America, 1862: Joshua Chamberlain and Emmett Collins travel to Camp Mason just outside of Portland, Maine, where a motley crew of extras from various other regiments are gathering to muster into the Union Army. Chamberlain begins the brutal transformation from leader of students to leader of soldiers on the battlefield through order, discipline-and a unique approach to trouble. After only two weeks, the 20th Maine is shipped off to the killing fields of Virginia, where they get their first brush with the Confederates at the Battle of Antietam. From this point forward, Chamberlain begins a meteoric rise through the ranks of the Union Army.