The writer of this film was John MacDonagh, who fought under the command of his brother Thomas MacDonagh, signatory of the Proclamation of Independence and one of the seven leaders, in the 1916 Rising in Ireland. MacDonagh made other films - most famous today is his film of Michael Collins selling the first bonds of the Dail Loan to a succession of national figures including Grace Plunkett (MacDonagh's sister-in-law; her sister Muriel (née Gifford) was married to Thomas MacDonagh), and his brother Joseph, who would die on hunger strike on Christmas Day 1922. John MacDonagh went on to write several films - The Casey Millions, Wicklow Gold, Willie O'Reilly and His Colleen Bawn - and to be an entrepreneurial manager of the Queen's Theatre in Dublin, before joining 2RN, later RTE, the Irish national radio and television station, where he worked until retirement in 1947.

In the sting of the Civil War, mothers and sweethearts must wait and worry as their sons and lovers go off to the front. Forthwith, a Southerner named John (Edwin August) goes off to fight for the Confederacy. Meanwhile, a Northerner named John (Edward Dillon) goes off to fight for the Union. Naturally, the two opposing soldiers named John have a mother (Kate Bruce or Clara T. Bracey) and a sweetheart (Dorothy West or Lucy Cotton) waiting for their safe return. As fate would have it, the Johns meet on the battlefield, and one shoots the other. Later, Mr. August (of the Union) finds himself alone and pursued; the only refuge is the home belonging to Ms. Bruce, mother of the Confederate officer he shot. Thinking first as a mother, she hides "The Fugitive". Then, her wounded son is brought home! A nice idea, but rather slightly told, from director D.W. Griffith. *** The Fugitive (11/7/10) D.W. Griffith ~ Edwin August, Edward Dillon, Kate Bruce

"The Fugitive" is a surprisingly moving D.W. Griffith Civil War short with a focus on the home front. Two sons named John (one from a Union family and one from a Confederate family) go off to war leaving behind their mothers and fiancées. Their respective foraging parties encounter each other and exchange fire, and the Union party runs into the woods near the home of the Confederate John. During the pursuit the two Johns fire on each other and Confederate John is killed. Union John (Edwin August) seeks shelter in a nearby house and persuades the mother (Kate Bruce) of the soldier he just killed to hide him. She continues to conceal him even after learning that he killed her son, basically to spare his mother the grief that she is experiencing. Griffith shorts frequently emphasized this "brother against brother" theme of the war, probably because he came from the border state of Kentucky which furnished units to both armies. Note that the confederate home has a portrait of George Washington on display. Also note the almost contemporary look and manner of Dorothy West (who plays the fiancée of the Confederate soldier), she looks and acts little different than a typical 2006 high school girl with acting aspirations.

In the middle of the American Civil War, in a peaceful valley, a foraging Union soldier meets a Confederate Picket and shoots him. What will the Confederate soldier's mother do when she discovers the refugee she has sheltered may have killed her child? Griffith, reviled for the racism of BIRTH OF A NATION, sometimes by those familiar with the work and sometimes by those who have no idea what is in that movie, saw the Civil War as a tragedy for all Americans, full of complex problems for which there were no solutions. THE FUGITIVE, although not one of his best works, has been made available on DVD by Kino and is well worth your viewing time.