In 1861 in the Old South, Virgie Cary (Shirley Temple) is celebrating her sixth birthday in the ballroom of the family Plantations in the American South. A family slave, Uncle Billy (Bill Robinson), dances for her party guests, but the celebration is brought abruptly to an end when a messenger arrives with news of the Battle of Fort Sumter on Fort Sumter and a declaration of war. Virgie's father (John Boles (actor)) is ordered to the Armory with horse and side-arms. He becomes a scout for the Confederate Army, crossing enemy lines to gather information. On these expeditions, he sometimes briefly visits his family at their plantation behind Union lines.