"The Fugitive" is a surprisingly moving D.W. Griffith Civil War short with a focus on the home front. Two sons named John (one from a Union family and one from a Confederate family) go off to war leaving behind their mothers and fiancées. Their respective foraging parties encounter each other and exchange fire, and the Union party runs into the woods near the home of the Confederate John. During the pursuit the two Johns fire on each other and Confederate John is killed. Union John (Edwin August) seeks shelter in a nearby house and persuades the mother (Kate Bruce) of the soldier he just killed to hide him. She continues to conceal him even after learning that he killed her son, basically to spare his mother the grief that she is experiencing.
Griffith shorts frequently emphasized this "brother against brother" theme of the war, probably because he came from the border state of Kentucky which furnished units to both armies.
Note that the confederate home has a portrait of George Washington on display. Also note the almost contemporary look and manner of Dorothy West (who plays the fiancée of the Confederate soldier), she looks and acts little different than a typical 2006 high school girl with acting aspirations.
Griffith shorts frequently emphasized this "brother against brother" theme of the war, probably because he came from the border state of Kentucky which furnished units to both armies.
Note that the confederate home has a portrait of George Washington on display. Also note the almost contemporary look and manner of Dorothy West (who plays the fiancée of the Confederate soldier), she looks and acts little different than a typical 2006 high school girl with acting aspirations.