Chapter Five concerns Sergeant Jefferson Polly, a Texas cavalryman serving under Nathan Bedford Forrest. A former seminary student and soldier of fortune, Polly joined the army by reasoning, "I wasn't any better at being a bad man than I was a good one." His mature and cynical perspective tells him that the Confederate army, even though successful on the first day, is fighting a poorly planned and badly coordinated battle. That night, Forrest leads Polly and his squad on a reconnaissance mission to Pittsburg Landing. While there, they see thousands of Union reinforcements disembarking from steamboats; more men in themselves than are left in the whole Confederate army. Forrest and Polly try to alert the high command to the new danger, but fail in the face of confusion and red tape. With the next sunrise, Polly resigns himself to a day of defeat beside his beloved commander.