I don't know if anybody ever "wins" a war, Jeth. I think that the beginnin's of this war has been fanned by hate till it's a blaze now; and a blaze kin destroy him that makes it and him that the fire was set to hurt.

In Chapter 3, Bill and Jethro talk about the war. Bill knows how high the stakes are in the war, and he also knows that no matter who wins and who loses, everyone will, in a sense, lose. He knows that the causes for the war have bred hatred and that in the end, everyone will end up paying for that. Bill is right about the war but goes and fights anyway, defying not only his fears and his feelings, but also the North.