Inman was actually a real person. Even if his story is very different from the one told in the film. He lived in a mountain town called Waynesville, North Carolina. He and his five brothers joined the army. Two of his brothers, Joshua and Lewis, ended up in the same company as William. While he was in the army for several years, he left and returned, each time granted a pardon (Peuser and Plante). Around 1862-1863 he married Margret Henson and in 1864 they had a daughter. Soon after his birth, Inman was killed in the "Battle of the Crater", and it was then that he left the Confederate Army for good (The True Story of Cold Mountain). His brother Lewis is thought to have been the one who made the journey home with him (Peuser and Plante). After leaving the Army he joined Samuel Massey, who worked as a recruiter for the Union Army in Knoxville, Tennessee. One day he was sent to break out the prisoners, but was chased up the mountain where he was killed (The True Story of the Cold