at the top of the tree?
The star of Bethlehem.
The star that showed the wise men where they could find the baby Jesus.
Mother says that star will show Daddy how to find his way back home.
Well, your mother's very wise, very good person.
Your daddy will come home.
All the daddies will come home.
Oh, my.
[SOBBING]
Gentlemen, let us lift our glasses to our Southern women...
...without whose bravery and fortitude...
...without whose love, without whose endurance and sacrifice...
...not a man among us can stay the course...
...or defend the cause.
CROWD: Hear, hear.
Now it's time for a carol. Come up. Everybody must sing.
- Carols are my favorite. - I can't sing.
Of course you can sing, Mr. Jackson. You can breathe, can't you?
Just let your breath flow gently over your vocal chords and nature does the rest.
[PLAYING "SILENT NIGHT" ON PIANO]
ALL [SINGING]: Silent night.
Holy night
CHAMBERLAIN: Dearest Fanny:
The bugle has just sounded, 3rd Brigade extinguish lights.
It makes me happy to think of you and my dear little ones at home...
...all nestled together.
I know that it is all well and bright with her whose sweet face shines in my heart.
Come and let me kiss your dear lips, precious wife.
Let our hearts worship together God's loVe, and wisdom, and mercy.
Yes, all is well, well with us, darling...
...well if we can only meet at last, as I pray God we may.
Hey, Billy Yank.
- That's a mighty nice song. - I'm pleased you find it so agreeable.
I'd like it even more if I had some coffee to wash it down.
- Want some baccy? - Sure, Johnny.
Have you got a lame horse?
What do you be wanting to trade for a lame horse?
Would you take General Burnside?
[LAUGHING]
No. I guess I'll keep the horsehide.
Come on, get your baccy.
Mr. Smith, are you aware that the Bible gives models of official battle reports?
- No, sir. - Nevertheless, there are such.
Consider the narrative of Joshua's battles with the Amalekites.
It has clearness and modesty, brevity.
And it traces the victory to the right source, the blessing of God.
Has it helped you with your reports, sir?
Anybody home?
Afternoon, General Jackson.
[CHUCKLES]
What's this?
[LAUGHING]
- New recruits. - Ha, ha.
JANE: My mama helped me make these.
Mm? That's fine.
- Left, right. Left, right. - Child, that hat is a bit too large for you.
However...
...there.
I believe that suits a young girl better than an old soldier.
JANE: Mama's baking some biscuits.
You know, I was thinking of walking over to the big house for a nice hot cup of tea.
And I would very much like the company of one beautiful little lady.
Yes, General Jackson, a hot cup of chamomile.
Uh, Mr. Smith, you may continue writing the reports.
Consult first and second Samuel...
...and first and second Kings.
They will be of help to you.
Shall we go?
Do you prefer butter biscuits or sugar cookies?
Oh, my. I know your mother's biscuits are first-rate.
[CHUCKLES]
[CROWD CHEERING]
CROWD: Whoo!
[CROWD LAUGHING]
CROWD: Whoo!
Coward.
It's a fine thing for you to call me a coward...
...when you spend all my salary on stockings.
CROWD: Whoo!
The first lady must look good if her husband looks like a baboon.
[PLAYING DRUM]
You must be the missing "link-oln."
[MAN PLAYING DRUM]
I begin to wonder who runs the White House.
[MAN PLAYING DRUM]
[CROWD LAUGHING]
And that's the long and the short of it.
And now, my gallant friends...
...my own dear beau will sing a verse of his original creation...
...and invites you to all join in on the chorus.
"The Bonnie Blue Flag!"
[CROWD CHEERING]
[SINGING] We are a band of brothers
And native to the soil
Fighting for our liberty with....
And when our rights were threatened The cry rose near and far
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star
ALL [SINGING]: Hurrah, Hurrah For Southern rights, hurrah
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star
We owe you Texas boys a debt of gratitude for putting on these shows.
Colonel Patton, any man who can't handle a guitar or a fiddle...
...ain't fit to carry a musket.
[SINGING] But now, when Northern treachery
Attempts our rights to mar
We hoist on high the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star
ALL [SINGING]: Hurrah, Hurrah For Southern rights, hurrah
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star
Then here's to our Confederacy Strong we are and braVe
Like patriots of old we'll fight Our heritage to saVe
And rather than submit to shame To die we would prefer
So cheer for the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star
ALL [SINGING]: Hurrah, hurrah For Southern rights, hurrah
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star
Hurrah, hurrah For Southern rights, hurrah
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag That bears a single star
[CROWD CHEERING]
SOLDIER: Attention, battalions.
Halt.
- Sergeant, keep these men here for now. - Yes, sir.
Sir.
The men have rounded up three deserters.
Establish the courts-martial.
Have them arraigned. See they're given a fair hearing.
Uh, yes, sir.
Yes?
Well, I thought that you should know, sir.
They all belong to the Stonewall brigade.
[SIGHS]
Do your duty, soldier.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Pendleton, if they are innocent, these men will go free.
But if they are found guilty of desertion...
...the courts-martial condemns them to death. It must be so.
Yes, sir.
Of course, sir.
I'm not done yet.
Sandie.
If the Republicans lose their little war, they are voted out in the next election...
...and they return to their homes in New York or Massachusetts or Illinois...
...fat with their war profits.
If we lose, we lose our country.
We lose our independence.
We lose it all.
Our soldiers are brave.
They have endured hardships none of them could ever have imagined.
Desertion is not a solitary crime.
It's a crime against the tens of thousands of veterans...
...who are huddled together in the harsh cold of this winter.
Against all those who have sacrificed.
Against all those who have fallen.
Against all the women and the children we have left alone to fend for themselves.
I regard the crime of desertion as a sin against the Army of the Lord.
Duty is ours.
The consequences are God's.
JENKINS: I am a soldier in the 4th Virginia.
And in the 4th Virginia I will stay.
And if needs be, die.
The courts-martial of the Army of Northern Virginia...
...has found you guilty of desertion and sentences you to death...
...by firing squad.
Lieutenant, do your duty.
Detail, ready!
Aim.
Fire!
Recover, arm!
Morning, Lawrence.
- Any mail? - No.
But I did manage to get my hands on a New York Tribune.
- What are they saying about us now? - Well, not much about us.
I mean, that is, this Army here in Stoneman's Switch.
Sure are kicking up a fuss about Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
Oh. Says here that enlistments are down and desertions are up.
- Any grumbling among the men? - Well, not in our regiment.
A few wonder out loud why they should be risking their lives for the darkies.
Well, Tom, you know my position.
I signed up to preserve the Union. The president did the right thing.
What's the use of uniting the country by force and leaving slavery in place?
It sure riled up those Johnny Rebs.
They'll think Lincoln incited the slaves to rise against them.
Why shouldn't they?
Freeing the slaves wasn't a war aim when this began, but war changes things.
- It sorts things out. - Well, I don't know, Lawrence.
Not everybody feels the way we do about the darkies.
Especially when it comes to fighting and dying.
Tom.
Do me a favor.
Don't call me Lawrence and don't call Negroes "darkies."
That's a patronizing expression from which we must free ourselves.
Come outside. I want to, uh.. I want to show you something.
[SIGHS]
All these thousands of men.
Many of them not much more than boys.
Each one of them some mother's son.
Some sister's brother. Some daughter's father.
Each one of them a whole person, loved and cherished in some home far away.
Many of them will never return.
An army is power.
Its entire purpose is to coerce others.
Now, this kind of power cannot be used carelessly or recklessly.
This kind of power can do great harm.
We have seen more suffering than any man should ever see...
...and if there is going to be an end to it, it must be an end that justifies the cost.
Now, somewhere out there is the Confederate Army.
They claim they are fighting for their independence, for their freedom.
Now, I cannot question their integrity.
I believe they are wrong, but I cannot question it.
But I do question a system that defends its own freedom while it denies it to others.
To an entire race of men.
I will admit it, Tom, war is a scourge. But so is slavery.
It is the systematic coercion of one group of men over another.
It has been around since the book of Genesis.
It exists in every corner of the world.
But that's no excuse for us to tolerate it here...
...when we find it right before our very eyes, in our own country.
As God is my witness, there is no one I hold in my heart dearer than you.
But if your life or mine is part of the price to end this curse and free the Negro...
...then let God's will be done.
CORBIN: Oh, my, general, we do appreciate the gift.
Where do you get all these lemons?
It's a kind providence that provides kindly.
Miss Corbin, the Yankees have not succeeded in cutting our rail lines...
...to the South.
Here is to the sultry, balmy South.
And, Miss Corbin, here's to your engagement.
May Sandie Pendleton prove to be as fine a husband as he is a soldier.
Hear, hear.
Mm.
BOTH: Mm.
That's good, it's not too sweet.
May I have some more?
Sure.
[MIMICKING HORSE]
Mrs. Corbin.
Thank you for your many kindnesses.
Our cause and our country are in your debt.
I only regret, general, that we could not do more.
You'll come visit us again when this cruel war is over?
I should like to say goodbye to your daughter. I shall miss her very much.
Certainly, general. She's not feeling very well today.
All of the children have come down with the fever. Please, come in.
Well, now.
What's this?
How can I play with my friend if she insists on staying in bed?
Jane.
Will you place this angel on your tree next Christmas?
Mm-hm.
Bless you, child.
Mrs. Corbin, I must return to my men.
My physician, Doctor McGuire, will attend to her.
- I will send him directly. - Bless you, general.
Fresh meat. What a change.
Yeah. A live steer around these parts is as rare as a peacock in a poultry pen.
[SOLDIERS LAUGHING]
It was scarlet fever.
The children are all right. They'll be fine. Except..
I'm so sorry, sir.
The little girl, Jane.
She did not survive. She died, sir.
No, Sandie.
[CRYING]
What is it?
He's never cried before.
Not for all the blood and all the death, not for his young students from VMI...
...not for his friends...
...not for anyone.
Not so, Sandie.
I think he is crying for them all.
[MARCHING BAND PLAYING UPBEAT MUSIC]
[CHEERING]
[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]
She's too pretty to look like me.
Nonsense, Thomas.
She is very like you.
She rises early and she loves to be held in my arms.
[CHUCKLES]
I have never seen you look so well, Thomas.
You are handsomer than ever.
And grant that this child now to be baptized therein...
...may receive the fullness of thy grace...
...and ever remain the number of thy faithful children.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
CROWD: Amen.
[BABY CRYING]
What is the Christian name of the child?
- Julia Laura. LACY: Julia Laura.
I baptize thee in the name of the Father...
...and of the Son...
...and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen.
CROWD: Amen.
[CHUCKLES]
He won't agree.
[SCOFFS]
Mr. Minnis.
Would you tell him that you were sent to take General Lee's photograph...
...but that General Lee declined unless General Jackson's was taken first.
Certainly, Captain Pendleton.
No photographs.
Sir, I was sent from Richmond to take a photograph of General Lee...
...but the general decided that he did not want his photograph taken...
...until I had taken your photograph first.
Sir, General Lee was most insistent on the importance of your photograph.
I cannot refuse General Lee's request.
Where do you wish me to stand?
Mr. Booth is here the entire month.
He's playing in Hamlet, Katherine and Petruchio...
...The Merchant of Venice, Richard III and Macbeth.
Which is your favorite, Mr. President?
I think nothing equals Macbeth.
I have read it many times.
- I am curious to see Mr. Booth's rendition. - Indeed?
I am told Booth does the death scene spectacularly.
Very physical. Wilder than his brother Edwin.
That is one reproach I have of Shakespeare's heroes.
What reproach is that, dear?
They all make long speeches when they are killed.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
They do indeed.
Is this a dagger which I see before me...
...handle towards my hand?
Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight?
Or art thou but a dagger of the mind...
...a false creation...
...proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet...
...in form as palpable as this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going...
...and such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses.
I see thee still...
...and on thy blade and dudgeon...
...gouts of blood, which was not so before.
It is the bloody business which informs thus to mine eyes.
Whiles I threat...
...he lives.
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.
I go, and it is done.
The bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan. . .
...for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven...
...or to hell.
Well, Mr. Booth, another triumph.
The president and Mrs. Lincoln wish to see you.
[CHUCKLES]
You may tell that tyrant...
...that destroyer of civil liberties...
...that warmonger...
...that I am indisposed. Huh?
Better still, tell him nothing.
Tell him I'd already gone.
Golly gee, Booth.
An endorsement from the president of the United States.
Could be a big thing for your career.
LEE: General, from what we've observed...
...Hooker has moved five corps, maybe 70,000 men.
They're digging in around Chancellor's mansion.
Sedgwick has another 40,000 spread out along the Stafford Heights...
...on the north bank of the Rappahannock in front of General Early at Fredericksburg.
Now, there's possibly 30,000 more back along the river north of here...
...that we've not yet located.
We're not in a position of strength here.
We owe a great deal to the unexplainable, the mystery of General Hooker...
...who's allowed us to maneuver freely...
...between two parts of an army that's more than twice our strength.
We do not yet understand his plan.
He may still plan a move toward Gordonsville...
...move around below us, cut us off from Richmond.
And there's still Sedgwick on the river.
Now Sedgwick shows no signs of moving, but that could change.
They're anchored against the river...
...and their lines continue down below Chancellorsville...
...then curves along here.
We've observed their lines curving out in these open clearings...
...then extending on out to the west.
Then what, general? Do you know where their right flank is?
JACKSON: No. Not yet. LEE: We must know. We must know.
If he marches in that direction, he could threaten our flank...
...or be going toward Gordonsville before we can react.
Out here, in the west, along this turnpike, here...
...their right flank's in the air. It's the one place they're not digging in.
They're not expecting any pressure there.
- Who's on their flank? - 11th Corps. Oliver Howard.
Mm-hm. Were there any roads farther down below the turnpike?
Yes, sir. Indeed there are, good roads.
That's Catherine's Furnace here and there's a road here.
- There's a road over this way. - Then, we must hit them there.
Then attack the flank. They will have nowhere to go.
They'll have to go back across the river or we will destroy them.
We're too close to their lines. They'll observe our movements.
There must be another road farther down.
Now, is there someone we know?
Someone we can trust who knows the area?
Captain Pendleton. Find Reverend Lacy for me.
LACY: I'm, uh, here, sir.
This is my chaplain, the Reverend Tucker Lacy.
He has family in this area.
General Lee.
Reverend, it would be very helpful if you could find us a safe route...
- ...around the enemy. - Well, sir, uh, there, I know a family.
The Wellfords. Uh, I suggest a visit to them. We may find ourselves a guide.
Please go at once, Mr. Lacy. Find someone who might show us how we might proceed.
Yes, sir.
Then it has been decided, general. This mission will be yours.
I would not have it any other way.
Where is General Jackson, Jim?
He done gone to see his officers, sir.
How come that you know so much about what the general is thinking, Jim?
None of us do.
The general never tells me nothing, sir.
But the way I knows is this:
The general say his prayers twice a day...
...morning and night.
But if he gets out of bed in the night two or three times to pray...
... I just packs the haversack.
I know there's a move on hand and hell to pay in the morning.
[LAUGHING]
"Hell to pay in the morning."
Very amusing.
- Amusing. - Yeah.
Yeah.
Wait.
There is another road.
It's a road that runs well below the Federal lines.
The Wellford boy explained it to me. He knows the route.
He will march with us to where this road rejoins the turnpike...
...then we turn to the east and attack their right flank.
It is a greater distance, perhaps 12 or 13 miles, but the boys can do it.
They have never let us down.
Farewell, general.
How many troops will you require?
Five, general, my whole corps.
And what will you leave me?
Well, the divisions of Anderson and McLaws.
You leave me 12,000 men against Hooker's 70,000.
If Hooker pushes out of his trenches...
...he could destroy not only the plan but possibly the Army.
And there's still Sedgwick along the river.
How long will he sit staring at Marye's Hill? How long?
We've divided the Army before.
We must retain the advantage of surprise, we must outflank the flankers.
We must beat them at their own game.
Take your entire corps, General Jackson, and destroy the enemy.
God be with you.
Boys, my days are numbered.
My time has come.
You can laugh, but my time has come.
I got a 20-dollar gold piece I carried through the war and a silver watch...
...my daddy sent to me through the lines.
Take them off of me when I'm dead.
Give them to my captain to give to my daddy when he gets back home.
Here's my clothes and my blanket. Anybody who wishes can have them.
My rations I do not wish at all. My gun and cartridge box I expect to die with.
- Mr. Smith. - Sir.
Your instructions to the ranks: There is to be no noise, I want no talking.
Stragglers will be bayoneted, let the men know.
No muskets are to be loaded until we deploy for battle. Secrecy, Mr. Smith.
Everything depends upon the element of surprise.
Sir, I'll convey the orders. No stragglers.
- Reverend. - May we bow our heads.
Dear Lord, heavenly Father, you who know all things.
We face again a mighty foe, a vast host.
An enemy more than twice our number.
But you have taught us to fear not, to trust in you.
When the Philistines came before them, the people of Israel feared Goliath.
Their Army was in terror.
No one had the courage to stand against the mighty warrior.
Then you brought forth David, a mere boy.
And Saul armed David with his armor...
...and he put a helmet of brass upon his head.
Also he armed him with a coat of mail.
And DaVid girded his sword upon his armor and he assayed to go.
General Rodes, deploy your men on either side of the turnpike, brigade front.
How soon will General Colston's men be up?
We're right behind, general.
JACKSON: General Lee...
...I hope as soon as practicable to attack...
...I trust that an ever kind providence will bless us with great success.
Take this to General Lee.
Well, General Rodes...
. ..it appears the Virginia Military Institute will be heard from today.
Deploy your brigade.
Two hours of daylight left. Are you ready, General Rodes?
You may move forward.
[ALL SHOUTING]
SOLDIER 1: Fall back!
SOLDIER 2: They're coming! Get your muskets!
- Shoulder to shoulder! Let's go, let's go! - Fall back!
Aim, fire!
Pull back and save yourself!
Fall back!
Fire! Fall back!
lnto the trees, men! Fall back!
SOLDlER 3: Into the trees!
Form a line! Form a line!
Form a line!
- Run! Run! - Charge!
Press on!
Hold up right here! Aim! Fire!
Push on!
Fire!
Hell, that's hot. I knew you'd be all right, you dang fool.
Oh, God.
Regroup!
- Stop running! - Move into line!
Stay together!
My God! Give them the bayonet!
- Stop running! - Stop running!
Stop running, soldier!
Stop running! Rally with me, men!
- Rally with me! - Stop! Rally around the general!
We have stopped, sir. Can't see. The lines are tangled.
We're mixed in with Rodes' men. It's confusion, sir.
We need Hill to come up. Hill's men can move on by us.
Tell General Colston he must re-form his men.
Now I will strongly urge General Hill to push forward hard.
We must not stop. Let General Colston know they will run if we press them.
Yes, sir.
General Hill, you must keep the men moving. We must keep the pressure up.
We have broken their flank. We can crush them now if we can cut them off.
We must not give them time to get organized.
General, take your division forward.
Press on north, move toward the river, toward the United States ford.
- We must not let them escape. - It's late in the day, general.
- We don't know the ground. - Boswell!
You will ride with General Hill. You will find a way through the woods to the northeast.
You will find the rear of the enemy's position.
Yes, sir.
We will cut them off, general!
They're digging in. Must be Federal.
Sound carries at night, they could be a ways off.
General, sir, we are beyond our lines. This is no place for you, sir.
You're right.
It cannot go the way l'd hoped.
It will have to be tomorrow.
Gentlemen, let us return to the road.
Stop firing! You're firing at your own men!
Hold it!
Hold your fire! These are your own men here!
It's a lie! Pour into them, boys!
Cease fire! Cease fire!
General Hill, they're our men!
What have they done?
Who is this?
Oh, God, general! Are you hurt badly?
I'm afraid I am, in my shoulder.
And here.
- Get a litter. We need a litter. Move! SOLDIER: Yes, sir.
- We must leave here, general. - Here, take this. It'll help, sir.
I will try to keep this from the knowledge of the troops.
Thank you, general.
The Yankees have set up a battery not a hundred yards. We must get away!
Ready? Lift! Careful now.
Move out. Ready, lift.
Fire!
General. Lie quiet, or you will most certainly be killed.
Let's go. Lift!
Move! Ready? Lift!
Doctor, good to see you.
I am hurt badly.
I fear I am dying.
Sir, I want you to drink this.
It's whiskey and morphine.
Your right hand is minor. The ball lodged under the skin.
It's these other wounds.
I need to examine your arm.
And I'll administer chloroform to make it painless.
If I should find that the condition warrants amputation...
...may I proceed at once?
I have complete faith in you, Dr. McGuire.
You must do to me whatever you think necessary.
Breathe deeply, general.
What an infinite blessing.
Blessing.
[ALL CHEERING]
Doesn't seem right that General Jackson isn't here to see this.
No, major. It does not seem right at all. But it is the will of God.
He's lost his left arm. I've lost my right.
General?
How you feeling, sir?
Do not concern yourself about me.
But tell me, how are we faring?
General, the enemy's gone across the river.
We secured the high ground around Chancellorsville.
General Stuart did well by you, sir.
And the Stonewall brigade...
...right in the middle of it, sir. "Remember Jackson," they shouted.
I heard that all day.
They were fighting for Stonewall.
Well, isn't that just like them. They are a noble set of men.
That name, Stonewall, belongs to the brigade, not to me.
I have the ball.
Dr. McGuire allowed me to keep the musket ball he took from your hand.
It was a round, smooth bore. It had to be one of ours.
I heard. They thought I was asleep.
It could not be helped. There's no blame in war.
We must all forgive.
Watch your step.
Mrs. Jackson.
So am..?
Am I allowed to visit my husband before he is buried?
Buried? He's..
Oh, my. No, no, no. This is the body of Frank Paxton.
General Paxton is moving his body back to Lexington.
Well, I knew Mr. Paxton. General Paxton, he's our neighbor.
His wife, she cried when he left.
I suppose she knew something like this would happen.
Thank you.
I had to remove your husband's left arm, patch his right hand.
He's healing well, I'm very pleased. But there is a new problem.
I do believe he is developing pneumonia.
- May I see him, doctor? - Well, certainly, certainly. Um, he's weak.
I've given him some medicine to help him sleep.
He's in some pain and the medication makes him drift away. He's in and out.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
General, I have a treat for you. Something you may have been missing.
Another medicine?
Very well, doctor.
No, it's not mine, actually.
But it may do you some good.
Oh, oh, oh, so sweet. Too much sugar.
Always the problem with my esposita's lemonade.
I'm so glad to see you looking so bright.
No, no. You must be cheerful.
Let's not have a long face.
You know I like cheerfulness and brightness in a sickroom.
Esposita.
My esposita.
I know you would gladly give your life for me...
...but I am perfectly resigned. Do not be sad.
I hope I may yet recover.
Pray for me.
But in your prayers, never forget to use the petition, "Thy will be done."
I'm so glad you're here. Your lemonade is delicious.
[CHUCKLES]
- It's not too sweet. - Too much sugar.
I never told you that.
MAN: O, Caesar.. - Hence! Wilt thou lift up Olympus?
Great Caesar..
Doth not Brutus bootless kneel?
Speak, hands, for me!
[GROANING]
Et tu, Brute!
[CROWD GASPING]
Then fall, Caesar.
Liberty! Freedom!
Tyranny is dead!
- Hello, Mrs. Chamberlain. - Hello.
- Thank you for staying. - Thank you.
Come, you must meet the other actors.
Mr. Harrison, Mr. Booth, may I present Colonel Chamberlain and his wife.
May I congratulate you, all of you, on a most moving interpretation.
This is only a play.
We've heard about you, colonel...
...and how you stood on the bridge of the Rappahannock like Horatius...
...as hundreds fled in panic round you.
How can our playing compare to what you have seen, what you have done?
Well, remember, gentlemen, I am not a soldier by nature.
I am a teacher of rhetoric...
...and my master, as yours, is Shakespeare.
And, uh, did you enjoy the play, Mrs. Chamberlain?
Oh. Very much.
Mr. Booth, tell me something.
Do you regard yourself as the hero or the villain of Shakespeare's play?
Well, ha, ha....
Well, an actor must always regard himself as a hero, Mrs. Chamberlain...
...even if that role be no more than a simple soldier who only speaks one line.
Yes. It's for the audience to decide who is a hero and who is villain.
We merely play the parts allotted to us.
How do you think of us, Mrs. Chamberlain...
...Cinna and Brutus, as heroes or villains?
Well...
...noblest Roman of them all...
...you cannot be villains in Shakespeare's eyes...
...though Dante makes you the worst villains in the world...
...after Judas lscariot.
No, you are not villains to Shakespeare...
...but I wonder, are you heroes?
- Oh. I speak too much. I'm sorry. - No, no, no.
My beloved husband has been given a few days' furlough here...
...and everything about these days delights me utterly.
Do not expect me to speak intelligently about your play or anything else.
My eyes, my heart, my whole being is dancing uncontrollably with joy...
...at being together with the man that I love.
Thank you for enriching my stay here with those immortal words. Thank you.
Come, Fanny. We must leave the players to rest after their exertions.
Good evening.
What a Caesar, Harrison.
What a Caesar.
Too young for Caesar. Henry V.
Yes, Henry V.
With that voice shouting, "Once more into the breach!"
Oh, yes. Henry V.
Teacher, not a soldier.
And a better actor than either of us.
But he's chosen the right role in the right play.
He'll be applauded long after we're forgotten.
All we can do, Harrison, is like I said to Mrs. Chamberlain.
All we can do is play the roles allotted to us.
Well, if a teacher of rhetoric can become a soldier, so can an actor.
I've known for some time I could not go on like this.
And now....
If the Yankee cause can sway a man like that...
...then we need every man we can muster.
Booth, I'm quitting the stage. I have to go.
I loathe, I detest his cause.
But were I to be killed by a man like that...
... I'd regard it an honor.
Yes, sir.
An honor.
You were always inclined to melodrama, Harrison.
What makes you think you'll be a better soldier than an actor?
Stay here.
Your place is here.
Why should we think what we do is any less than what soldiers do?
We may be mere actors...
...but think of the words we help to keep alive.
Who will remember the names of...
...Queen Elizabeth's generals, and politicians?
Who will ever forget...
...the name...
...Shakespeare?
Is that my sweet darling angel?
[JULIA BABBLING]
My Julia.
Is it certain, doctor?
[SIGHS]
Does he know?
I have not told him.
Then I will.
He must know.
He must be prepared.
JOSEPH & ANNA [SINGING]: Guard us, guide us
Keep us, feed us
For we have no help but thee
Yet possessing every blessing
If our God our father be
My darling...
...today is Sunday.
Do you know that the doctor says you must very soon be in heaven?
Do you not feel willing to acquiesce in God's allotment if he wills you to go today?
I prefer it.
Well...
...by the time this day closes...
...you will be with the blessed Savior in his glory.
[SOBBING]
I....
I will be an infinite gainer to be translated.
General Lee.
What is the news, Reverend?
General Lee, I must report that his case appears hopeless.
His wounds are healing, but he's dying of pneumonia.
Surely General Jackson must recover.
God will not take him from us, not now that we need him so very much.
Will you see him, sir?
No, sir, I won't. No, sir.
When you return, I trust you'll find him better.
And when the occasion offers, tell him that I prayed for him last night...
...as I never prayed, I believe, for myself.
Please tell him.
Sir.
Push up that column.
Move up that column.
Pendleton, take charge of that line. Where's Smith?
Tell him. Push up that column.
Move the batteries to the center of the crest. There's no time to waste.
General Stuart, no quarter to the violators of our homes and hearths.
General Lee, we must take the war to the enemy.
[SOBBING] You are the 1st Brigade.
Advance, my brave boys.
Press on.
Let us cross over the river...
...and rest under the shade of the trees.
[SOLDIER PLAYING DRUM]