Pharaoh’s Army

An unnamed boy, now old, recalls the Civil War era from the Cumberland Mountains. The memory frames the story as best as he can remember. The setting underscores the deep divisions between neighbors and families.

Sarah Anders' daughter dies at the hands of Yankees. That night, the soldiers dig up the grave and leave the body exposed, adding insult to loss. The family is left to grieve under a harsh, war-torn sky.

Sarah's husband, 'Pap', fights for the Confederacy and is away from home. He has fought at Shiloh, leaving her with child and grief. The absence of a husband and father weighs on the family as the war continues.

Sarah carries her daughter's coffin back to the homestead at the end of Mershack Creek, Kentucky, to rebury. The act ties the family to the land despite the turmoil. The mood is somber as the burial takes place away from formal grounds.

Captain John Hull Abston leads four soldiers scavenging for supplies and raiding Sarah's cabin. They ransack what little they can find, and Newt is seriously wounded after falling from a ladder, forcing them to stay. Tension rises as the intrusion disrupts the fragile peace.

During their stay, the captain shows unexpected mercy toward Sarah and the boy. He helps them plow a patch of land to plant corn, revealing a rare, humane side of the raiders. The moment blurs the lines between enemy and neighbor.

The boy slips away at night to alert Preacher, a Confederate sympathizer, of their peril. Preacher speaks in biblical imagery, warning of the armies' judgment. His presence foreshadows the moral complexity of the war.

Rodie deserts the force after an argument with Captain Abston. A sniper's fire soon kills Rodie, sending the group into hiding in the cabin and creek area. The family misreads the shooting as the Captain's deed, heightening mistrust.

The captain chases and kills the sniper, ending the immediate threat. Preacher retrieves the sniper's body, calling it his Israel, his servant. The event deepens the rift between Sarah and the captain.

The captain buries the dead soldier next to Sarah's daughter's grave, enraging Sarah and driving her to distress. The emotional blow underscores the futility of decency in war. The atmosphere tightens with resentment and grief.

The raiders leave, taking Sarah's wagon, mule, and cow. The captain leaves the boy a rifle to shoot squirrels, though the weapon is empty. Sarah attempts to shoot the captain as he rides away, but the rifle is useless.

The boy retrieves a revolver he had stolen earlier and catches up to the raiders. He shoots Newt in the wagon and flees into the countryside. The captain pursues him, determined to bring him back.

Captain returns to the cabin with Newt's body in the wagon and the mule, seeking the boy. He chastises the boy for killing, and Sarah and the captain argue fiercely. He fires two rounds into the air, then asks for a decent Christian burial for the dead soldier before the others continue.

As the Civil War rages, Sarah and the boy wash Rodie's body down the creek to send it downstream. They place Newt's body in a sinkhole near the roots of a fallen sycamore and cover it with dirt. The act underscores their desperate attempts to make sense of death amid chaos.

In 1941 a Kentucky mountaineer returns to the sinkhole, tying the memory of the Civil War killing and burial to his own story. The tale is presented as inspired by that memory, told to folklorist Harry M. Caudill. The film frames the past as living through oral tradition.