Jethro is a nine-year-old boy living on a farm in southern Illinois. He is the youngest of the Creighton family and receives gentle treatment because he survived a year of severe illness that took three of his siblings. Observant and eager to learn, he absorbs the political talk around him but initially views war as an exciting adventure rather than a deadly reality.

Jenny is the fourteen-year-old daughter of the Creighton household. She closely resembles her mother and works hard to support the family farm. She wishes to marry the local schoolteacher, Shad Yale, but feels frustrated by her father's insistence that she wait until she is older.

Shad is a twenty-year-old schoolteacher who works in the local district to fund his future university studies. The Creightons treat him like family after Ellen nursed him through typhoid fever. He approaches the political crisis with skepticism and values facts over blind faith.

Bill is Jethro's twenty-three-year-old brother. The community considers him peculiar because he prefers reading books to hunting or wrestling. He thinks deeply about the causes of the national conflict and struggles to align himself with the North, feeling that greed drives the industrialists on his own side.

Ellen is the mother of the Creighton family. She has given birth to twelve children and relies heavily on the surviving members to keep the farm running. She senses the impending disaster of the national conflict and tries to maintain peace at her dinner table when arguments break out.

Matthew is the father of the Creighton family and an established farmer in southern Illinois. He holds strong personal convictions about justice and human equality. He previously talked down a violent mob, earning the grudging respect of his enemies but frustrating his youngest son.

Guy Wortman is a loud, aggressive resident of Newton. He uses the political tensions of the war as an excuse to bully and terrorize anyone who does not match his strict standard of Union loyalty. He targets the Creightons after hearing rumors about their family divisions.

Eb is the eighteen-year-old orphaned nephew of the Creightons. Matthew and Ellen adopted him, and he grew up alongside their children. He shares the youthful excitement of the incoming war, believing the Northern soldiers will defeat the South in a matter of days.

Tom is Jethro's eighteen-year-old brother. He focuses entirely on the glamour of military service, picturing loud brass bands and fine uniforms. He intends to enlist as soon as possible, completely unaware of the physical and emotional toll the fighting will exact.

Dave is the patriarch of the Burdow family, a group of outcasts despised by the rest of the community. He lives quietly and accepts the insults directed at his family. He holds a quiet respect for the Creightons because Matthew previously stopped a mob from hanging his son.

Abraham Lincoln is the newly elected President of the United States. He is a distant figure in Washington, DC, but his decisions directly affect the Illinois farming community. Jethro respects him but questions his initial reluctance to use force against the secessionist states.

John is the oldest of the Creighton sons still living near the family farm. He has his own cabin where he lives with his wife and children. He holds firm pro-Union views and reacts with anger when anyone questions the morality of the Northern cause.

Nancy is John Creighton's wife and the mother of his two young boys. She lives near the main farmhouse but remains shy and withdrawn. She struggles with anxiety as the war threatens to take her husband away.

Mary is Jethro's older sister who died in a carriage accident two years before the story begins. Her death occurred after a local outcast drunkenly fired a weapon near her horses. Her absence leaves a permanent mark on the family's approach to justice and revenge.

Travis is a young man from the marginalized Burdow family. Angry at the community's constant rejection, he turned to alcohol and belligerence. His drunken decision to frighten the horses pulling Mary Creighton's wagon resulted in her death.

Wilse is Ellen's nephew from Kentucky. He travels to Illinois to visit his relatives but quickly stirs up trouble at the dinner table. He argues passionately for the Southern states, challenging the Creightons' belief that the North holds the moral high ground.

Ross Milton is the editor of the local newspaper in Newton. He suffers from arthritis but possesses a sharp mind and a strong sense of justice. He steps in to protect Jethro from town bullies and offers the boy a book to improve his grammar.

Sam Gardiner owns the main store where locals gather to share news and buy supplies. He holds no patience for bullies and actively throws troublemakers out of his establishment when they threaten his customers.

Jake Roscoe is an old man who lives along the road between the Creighton farm and the town of Newton. He relies on travelers to bring him updates about the distant battles and local gossip.