Several things are established in this first chapter: the prevailing attitudes in Southern society, character personalities and relationships, major story conflicts, and the style and strength of Shaara's writing.
The major ruling attitudes in the South are gentility, nobility, and honor. The commanders behave as gentlemen, and one's honor is more important than one's life. Battle is a means to glory in the South; it is executed with the same nobility, romance, and excitement as with the knights of old.
In this society, Harrison is a despised man. He is a spy and in the knightly company of Lee and his men, spies have no honor. Even worse, he is an actor, another calling looked down upon. Harrison is portrayed unfavorably, with Shaara using such imagery as "The spy slithered down from the horse . . . grinning foolishly."
Harrison is also a man of conflicts. On the one hand, he has risked his life to come through the Confederate lines at night to bring vital information. And he vehemently states he is a patriot and refers to himself as a "scout," not a spy. On the other hand, his thoughts and actions throughout the chapter show he is a very proud man. He boasts about the way he does his work — it is a dramatic performance as he points out to Longstreet — and he only wishes he had an audience to witness it. It is not clear if Harrison is truly a patriot, but it is clear he wants people to see how good he is. He repeatedly reminds Longstreet of how good his information is, and Harrison takes great delight in revealing each tidbit.
