Two Flags West

A group of Confederate prisoners is sent to a Unionist fort in the West to help garrison against Native American attacks. Col. Clay Tucker (Joseph Cotten), a former Confederate officer offered amnesty after the Civil War, leads his men to Fort Thorn in New Mexico, where they meet Maj. Henry Kenniston (Jeff Chandler), the stern and bitter commanding officer of the outpost. Friction develops between the Northern and Southern soldiers as they clash over their differing loyalties and values, with tensions rising when Tucker objects to executing two civilians convicted of gunrunning, only to be assigned to escort a wagon train across hostile territory. The troop is eventually besieged by Kiowa warriors, leading to a violent confrontation that ultimately results in the death of Capt. Mark Bradford (Cornel Wilde) and a turning point for Col. Tucker.