The Horse Soldiers (1959) (set in the American Civil War), directed by John Ford, is a film about a Union Cavalry detachment, lead by Colonel John Marlowe (John Wayne), which is sent behind the Confederate enemy lines in strength to destroy a railroad and supply depot (Newton Station). Col. Marlowe was a railroad designer before the war, so who better to tap to capture one? With them is a new doctor (regimental surgeon), Major Henry Kendall (William Holden) who seems to be constantly at odds with Col. Marlowe. Maj. Kendall is torn between the “duty of war” and the “horror of war”, and the moral questions that war brings with it. He does not see any glory from his operating table. This internal stress spills over into conflicts that Col. Marlowe must try to deal with, while at the same time worry about his men and his assignment. Then to complicate matters even more, after the unit stops at the Greenbriar Plantation, Miss Hannah Hunter (Constance Towers), the plantations “southern belle” over hears the details of the pending raid. So to protect the mission Col. Marlowe drags her along with the troop for the rest of the movie. This of course gives Col. Marlowe and Maj. Kendall one more thing to fight about, Miss Hannah’s affections.

Flimed on location in Louisiana.

The film's climactic battle scene ending was cut short when Fred Kennedy, a veteran stuntman and bit player, was killed in a horse fall. Ford was so upset he closed the set and had to film the rest of the sceen later in the San Fernando Valley. The scene with the fall remains in the film.

The movie is based on the true story of Grierson's Raid led by Colonel Benjamin Grierson who is sent from northern Mississippi, several hundred miles behind enemy lines in April of 1863, along with 1700 men, to cut the railroad between Newton Station and Vicksburg (Vicksburg, Mississippi). Grierson's raid is part of the Union's larger plan to assault Battle of Vicksburg. The raid was has successful as it was daring, and remarkably bloodless, by attacking the Confederate (Confederate States of America) controlled railroad it upset the plans of Confederate General John C. Pemberton and his troop deployments.

Credits

Directed by: John Ford

Story: Harold Sinclair

Screenplay: John Lee Mahin & Martin Rackin

Produced by: John Lee Mahin & Martin Rackin

Starring:

• John Wayne as Col. John Marlowe
• William Holden as Maj. Henry 'Hank' Kendall (regimental surgeon)
• Constance Towers as Miss Hannah Hunter of Greenbriar
• Althea Gibson as "Lukey" (Hannah Hunter's maid)

External links

• The Horse Soldiers (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052902/) at the Internet Movie Database
• Yahoo! Movies entry The Horse Soldiers (http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1800078014&cf=info&intl=us)