In Ohio in 1865, a Gatling gun is being transported by a Confederate Army officer in civilian clothes, calling himself Jim Farraday, and a sergeant, going by Benjy, to aid the Southern cause in the war. They come to the aid of a Rebel-hating Yankee nurse, Nora Curtis, whose wagon is stuck in the mud.
Stopping off in a town for supplies and information, Farraday falls under the suspicion of a Pinkerton detective, Frank Kelso, who has been assigned to locate the stolen Gatling gun. Behind her back, Farraday and Benjy smuggle the gun out of town in Nora's wagon.
A mercenary, Brett Manning, befriends the soldiers on the trail, then betrays them, shooting Benjy and stealing the gun. He sells it to tribal leader Chief Yellow Hawk, who uses it during an attack on a fort against soldiers, women and children. Farraday joins forces with Kelso to overcome Yellow Hawk's men and take the gun back, turning the battle in the fort's favor. Nora successfully argues that Kelso should reward Farraday by letting him go home to Georgia. Knowing that the war is nearly over, he allows Farraday to leave.
Cast
Van Johnson as Capt. James S. Simmons / Jim Farraday
