Shenandoah 1965 Full Movie Online

Shenandoah: A Tale of Family and War

In the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1864, during the Civil War, family patriarch Charlie Anderson and his six sons Jacob, John, James, Nathan, Henry, and Boy (who is 16) run the family farm, while his daughter Jennie and daughter-in-law Ann take care of the housework. The family has no slaves. Though Charlie attends church weekly and considers himself a “God fearing” man, he doesn’t give God credit for anything, but takes credit for himself especially during dinner prayer. He internally blames God for taking his wife from him. His family is regularly late for church and will force people out of their seats to make room for his family, to the annoyance of the preacher and congregation.

The Struggles of the Anderson Family

Charlie is an archetype of a rugged individualist. Although the Civil War has been raging around him for some three years, literally being fought within miles of his farm, he does not concern himself with the issues or with loyalty but only with his own and his family’s welfare. Charlie’s oldest son Jacob wants to join the Confederate Army to defend Virginia, but Charlie repeatedly tells his family that they won’t become involved in the war until it concerns them directly. Although a few of the boys want to join up, they respect their father’s wishes and remain on the farm. Jennie is courted by a young Confederate officer named Sam. He wants to marry Jennie, and when Charlie gives his permission, the wedding occurs a few days later. As soon as the vows are said, a corporal who has been waiting in the rear of the church comes forward to announce that Sam is wanted back immediately. Sam leaves, much to the sorrow of his new bride. Shortly after Sam leaves Ann goes into labor, giving birth to a baby girl, whom they name Martha in honor of Charlie’s late wife.

A Story of Loss and Resilience

While out hunting raccoon, Boy and his friend Gabriel stumble onto a Confederate ambush. They run away and stop for a drink at a pond. Boy is wearing an old rebel soldier kepi cap that he found at the river. When a Union patrol comes on them, they take Boy as a prisoner of war, mistakenly thinking, based on the cap, that he is a rebel soldier. Gabriel, who has been told he is free by a black Union soldier, runs to tell the Andersons what happened and then, assured by Jennie that it is true that slaves in the Confederacy have been declared emancipated, heads out on his own. When Charlie hears the news of Boy’s capture, he, along with Jacob, John, Nathan, Henry and Jennie leave to look for him, leaving James and Ann at the farm with their young baby.

The first place the Andersons look is a nearby Union camp. They are told there are no prisoners there, but Colonel Fairchild, who also has a sixteen-year-old son, directs them to a possible location, where Confederate prisoners are shipped North via railroad. However, the captain in charge at the train depot refuses to allow Charlie to look through the cars, as he “has schedules to keep”. So Charlie sets up a roadblock on the tracks, then disarms the Union guards and sends them away. He looks through the boxcars, but Boy is not there, so he mounts his horse to leave. As he looks up, he sees Sam coming through the crowd of liberated prisoners. Jennie is overjoyed to see her husband. Sam leaves with the Andersons, telling the soldiers to burn the train and go home, knowing that the South has no chance of winning the war.

A Journey of Survival and Heartache

After being taken to a different prisoner of war camp, Boy is befriended by rebel soldier Carter, who plans to escape and decides to let Boy come along. They and a few other men successfully escape while being loaded on a paddle wheeler and start heading south. They come onto a Confederate camp and the next day are attacked by the Federals. Carter is killed in battle, and Boy is shot in the leg. A Union soldier almost kills him, but it turns out to be Gabriel, who has joined the Union Army. Gabriel helps Boy hide in a bush until after the battle.

Back at the farm, three Confederate scavengers raid the place, killing James before attacking and killing Ann. On their way home, the Andersons run across a Confederate unit guarding the road. A young sentry, startled awake by the sound of horses, takes a shot at Jacob, killing him instantly. Charlie starts to strangle the sentry, but stops to ask him his age. The sentry replies, “Sixteen, sir.” Charlie, remembering Boy, emotionally tells the sentry that he wants him to live and be an old man and have many sons. He wants him to know what it feels like to lose one of them. The sentry then weeps.

When the Andersons return home, the doctor tells them what happened to James and Ann. Martha is still alive, with a black woman acting as her nanny, and Charlie takes her in his arms. The next day at the breakfast table, Charlie begins his standard prayer, but is so heartbroken that he can’t finish it. He goes out to the family graveyard to see his wife’s grave. He sees the graves of James, Jacob, and Ann alongside hers, and he hears church bells ringing in the distance.

Hope and Reunion

At the farmhouse, he demands to know why nobody told him that it was Sunday. The whole family gets dressed and ready for church, arriving late, as usual, as the singing begins. As the congregation completes the first hymn, the pastor starts to announce the next. Boy stumbles through the door on a crutch. The whole congregation looks, and Charlie turns to see what is happening. His face lights up, and he helps his son to the pew. Everybody joyously sings in unison.

Experience the emotional journey of the Anderson family in “Shenandoah.” Watch the full movie online now and witness the resilience and heartache of a family torn apart by war, only to find hope and reunion in unexpected places.