A black billow of smoke covers the sun. Angelic voices can be heard as a view of this sky is taken. Shaw steps forward with a look of utter bewilderment as he looks over the casualties of war and the harsh reality of what war really are sinks in. As we hear the gunshot that is to put a horse to rest, Shaw begins to walk through the field. He guiltily grabs the wound that he received during this violent battle. His innocence is lost; the scattered remains of his fellow shoulders are not the only things blown away, all of his previous beliefs of the grandeur of him and his army are also disintegrated. .
The infirmary is the location of the next scene. We see a man on a table and another being brought in on a stretcher. A screen is placed in front of the man on the table. As a dead man is covered, an attendant sits beside Capt. Shaw. The man begins to attend to his neck wound. Upon inspection, the attendant tells Shaw to let him know if hurts him. Shaw is facing the screen where the screaming man lies on the table. He watches as man hold this man down to cut off his leg. Shaw flinches as the man cleans his wound. The attendant is telling Shaw that he had heard that Lincoln was going to release a emancipation proclamation to free the slaves. Shaw replies "My God- this reply being appropriate for such news appears to be focused more on the events that are going on behind the screen. As blood is spattered on the inside of the screen, the man begs "Please do not cut off anymore."" The attendant apologizes in advance her the pain that Shaw may feel when he applies the bandage to his wound. In light of the events going on across the room, Shaw looks down with shame. .
The next scene opens with the camera focusing on a beautiful stained glass window in the dome shaped ceiling. A dark wooden banister encompasses the circular staircase that descends beneath this window. Shaw, in dress uniform descends the stairs.
