- Jefferson (Jeff) Davis Bussey – the protagonist. Jeff takes a straightforward, no-nonsense view of life and has a deep regard for integrity and courage, but finds the war to be more complicated than he had expected. First enlisted as infantry, Jeff later becomes a cavalryman, artilleryman, and spy. He spends most of the war as a private, but is promoted to sergeant by order of General Blunt before being discharged. Despite taking arms against the Confederacy, Jeff is proud of his name and tolerates no insults against it.
- Lucy Washbourne – Jeff's love interest, a young Cherokee woman living in Tahlequah, Indian Territory. Lucy hails from an upper-class family and conducts herself accordingly, but is fiercely loyal to her family and community and has no patience for insults to either.
- Lee Washbourne – Lucy's brother, a Confederate soldier and scout. Killed by a firing squad organized by Captain Clardy. Lee refused any attempts beforehand to get him to talk, simply laughing at Clardy and his men. Jeff refuses to participate in Lee's execution and arranges for Lee's body to be returned to the Washbournes.
- Noah Babbitt – an itinerant printer, older than Jeff, and a Union soldier and a lover of nature. Noah does not take immediately to soldiering and struggles at times to learn new tasks, but displays great courage and resilience through the war, leading Jeff to look up to him as a mentor.
- Stand Watie – historical character, the last Confederate general to surrender at the war's end. A Cherokee chief, his forces are described as "using old British one shot Enfield's and double barrel shotguns." The use of Spencer repeaters could mean a victory against Union soldiers. Greatly feared on the Union side, Watie is beloved by his men and revered by Confederate civilians for the wild and daring way he and his men fight.
- James G. Blunt – historical character, Union general who battled to control Indian Territory. Blunt overlooks Asa Clardy's vindictive complaints about Jeff, particularly after personally seeing Jeff in combat at the Battle of Prairie Grove, and entrusts him with a mission that changes the course of the war in the West.
- David Gardner – Jeff's hometown friend who joins the Union Army with him. Gardner soon regrets his enlistment and deserts, but voluntarily returns after his mother insists. After a lengthy period of punishment details, Gardner joins the Cavalry forces and serves honorably for the remainder of the war.
- John Chadwick – Another of Jeff's hometown friends who joins the Union Army with him.
- Captain Asa Clardy – Jeff's company commander in the Union Army, and a major antagonist against Jeff. He is the one smuggling the Spencer Rifles to the Rebels. Vindictive, cruel, and utterly corrupt, Clardy has no friends on either side and many enemies, all of which eventually catches up to him.
- Heifer Hobbs – company cook and mentor for Jeff in the rebel army of Stand Watie. He stands up for Jeff when Sergeant Fields accuses Jeff of being a Union spy. Heifer's hideous appearance stands in stark contrast to his superb cooking and friendly, compassionate personality, and he is universally liked by Watie's men.
- Bill Earle – A singer who served with Jeff made in the war, on the Union side.
- Stuart Mitchell - A Union P.O.W who was able to escape from Watie's men and enlist in Jeff's unit.
- Pete Millholland – An older gentleman who is elected as Jeff's squad leader. He's killed by Rebels while cooking supper in Choctaw Country.
- Jimmy - The 14-year-old drummer boy for the Union army. Accidentally run over by a Union supply wagon, Jimmy eventually dies on Christmas Day, leaving Jeff his prized drum.
- Edith Bussey - Jeff's mother. Edith is caretaker of the Bussey homestead, steadfast and loyal to her husband and family, even as Emory's well-known abolitionist views make enemies in the Kansas-Missouri region.
- Emory Bussey - Jeff's father, a U.S. Army veteran of the Mexican-American War who served in then-Colonel Jefferson Davis' regiment, continuing to hold Davis in high regard years later, naming his son after Davis. Emory's outspoken honesty and strong abolitionist and Unionist views influence Jeff to volunteer to fight.
- Ring - Jeff's dog in Kansas. Ring is playful and loyal and does not understand when Jeff leaves, but gladly welcomes him home almost four years later.
- Dixie - A dog owned by a rebel who is killed at the Battle of Wilson's Creek. Jeff befriends her and keeps her, later leaving her with Lucy Washbourne.
- Keegan - A commander for the Confederates.
- Lieutenant Orff - Commander of the scout platoon that Jeff and Noah join after becoming cavalrymen. Carries a Spencer 7 shot rifle.
- Sully - A Texas bloodhound brought in to pursue Jeff while the latter is on the run, Sully is considered impossible to escape from once he is on the hunt. Sully is quickly won over after catching Jeff and accompanies him back to the Union side.
- Sergeant Sam Fields - NCO for the company of Confederate cavalry Jeff joins. Fields was a close friend to Lee Washbourne and became embittered toward anyone with Union loyalties after Lee's death.
- Jim Bostwick - a scout that Jeff works with. Killed in a battle while posing as a Confederate.
- Sparrow - An Army cook attached to Jeff's regiment. Sparrow knew Clardy before the war, and reveals to Jeff that Clardy murdered and robbed a widow during a storm. Clardy murders Sparrow after Jeff taunts him with this information, but Noah says Sparrow was not the type who could have kept such a secret.
- Mike Dempsey- Older Irishman who befriends Jeff.
- Ford Ivey- One of Jeff's best friends who was severely wounded during the Battle of Wilson's Creek. He eventually has his leg amputated.
- Zed Tinney- God-fearing boy who owns a bible that is bound in black leather. Killed during the Battle of Wilson's Creek.
- Jake Lonegan- A squad leader in Jeff's company. Jake was one of the sharpest recruits at Leavenworth during their early training and carried himself with a "tough guy" image, but throws down his musket and flees the first time he sees combat.
- Jim Veatch- Cardplayer in Jeff's company.
- Neely North- A breezy recruit from Shawnee Mission.
- Walter Van Ostrand- A frightened youngster in Jeff's company who purposely shot off one of his own fingers with his rifle-musket to avoid having to go into battle. Clardy accused Van Ostrand of cowardice while Van Ostrand insisted it was an accident.
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