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I watched the movie "The Raid" this morning on satellite TV with interest. I only learned of my relative, Col. Bennett H. Young, a few weeks earlier. When Bennett Young was a Lieutenant in the Army of the Confederacy he led the raid on St. Albans, VT. Van Heflin portrayed Lt. Young, though by a different name, and as usual Hollywood spruced the story of the raid up with a romantic twist with Anne Bancroft's character. Lt Young did in fact flirt with a lady, taking her out for a meal and later she took him for a tour at the Governors home. This was all intelligence gathering. In his later years he did send this lady $3.00 asking her to send him copies of newspaper clippings detailing the raid. Lee Marvin's character did not exist nor did the tale of his murdering a soldier in town. There was no calvary of soldiers in town before, during, nor soon after the raid. After the raid invalid soldiers were recruited from military hospitals to guard the border towns of Vermont. It was in fact towns people who gave chase to Lt. Young's band of raiders who fled into Canada. Equally entertaining is what happened afterward in Canada. This information is completely missing from the story in "The Raid". For those interested, it is worth searching for the reading material on the internet. Simply search "St. Albans Raid" Still the movie was interesting with a fine cast of characters who, as usual, delivered their best. The movie is recommended viewing as is further research for the full and accurate historical story.

See it – I'm always a sucker for a good Civil War movie. If you are anything like me, you're always on the lookout for another film with a fresh depiction of that fascinating, yet tragic period in United States history. I like this one because it tells the story from the Confederate perspective. Van Heflin, Lee Marvin, and Richard Boone star in this exciting and relatively unknown film about a band of Confederate Rebels who escape from a Union prison camp. They escape to Canada, and start planning "The Raid" on a Northern Yankee town. Of course this movie is very "old-fashioned," but I guess that's why I like it. 3 action rating

It is sort of sad that Van Heflin did not get his due as a western actor, especially during the 1950s...most people think of Burt Lancaster, Audie Murphy, Fred McMurray, James Stewart, maybe Gary Cooper too...but Heflin made two total classics in the 50s, "Shane" with Allen Ladd, and "3:10 to Yuma" with Glenn Ford another noted 50s western star...also he was a iron clad major in "They Came to Cordura" in 59....in "The Raid" he is a rebel officer with a dual role, as he contrives with a band of rebel soldiers to overtake a small Vermont town toward the end of the civil war...further raids into unprotected towns by the rebels were planned to loot money and goods to be diverted into funds to buy war goods from foreign countries....Some very solid actors, very early in their careers make this a top notch wester, Lee Marvin, Peter Graves, James ("Roscoe") Best, Ann Bancroft, and a young Richard Boone, the man with the craggy face and disposition he made a career of....also a young Tommy Rettig, who went on to star in the "Lassie" TV series of the 1950s stars.... This is a top notch western and a true story to boot. Historical news reports from historians verify the raid on Vermont as a true civil war story. Lee Marvin in a good role as a renegade rebel solider who makes more trouble for Heflin that he bargained for as he gets drunk and threatens to blow up the whole "raid".....lots of plots and subplots....surreal part of this film is the rebel soldiers who were riding around with nitro glycerin in their pants and coats used to start fires in the town...everyone knows nitro is highly explosive to vibrations, whew!!! This is a very enjoyable civil war tale with top notch actors. Remember seeing this movie as a kid in 1954, but TV version of this film left me scratching my head as I remember Tommy Rettig coming into Heflin's room and seeing his rebel uniform in a chest, not on Heflin as he wore it in a hotel room.....did I miss something from seeing this film in a theatre as opposed to on TV...hard to figure. A good, solid 1950s western to see.

I grew up in St. Albans and I remember as a young grade school student and old gentleman who was a witness to the event visited our school and told of us his experience. It was a thrilling to us young people. The tree where a Confedate bullet hit was still standing back in the 30's and still remember it well. Many of the old structures are still standing today. Banks , livery stable etc. The Park where the people were herded is a more or less unchanged from the Old days. Every year a local store displayed the old uniform etc of the Confederate Officer. No animosity was held towards any one and I guess Lt. Young ? even returned to visit.

Despite its Technicolor processing, this film retains a dark, almost sinister atmosphere, as the tension mounts. Much of the center of the film is simply spent waiting, as Van Heflin, the leader of this small band of Confederate soldiers, tries to keep their secret, keep the group together with its morale intact, and becomes more deeply involved with his boarding housekeeper, Anne Bancroft. Great character acting by many sustains this picture, notably Lee Marvin as the hotheaded rebel officer and Richard Boone as a discharged one-armed veteran Union soldier. Also notable is Robert Easton as a young confederate (Easton went on to become one of Hollywood's most successful and remarkable dialect coaches). Although there is a fine bit of military action near the conclusion of "The Raid," this is mostly a film about character and the stress of relationships. A fine effort.