In Colorado near the end of the American Civil War, Union Colonel Owen Devereaux (Glenn Ford) orders his regiment to fire on a detachment of Confederate soldiers, even though he (and only he) has seen that they are signaling their surrender with a white flag. Afterward, his best friend and second-in-command, Captain Del Stewart (William Holden), finds the white flag, considers it and then buries it as a surviving Confederate officer secretly looks on. Immediately after the battle, the soldiers find out that the war has ended. As the soldiers celebrate, Sergeant Jericho Howard (James Millican) gets drunk while on duty and is insubordinate to Devereaux, who has him arrested. At a celebratory ball in the troops' hometown, the mayor announces Devereaux's appointment as the federal judge for the region. Stewart asks Caroline Emmett (Ellen Drew) to marry him, but she is undecided between the two friends and later marries Devereaux instead.... Directed by Henry Levin Screenplay by Robert Andrews Ben Maddow Story by Borden Chase Produced by Jules Schermer Starring Glenn Ford William Holden Cinematography William Snyder Edited by Charles Nelson Music by George Duning Glenn Ford as Owen Devereaux William Holden as Del Stewart Ellen Drew as Caroline Emmett Ray Collins as 'Big Ed' Carter Edgar Buchanan as Doc Merriam Jerome Courtland as Johnny Howard James Millican as Sergeant Jericho Howard Jim Bannon as Nagel William "Bill" Phillips as York Denver Pyle (uncredited) as Easy Jarrett