The forage caps (or kepis) worn by the deserters are of an 1862 pattern that denoted the soldier's branch of service by the color of the sides and crown (red for artillery, yellow for cavalry and sky blue for infantry).
The colonel's final soliloquy references the Second Battle of Murfreesboro (also known as the Battle of Stones River) in which Union troops repulsed two attacks by Confederate forces, in a battle lasting from 12/31/1862 to 1/2/1863 (three days) at Murfreesboro in middle Tennessee. The Union victory served as a morale boost for insecure Union troops and led to the Confederacy abandoning plans to invade Tennessee. The colonel's speech implies that he was ordered to retreat in order to save his forces against withering cannon fire by Union artillery using grapeshot.
The US copyright protection on this film has expired, and it is now considered to be in the public domain.