Goofs

When Marlowe is talking to Hanna at the bar, the stove behind them has a long red scarf draped around it. The scene cuts away and back very briefly, only a second, but when it does cut back the scarf is gone from the stove.

When Doc Kendall is examining Dunker's leg, there is a soldier holding a lamp with his left hand. Between shots the lamp is in his right hand.

Deacon Clump talks to Col. Marlowe holding his hat in front of him. In the next shot, when Marlowe leaves, his hat is in his head.

When Col. Marlowe asks a soldier for Maj. Kendall, his neckerchief knot is under his chin. When he enters in the colored people's shack, where Maj. Kendall is, his neckerchief knot is turned to his left shoulder.

The film is set in the Spring of 1863 as part of Grant's campaign against Vicksburg, which fell on July 4, 1863. The soldiers discuss their fear of being captured and sent to the notorious Confederate prison at Andersonville, the construction of which started in December 1863.

Colonel Marlowe identifies himself as the commander of the 1st Illinois (i.e., 1st Illinois Volunteer Cavalry Regiment), and so would have been a colonel in the Volunteer Army, not the regular Army. As such, even as a brigade commander, he would not have had the authority on his own to order Sergeant Kirby to replace his senior regimental sergeant.

The 1st Michigan Cavalry Regiment served in the Eastern theater in 1863, most notably in the Army of the Potomac during the Battle of Gettysburg, and so would not be in a brigade within General Grant's army.

Major Kendall's insignia is correct. Shoulder straps for medical officers did have blue (not green) backgrounds as shown in the film.

While the cavalry did wear yellow for uniform stripes and trim (though inaccurately portray in actual style in the film), medical services wore green trim. Medical officers wore dark blue (not green) backgrounds on their shoulder straps and gold piping on their trousers. Enlisted Hospital Stewards wore green and yellow rank insignia but the piping on their coats and the stripes on their trousers were crimson.

To destroy the bridge, Colonel Marlowe lights a line of black powder before mounting and riding off. Black powder does not burn that slowly when poured in a open line. The whole line would go up in a instant.

Incorrect. In the open, trains of black powder burn very slowly, measurable in seconds per foot.

When the Colonel interviews the two Confederate deserters, they confess that the 6th Alabama and 10th Georgia were originally at Newton's Station before proceeding to Vicksburg. At that point in 1863, both regiments were with General Lee in Virginia.

Artistic License. Discrepancies between fact and fiction are usually made for dramatic reasons.

When Doc Kendall examines the soldiers in line, he walks from left to right. When he is seen from behind the soldiers, he is walking the opposite way.

He stopped and turned back to have another look at the "32 year old" soldier.

When they take the "one armed" Confederate Colonel away in Newton Station, his "missing" hand shows behind his back as he steps off the porch of the hotel.

In the house at Greenbrier after Major Kendall, Miss Hunter, and Lukey come down the stairs, shadows are visible on the landing above and behind them. The shadows are not in line with any visible light source, suggesting the presence of a spotlight hidden behind the chair at the right of the scene.

After Marlowe takes Kirby's wicker-bound jug (0:14:25) and tosses it away, it shatters. That's the purpose of the wicker basket - to prevent shattering.

In the hotel bar at Newton Station Col. Kirby breaks a bottle of whiskey tucked in the front of Sgt. Kirby's trousers . The trousers are already wet from a previous take.

When Major Kendall is in Colonel Marlowe's tent shortly after he arrives, the angle of Kendall's arms and therefore the position of his hat changes back and forth between shots from almost straight and bent.

When by the river with the Confederates on the other bank, John Wayne has his hair piece lifted by the wind generated by passing horses.

As the column proceeds down the country road, the advance scouts are fired at by Rebel Bushwhackers hidden in the bushes and behind trees as they follow a bend in the road. It has been suggested that the section of the column further down the road might be able to spot the hidden bushwhackers across a field.

In the shot right after Hank Worden throws the torch onto the cotton bales, look at the upper left of the screen. You will see an airplane flying from right to left.

The Confederate flags used in the movie are Army of Tennessee pattern and did not come into use until March of 1864.

Although the film takes place in 1863, Dr. Kendall is shown boiling surgical instruments to prevent them from infecting patients, a process that was not developed until 1879, by Dr. Louis Pasteur.

The US flags shown in the movie all contain 48 Stars which would have been correct for the year the movie was made. However, during the Civil War the number of states was 34-36 depending on the exact year.

Although the story is set in 1863, all the soldiers are wearing 1872 pattern cavalry uniforms.

When Kendall is removing Dunker's leg, one of the troopers is holding a lantern. In one shot, the lantern is turned a bit and the reflection of a stage light is visible in the glass.

The soldiers do not kill the two women when they are caught listening in.

Trying to distract Dr. Kendall, Miss Hunter tells him of her scandalous behavior at a ball in Biloxi. Any southerner would know the correct pronunciation rhymes with Biluckxi, not Bilockxi as she pronounces it.

At the beginning of the engagement with the boys from the military academy, Colonel Marlow orders "Assembly" be sounded. It is clear from the immediately preceding shot, that many of the troops are not only not mounted, but the horses are not even saddled. Therefore, the correct bugle call would have been "Boots and Saddles".

After Dr Kendall delivers a baby, this doctor who talks about germs (as in making sure to have latrines down stream from where the men drink) & sterilizes his instruments, walks over to the drinking water barrel used by the family in the shack - and washes his hands in it. After delivering a baby.