In the Border States

{{Infobox film

| name = In the Border States

| image = In the Border States (1910).webm{{!}}thumbtime=2

| alt =

| caption = Full film

| director = D. W. Griffith

| writer = Stanner E.V. Taylor

| starring = Charles West

| cinematography = G. W. Bitzer

| distributor = Biograph Company

| released = {{Film date|1910|6|13}}

| runtime = 17 minutes (16 frame/s)
(990 feet)

| country = United States

| language = Silent (English intertitles)

}}

In the Border States is a 1910 American drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and set in the American Civil War. Prints of the film survive in the film archives of the Museum of Modern Art and the Library of Congress.{{cite web |url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/I/InTheBorderStates1910.html |title=Progressive Silent Film List: In the Border States |access-date=July 17, 2008 |work=Silent Era}}

Plot

A Union Army corporal, a "young father", bids farewell to his wife and daughters to march off to war. Nearby, three Confederate soldiers, foraging for food, are surprised and shot at by Union soldiers. They flee. One throws away his weapon and stumbles upon the youngest daughter of the corporal. She is about to scream, but instead takes pity on the man and lets him drink water from a bucket next to a well. He hides in the well, and the girl does not betray him to the Union pursuers. The man gets away.

Meanwhile, the young father is given a document and sent on a "perilous errand". He shoots a Confederate sentry and gets through enemy lines, but is shot and hunted. He makes his way to his own home. Only two young daughters are there. The elder daughter runs for help, leaving the youngest to watch over their father. He has her bring a candle so he can burn the document. The Confederates arrive, following a trail of blood. By chance the Confederate who was rescued by the youngest daughter is one of them. He breaks into the bedroom. The daughter shoots at him, but misses. He sees the burnt document and is about to bash in the father's head with his weapon when he recognizes the daughter. He covers the father with a quilt and tells the other Confederates he is dead. After the others leave, he tries to kiss the girl, but she will have none of that; instead they shake hands and exchange salutes. Union soldiers arrive later with a doctor.