The Battle Ground

The Battle-Ground directly confronts the issue of class through the growing friendship between Dan Montjoy, Major Lightfoot's grandson, and Pinetop, a poor Virginia mountaineer, as they fight side by side in the Confederate army. Dan Montjoy enters the war with preconceived notions about who can and cannot be considered a Virginia gentleman. Before the battle begins he expresses frustration at being outranked by a man who 'wasn't fit to black his boots, ' and proceeds to knock him down while ignoring his orders (228). However, class difference is soon rendered obsolete by the violence and misery of war. Despite their distinct backgrounds, Dan and Pinetop bond as they struggle to survive on the battleground. Understandably, plowing the mountainside has made Pinetop more fit to weather the war years of starvation and exhaustion, and he generously shares with Dan what little he has in the way of food, shelter, and conversation. Dan's unflagging wit and humor buoy Pinetop's spirits, but it is his sincere effort to teach Pinetop how to read that solidifies the friendship.