Chapter 1 Summary

The story opens with men of the Confederate Army marching toward Pittsburg Landing. Lieutenant Palmer Metcalfe, who is an Aide-de-Camp for the staff of General Albert Sidney Johnston, describes the condition of the Confederate soldiers as they march. The road has been difficult for them and rain has muddied their way so that many have stopped looking at anything other than their boots and the backs or the rucksacks of the men in front of them. Then there's a brief clearing of the skies and the sun shines through. Palmer says that when this happens, the men are immediately cheered and some of them even find the energy to dodge puddles in their paths. At one point Palmer sees the men from the vantage of a ridge and from that vantage point he can only see a large "army in motion." He says...