The Federal scout tells Peyton Farquhar that the Union army is repairing the railroad to get ready for another advance into the South. He says that they've gotten as far as Owl Creek Bridge (about thirty miles away from Farquhar's home) and that the commandant has announced that anyone who interferes with the railroads or bridges will be hanged. This lets Farquhar know how important the railroad lines are to the Union war effort as...
The Federal scout tells Peyton Farquhar that the Union army is repairing the railroad to get ready for another advance into the South. He says that they've gotten as far as Owl Creek Bridge (about thirty miles away from Farquhar's home) and that the commandant has announced that anyone who interferes with the railroads or bridges will be hanged. This lets Farquhar know how important the railroad lines are to the Union war effort as well as how much damage he could inflict by damaging this particular bridge.
Further, the scout also tells him that last season's flood pushed a great deal of driftwood up against part of the wooden bridge, and -- if lit -- it would burn the whole bridge down. So, the scout gives him both the motivation and the means by which he can seriously injure the Union's ability to make inroads in this part of the South, and, as a slave owner and secessionist, Farquhar cannot seem to resist this opportunity. (He obviously doesn't realize that the man telling him this is a Federal scout and not a Confederate soldier.)
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