The civil war is getting closer and closer. Farmer Charlie Anderson is against the war. He resists his sons' conscription into the Southern Army. His youngest son Boy finds a Southern cap in a stream and has been wearing it ever since. A little later, Boy is captured by Northerners and mistaken for a rebel because of his cap. While the Andersons search for Boy, there are several losses within the family. Disillusioned, father Charlie returns home with the rest of the family, but without having found his son. As it turns out, this soldier has joined and is fighting for his survival...