''The Battle of Bull Run'' is a 1913 American

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

silent

black-and-white film Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a grayscale, range of shades of gray, shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology imp ...

directed by Francis Ford. It portrays the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Cast

* William Clifford as The Southern Colonel *

Victoria Forde Victoria Forde (April 21, 1896 – July 24, 1964) was an American silent film actress. Biography Born in New York City, Victoria Forde was the daughter of Broadway theatre, Broadway actress Eugenie Forde who got her into films with American Mu ...

as May - the Colonel's Sweetheart *

Grace Cunard Grace Cunard (born Harriet Mildred Jeffries; April 8, 1893 – January 19, 1967) was an American actress, screenwriter and film director. During the silent era, she starred in over 100 films, wrote or co-wrote at least 44 of those production ...

as Grace Myers * Ray Myers as Harry Myers * Francis Ford as

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

Plot

The film is a historical drama that depicts the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas

with the plot of the movie centering around a brother and sister, Grace and Harry Myers, who are spies for the United States. The film starts with the Southern and Northern Army fighting and the South gaining an upper hand against the North. This leads to the North's defeat and the army retreating from the battle. When Abraham Lincoln hears of this defeat, he calls for the best secret service agent, Grace Myers, to be sent at once to help her brother find information about the Confederate Army. When Grace gets to the border of United States and the Confederate States, she has to hide in a wagon that is crossing the border so that none of the Confederate soldiers know that she is there. Grace then meets up with Harry and rides with him to the town that they are planning on spying on, with their main goal to be infiltrating the house of the Colonel. The Colonel's job is to handle all dispatches from the Confederate Army. Grace then meets the Colonel's sweetheart, May, at a ball by helping fix May's dress, which Grace purposely ripped. This leads to Grace meeting the Colonel and she becomes an acquaintance of his. Later, Grace has her carriage purposely crash in front of the Colonel's house so that she can get inside the house. Colonel helps her fix her carriage and Grace gets inside his house. He tries to get rid of her before May comes home, but Grace distracts the Colonel long enough so that when May gets home the Colonel has to hide Grace in his office. While Grace is in his office, May tries to warn the Colonel about Grace saying that she was dangerous, but the Colonel doesn't believe her. Grace finds the letters from the South and switches them for fake letters, but she accidentally drops one of the real letters which causes the Colonel to notice. Harry, who was hiding outside the house, is noticed by a servant who tells the Colonel about him and the Colonel believes he is the one who took the letters, so the Colonel saddles up and chases after Harry. They meet each other on the battlefield for the second Battle of Bull Run where they fight. While they fight, Grace watches on and sees Harry and the Colonel fight until the Colonel kills Harry. However, the Colonel is killed by a stray bullet which causes Harry and the Colonel to die side by side. Grace escapes to the north and gives the letters to United States and she is celebrated as a hero for the mission. Grace, filled with guilt and sadness, returns home where one night she is awoken by the spirits of the Colonel and Harry who lead her to the battlefield where they died blaming Grace for their deaths. Grace then wakes up realizing it was a nightmare, and she decides to go downstairs. When she gets to the stairs she passes out and falls down the stairs and dies.

Reception

The Moving Picture World The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios. I ...

reviewed the movie on March 15, three days before the film release. They said the movie was overall really good and well made, but the ending was terrible because it punishes Grace for helping the north when the death of the Colonel and Harry was not her fault. The reviewer, H.C. Judson, wished the ending was happier and upbeat to fall align with the heroism of Grace.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Bull Run American historical drama films American war drama films American silent short films American black-and-white films 1910s historical drama films 1910s war drama films Films directed by Francis Ford Universal Pictures short films Depictions of Abraham Lincoln on film American Civil War films 1913 drama films 1913 films 1910s American films Silent American drama films Silent war drama films