A Confederate deserter stumbles on the chance to redeem himself.

Worried that he will be afraid to fight, Virginian Frank Winslow refuses to enlist in the Confederate Army until his father, a colonel and veteran of the Mexican War, forces him to join. After Frank deserts his post and flees to his family's mammy, the Colonel takes Frank's place in the company as Private Winslow, so that the family name will not be dishonored. When Union officers take over the Winslow house, Frank, hiding in the attic, overhears their strategy. After overpowering a Northern soldier, he escapes, dressed in a blue sentry suit, but is shot at the bridge leading to the Confederate camp by his father, on picket duty, who sees only the blue uniform. Although he and his horse fall into the river, Frank gets the information to the camp commander, which enables the Confederates to rout the Northern army. After the battle, Frank and his father are reunited.