In Pursuit of Honor

During the 1932 Bonus March in Washington, D.C., U.S. Cavalry and Infantry are deployed to manage the protest. Major John Hardesty orders his mounted troops to present their sabers to deter the crowd. Three veterans, First Sergeant Libbey and two others, refuse to draw their swords because they are men they served with, tarnishing their careers and setting a charged tone for military discipline.

The refusal to draw sabers leads to punitive reassignment, sidelining Libbey and the other sergeants to a remote post in Texas. Their military careers suffer as they are kept away from major assignments. The move isolates them from the chain of command they once trusted.

Two years later, in 1934, Lieutenant Marshall Buxton arrives at his new outpost in Texas. In an interview with retiring Colonel Stuart, it’s revealed that his transfer stems from a past incident where he attacked a soldier who hurt his horse. The past weighs on him as he meets the stubborn unit around the remount herd.

Buxton meets the sergeants Libbey, Quinlain, Mulcahey, and Shattuck, who together manage the herd of remounts. The veterans’ camaraderie is clear, yet their stubborn dispositions hint at trouble ahead. Buxton begins to navigate the fragile balance between duty and loyalty.

Colonel Stuart is replaced by Colonel Hardesty as part of a promotion and a shift toward modernization. Hardesty aggressively pushes a plan to transition to mechanization, which includes destroying the horse herd at the outpost. The leadership change signals a hard line against the remounts’ future.

Hardesty orders the destruction of the horses to facilitate mechanization, and Buxton is ordered to lead the herd to be killed. He protests, arguing that it would be a grave moral mistake. Hardesty refuses to reconsider and threatens Buxton with a court-martial if he disobeys.

Buxton witnesses the first 100 horses being shot in a mass grave, an atrocity that steels his resolve. He decides to stop the massacre and vows to drive the remaining herd to safety, with the support of the other sergeants who share his concern for both people and animals.

What starts as a resistance against orders becomes a full-fledged manhunt as the renegade group moves northward. They receive help from the retired Colonel Stuart and his daughter Jessica, a journalist, who believe in their cause. The journey tests endurance as horses falter and men push onward.

The plan shifts from taking the herd to a Montana Indian Reservation to moving north toward Canada due to Hardesty’s armored division. The trek becomes a perilous relocation across hostile terrain with the goal of preserving as many horses as possible.

As they approach the Canada–U.S. border, Jessica carries a letter from President Roosevelt granting pardons, but the group is under artillery fire. A Gunnery Sergeant’s miscalculation prevents the shells from hitting them, allowing the survivors to press on.

Buxton’s group finally crosses the river into Canadian territory, where they are met by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who stand on their side. The crossing represents a fragile victory and a reprieve from American pursuit, though the future remains uncertain.

Buxton decides to return to the United States to face charges, hoping to influence future military conduct. Libbey heads further north to Alaska, while the others choose to remain in Canada. The group disperses, each seeking a new path after the ordeal.