Shenandoah

They come closer every day, Pa.

- They on our land? - No, sir.

Well, then, it doesn't concern us.

Does it?

You have something else to say?

No, sir.

Lord, we...

- What'd I do? - Well, it's what you haven't done, Boy.

A man that eats with his hat on is going nowhere in a hurry.

Now, your mother wanted all of you raised as good Christians,

and I might not be able to do that thorny job as well as she could,

but I can do a little something about your manners. Now, shall we...?

Lord, we cleared this land.

We ploughed it, sowed it and harvested. We cooked the harvest.

It wouldn't be here, we couldn't eat it, if we hadn't done it all ourselves.

We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb,

but we thank you just the same, Lord, for this food. Amen.

- Where'd you come by the hat, Boy? - Down by the creek, sir.

- Some fella down there passing out hats? - I found it. It was just lying there.

Jacob, you look like you got something on your mind.

- Say what you're thinking. - We've been through it all before, Pa.

Don't paddle around with me. You were raised to say what you think.

You were all raised to say what you think.

The only thing I can't stand is a lot of noisy silence. Let's have some talking.

Now, if you're going to make a speech, I'm sorry I said it.

I know how you feel about this war, Pa.

I guess we all more or less feel the same way.

But I don't see how we can just sit by and ignore it any longer.

Now, you say it's not our business, not our fight.

Well, we're Virginians. I believe anything that concerns Virginia concerns us.

- You do? - Yes, sir, I do.

All right.

- John? - Sir?

What are you gonna do? Are you going to keep your slaves or let 'em go free?

You know I don't have any slaves, Pa.

That's right, John. You don't have a slave to your name, do you?

James, what about you? Did you ever think you might like to own a slave?

- I guess I never thought about it, Pa. - Well, think about it.

Think about it.

If you had the money, would you buy a slave?

- No, sir, I wouldn't. - Why not?

If I can't do my own work, with my own hands, it'll never get done.

Suppose you had a friend that owned slaves,

and suppose somebody's gonna take 'em away from him.

- Would you help him fight to keep 'em? - No, sir.

- Your name's Nathan, isn't it? - Aw, you know my name, Pa.

Well, I seem to remember somethin' about... I was talking to Henry.

- Sir? - Well, what do you think?

- No, sir, I wouldn't. - Why not?

I see no reason to fight for something I don't believe is right.

I don't think a real friend would ask me to.

Why we have this same conversation every Saturday, I'll never know.

But I'm going to pray to the Almighty that this'll be the end of it.

Pass the biscuits!

Papa? We're ready to go, Papa.

You still miss her, don't you, Papa?

Miss her?

Oh, Jennie, you don't know what I feel when I come up here.

Even after all these years. 16 years gone.

16 years.

And even so, I...

I somehow... feel that she's not dead at all, but only resting.

And it's like I'm just waiting for her to get up and walk home with me.

Did you bring it?

- No! Liquorice. - I'll see you after.

There are, no doubt, some present, Charlie Anderson,

who wonder why you and yours are never on time for the Lord's services.

Have I kept the Lord waiting, Pastor Bjoerling?

- You have not. - (Laughter)

Our message for today... is duty.

Now, this means many things to many people.

But for a Virginian they all lead to one.

James.

- Get that fish line. - The three...

most important duties are...

- Tell him to stop that. - ..Duty to God that created us,

and loves us.

Duty to the state that gives us sustenance,

and provides for us.

And duty to our neighbour.

Our fellow man,

without whom... we... could not live.

When you good people can find it within yourselves

to refrain from doing whatever it is you're doing,

I'll get on with the Lord's work.

Duty, to a Virginian,

is not just a word, my friends.

For the last time, Charlie Anderson, I need that mule of yours.

I don't understand your reluctance to talk about the sale.

That mule is a matched Kentucky Red,

matched with another that pulls just like she does.

Matched, Abernathy! Do you understand what matched means?

How much? - 30 dollars, Federal.

- I'll give you 50, Confederate. - I'll let lightning strike her first.

Miss Jennie?

I'll be leaving soon, and...

- I'll be leaving soon and... - You said that already, Sam.

I did? Oh, yes, I did.

L, uh...

I'd be eternally grateful if you'd permit me to call upon you this evening.

Eternally is a long time, Sam.

Not when one carries the memory of you, Miss Jennie.

I'll look forward to seeing you after supper, Sam.

Abernathy, your idea of a deal makes my stomach hurt.

- You want me to get that mule now? - Get in that wagon, Gabriel.

Charlie Anderson, I wonder if you'd be good enough to tell me

why you bother to come to services. Meaning no disrespect, of course.

It was my wife's last request, Pastor Bjoerling.

Meaning no disrespect, of course.

Whoa, boy.

Doc. Mrs Witherspoon.

Charlie. Looks like I'll be paying you a visit soon.

Uh huh.

You haven't said a word.

I don't know what to say. I mean...

Well, I know what to say. I just don't know how.

Must be all very complicated, then.

No, it's... just all memorised.

Everything I wanted to say, I've said a dozen times.

I said it to my horse and it sounded good.

I said it again to the trees and it sounded better.

I said it to the moon and it sounded perfect.

The moon can't hear you, Sam.

He smiles and smiles, but he never hears.

I do.

Well, I'm sure gonna miss her.

Is she going somewhere?

Every woman goes somewhere sooner or later.

You don't expect her to stay here and take care of us all her life, do you?

I hadn't thought about it. I hadn't planned on her going anywhere.

Well, you'd better get used to the idea, Boy.

Your sister's ripe and the pickers are here.

Of course, I don't suppose you know what I mean, do you, Boy?

I'm not as dumb as you think I am, Pa.

Whoa! Halt!

Go back up to the house, Boy.

There's a rumour you have the coldest water this side of the Shenandoah.

That's right. The best east of the Mississippi.

Six foot deep, 20 foot down. Help yourself.

Dismount, Sergeant.

Glad you're here, Johnson. I need to have a little talk about those cannon of yours.

My chickens have stopped laying, the cow's dried up. Who do I send the bill to?

You might try Abe Lincoln. They're mostly his.

When are you going to take this war seriously, Mr Anderson?

Now let me tell you something, Johnson, before you get on my wrong side.

My corn I take serious because it's my corn.

My potatoes and tomatoes and fences I take note of because they're mine.

But this war is not mine and I take no note of it.

You'll take notice when the Yankees drop a cannonball in your parlour.

I might as well tell you now, I can't think of another thing I wanna hear you say.

You have six sons, don't you, Mr Anderson?

Does the size of my family have some special interest for you?

As a matter of fact, it does. We need men.

Two of these men here are no more than 16.

It seems strange that none of your sons are in the army.

It don't seem strange to me with all the work there is to do around here.

I'll come right to the point. I came out here to get 'em.

I say something funny?

You came all the way out here to get my boys?

Yes, sir.

- Where are your sons now, Mr Anderson? - You wanna see 'em, do you?

Yes, sir, I do.

Jacob?

James?

John?

Nathan?

Henry?

Boy?

If you've got anything to say to 'em, they'll listen.

There's a Yankee army breathing down your neck, Mr Anderson.

- You're town bred. - I don't see what that has to do...

I've got 500 acres of good, rich dirt here.

While the rains come and the sun shines, it'll grow anything I've a mind to plant.

We've pulled every stump, we've cleared every field,

and we did it ourselves, without the sweat of one slave.

. So? "So"?

So can you give me one good reason

why I should send my family, that took me a lifetime to raise,

down that road like a bunch of damn fools to do somebody else's fighting?

Virginia needs all of her sons, Mr Anderson.

That might be so, Johnson, but these are my sons.

They don't belong to the state.

When they were babies, I never saw the state coming round with a spare tit.

We never asked anything of the state or expected anything.

We do our own living, and thanks to no man for the right.

But seeing as how you're so worried about it, I'll tell ya.

If any of my boys thinks this war's right and wants to join in, he's free to do it.

Y'all hear that? D'you hear it?

Do you want to dress up like these fellas? Here's your chance.

Patrol, mount.

Mr Anderson,

if you can sit in the middle of this war and not get touched, I congratulate you.

Where are these Yankees now?

About ten miles that way,