Although John Greenleaf Whittier wrote the poem Barbara Frietchie, based on a real person, Barbara Fritchie, this movie is based on a four act play written in 1899 by Clyde Fitch. Fitch used a great deal of artistic license and intertwines her story with that of his own grandparents love story, which also takes place during the civil war. Days before the Civil War, southerner Barbara Frietchie falls in love with northerner Captain Trumbull. When the war between the states breaks out, Trumbull must fight for the north. His troops overtake Frederickstown, where the Frietchies live and Barbara soon discovers her love for him overrides her feelings for the Confederacy. Barbaras brother Arthur wounds Trumbull and takes him into his own home. Believing her sweetheart is dying she hangs the stars and stripes out the window as the Confederates march by. The crowd is enraged, but Stonewall Jackson, impressed by her courage, announces that anyone who harms her is to be shot.