| Director | Robert Wise |
|---|---|
| Genre | Western film, drama film |
| Runtime | 92 min |
| Country | United States |
In the autumn of 1864, remnants of the Confederate 5th Georgia Cavalry are prisoners of war in the Union prison camp at Rock Island, Illinois. Sick and dying in deplorable conditions, they find a chance for survival when Union captain Mark Bradford offers them release if they will join the Union Army to garrison a fort on the Western frontier. The fort is undermanned and vulnerable to Indian attack. Although promised that they will not be compelled to fight against their own men, many of the Georgians resist the offer. The men vote to decide on the proposition, but when the last soldier dies before he can choose, the result is a deadlock. Compassion for his men, and Bradford's sincerity, compel their reluctant commander, Col. Clay Tucker, to break the tie by agreeing to the conditions.
The troop arrives at Fort Thorn, New Mexico, a small outpost of the 3rd Cavalry, commanded by the stern and bitter Major Henry Kenniston, who walks with a limp from a wound that relegated him to the fort early in the war. Tucker, now a lieutenant in the Union Army, dines with Kenniston, his widowed sister-in-law Elena and civilian guests, but he is irritated by their patronizing comments. The tension increases when Tucker reveals that he led the cavalry charge that killed Elena's husband. She has been stranded for months at the fort on her way home and is uneasy about her brother-in-law's protectiveness, suspecting that he believes himself to be his late brother's surrogate.
Friction quickly develops between the Northern and Southern soldiers. When Tucker's men try to pursue a band of Indians but are ordered to stop, they mock the order as Yankee irresoluteness. Kenniston rebukes them, warning them they had been riding into an ambush. He assigns the Georgians to execute two civilians convicted of gunrunning. When informed that they were actually Confederate agents, Tucker objects, arguing that it is a violation of their enlistment agreement. He begins plotting to desert the command, but Kenniston shrewdly deduces his plan. Rationalizing that he does not want enemies in his ranks, Kenniston assigns Tucker's troop to escort a wagon train across hostile territory, knowing that Tucker will deliver it safely before deserting. Elena escapes by concealing herself in a wagon, which Tucker discovers but allows to continue. Ephraim Strong, a civilian in the train, reveals himself as a Confederate agent who is pretending to be on the Union side and enlists Tucker in a plan to link California with the South. He persuades Tucker not to desert with his men but to return to Fort Thorn with Elena to gain Kenniston's confidence. While surprised by Tucker's actions, Kenniston continues to be wary of him.
The troop is away from the fort when Kenniston executes a Kiowa warrior, son of the chief Satank, as a "rebel and traitor". Tucker receives his orders to join the Confederates and makes Bradford a prisoner. He orders him to be brought to the fort, but Bradford and his escort return to report that the fort is under siege by hundreds of Kiowa warriors. Despite strong misgivings, Tucker returns. The troop fights its way into the fort but can only delay the inevitable and are saved from annihilation only by the setting of the sun. Bradford is killed, and Kenniston offers himself as a sacrifice and relinquishes command to Tucker.
A few days later, a dispatch rider arrives with news that General Sherman has completed his march to the sea, spelling doom for the Confederacy. Elena tries to comfort a despairing Tucker with the hope that things will seem better tomorrow.