The child is a young boy growing up on a Southern plantation during the Civil War. Descended from a lineage of soldiers and conquerors, he spends his time staging imaginary battles in the woods near his home. He carries a homemade wooden sword and views the world through a lens of inherited military pride, though his confident facade breaks when he is startled by ordinary woodland animals.

The father is a Southern planter who previously served as a soldier. He fought against indigenous populations and marched into foreign capitals before returning to civilian life. He maintains an intense obsession with his military past, dedicating his time to instructing his son in wartime stories and combat strategies.

The mother is a woman living on a modest plantation in the South during the Civil War. She represents a sense of domestic security for the young boy, who instinctually calls out for her when he wanders too far into the forest and becomes lost.

The wounded soldiers are a group of men retreating from a nearby Civil War battle. They suffer from severe injuries, with some moving only on their hands or knees. They stumble through the forest in a desperate attempt to reach safety, appearing bizarre and unrecognizable to the young boy who observes them.

The plantation slaves are Black laborers forced to work on the family's Georgia property. They participate in the search party when the child goes missing in the woods. The child regularly uses them for his own entertainment, forcing them to crawl on the ground so he can pretend to ride them like horses.