A set piece would be on July 4th when Shelby draws his men up in parade formation on the banks of the Rio Grande. Five of his officers take the Confederate flag, weigh it down with rocks and wade into the river. Then they gently lower it into the water. Former Confederate officers, officials and soldiers watch from the bluffs on the American side. Mexican soldiers look on from the southern bank. Shelby, in a rare show of emotion, tears off the black ostrich plume from his hat, wades out into the water and throws it into the folds of the flag. Tears run down the cheeks of hardened veterans as the flag disappears beneath the muddy waters. From now on, Shelby’s men will follow his ragged battle-scarred guidon. From then on, this stretch of the Rio Grande will be known as the Grave of the Confederacy.
Short Pitch
It is called Antietam
It is in the vein of A Bridge Too Far
It is like All Quiet On The Western Front meets Gettysburg
It follows the common Johnny Reb soldiers of The Army of Northern Virginia
And the common Billy Yank soldiers of the Army of the Potomac
As they fight to survive and win a war for either national independence or national unity.
Problems arise when Johnny Reb’s army is caught spread out and Billy Yank’s army is sent to battle him in head-on, piecemeal attacks.
Now together their individual courage, bravery and humanity will combine to produce dozens of human-interest stories on the Bloodiest Day in American History.
Short Pitch
It is called Carrying The Flag
It is a War Drama.
In the vein of Fury.
It is like Glory meets All Quiet on The Western Front.
It follows epileptic washout Private Charles Whilden
And young veteran officer James Armstrong
As they fight to survive the hellish combat of the Overland Campaign
Problems arise when their regiment is almost annihilated and they retreat, disgracing themselves in front of General Robert E. Lee
Now together Charles’ dedication to his duty and James’ respect for him will help them achieve victory and save the army.
The idea came to me when reading Carrying the Flag by Gordon C. Rhea, which is a more exciting read with more intimate details than some novels.
My unique approach would be a focus on a few soldiers, their intimate army life, horrific combat experience, and the effects of their actions upon the overall campaign.
A set piece would be when Charles and James are pinned down in bloody mud by heavy firepower from Union troops positioned atop high ground known as The Bloody Angle. Confederate officers who rise to lead charges are immediately cut down. They can’t retreat across the bullet swept open ground behind them. Charles reaches for the regiment’s battle flag. No words are spoken as James hands it to him. Charles climbs up the barricades, slippery from the pouring rain. Then he begins charging the Angle. Soldiers rise up from the trenches, gather around him and rush the high ground. Charles becomes a target for Union minie balls. He’s hit in the shoulder but continues. He shakes from epilepsy but holds the pole steady. Then he sees that the flag is coming loose from the pole. If it falls and floats away, the charge will falter. He grabs the flag from the pole, wraps it around his body, and, as a human flagpole, rushes on toward the Angle. He and his comrades reach the high ground. Hand to hand combat breaks out as men wrestle in the mud. Finally, the Yankees retreat and the high ground is in the Confederate hands thanks to Charles’s bravery.
Target audiences would be men (18-80), military service members and veterans, war movie fans, history buffs, Southerners, Civil War reenactors, and gamers.
Audiences would like to see it due to its unique battlefield scenarios of the Wilderness and The Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania Court House, themes of courage, bravery, devotion to duty, brotherhood, and redemption, and the human interest story of a washout overcoming his past and epileptic handicap to just once do something significant in his life.