A young Union volunteer from New York State runs from a skirmish in the days following the battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863). Exhausted and out of water, he comes upon a well that, unknown to him, is guarded by Confederate soldiers. A fellow New Yorker, also a deserter, rescues him from becoming a victim to his thirst. Desperate and without water, the two "skedaddlers" concoct a dangerous plan to seize the well from its Confederate captors.