In this latest and inspiring story about the adventures of Nathaniel Starbuck during the American Civil War, Nat is given command of a punitive battalion: a motley group of cowards, thieves, deserters, and murderers. While preparing to join General Robert Lee's army, Starbuck's soldiers will make it to Harpers Ferry just in time to take part in Jackson's Stone Wall-held capture of the Union garrison. From there, the regiment will fall right into the nightmare of the Battle of Sharpsberg, at Antietam Creek, which will forever be remembered as the bloodiest day of that war. There, the courage and sense of duty of Starbuck and his soldiers will be put to the test as never before.