Rocky Mountain 1950

A wind-swept desert marker marks a pivotal moment in 1865 as eight horsemen cross the California desert toward Ghost Mountain, led by Captain Lafe Barstow Errol Flynn of the Mississippi Mountain Rifles. The group encounters a man who calls himself California Beal, later revealed as Cole Smith Howard Petrie. Barstow’s mission is to persuade Smith and his 500 men to raid California on behalf of the Confederacy.

From their vantage on Ghost Mountain, the eight soldiers witness a Shoshone war party attack a stagecoach. They rush to the rescue of the driver Gil Craigie Chubby Johnson and the only surviving passenger, Johanna Carter Patrice Wymore, who is traveling to join her fiancé, Union Army officer Lt. Rickey Scott Forbes.

That night, the Indians burn the stage. The next morning, a detachment of four Union soldiers and three Shoshone scouts examine the ashes. Barstow ambushes the detachment, killing one and capturing the rest, including Lt. Rickey. From them, Barstow learns that the Union knows about their presence in California and that California Beal is actually Cole Smith.

Smith leaves, promising to return in two days with his men. Craigie talks with the Shoshone scouts and learns that the Indians are really led by a chief, Man Dog, and his sons. He warns Barstow that they will escape and return with their tribe.

That night, while Jim ‘Buck’ Wheat [Dickie Jones] is on watch, the Indians try to escape. The soldiers kill two of them, but Man Dog evades their bullets. In the morning, Rickey suggests that he take Johanna to a nearby garrison before the Indians arrive. The Southerners find a riderless horse, but it turns out to be Smith’s, not Rickey’s, and they realize that help is not coming.

Barstow decides to lure the Indians away from the mountain while Johanna, Craigie and the Union trooper escape. The greatly outnumbered Rebels ride into a box canyon and fight, charging the Shoshone. During the battle, Rickey returns with a troop of Union cavalry, and Johanna tells Rickey what has happened. The cavalry tries to save Barstow’s men but are too late; all the Southerners have been killed. Rickey raises their rebel flag on top of Rocky Mountain to salute the bravery of their fallen foes.