Lemoyne

“	Enjoy the lush meadows and southern climate of Lemoyne's countryside, or take in the lights in the cultural city of Saint Denis. That's if you make it through the foreboding marshland and Bayou Nwa.	„
	—Red Dead Online description

Lemoyne is a southern American state and one of the five American States in Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online and the smallest state in size.

It is also home to the most civilized settlement in the game series, Saint Denis.

Description[]

Lemoyne Flag (Updated) — Flag of Lemoyne.

Lemoyne Seal (Updated) — State Seal of Lemoyne.

Lemoyne is characterized by its warmer climate, with open meadows and dense swamps, comprised of three regions: Scarlett Meadows, Bayou Nwa, and Bluewater Marsh. A prison island called the Sisika Penitentiary is located not far off from the state. Lemoyne is bordered by New Hanover to the north and the Flat Iron Lake to the west and Lannahechee River to the east and south.

The state is the most populated out of the other four states, despite the fact that is the smallest in size. It is mostly characterized by the massive crawl of industrialization and unique biomes. The state's capital, the former French colony of Saint Denis, is located on the eastern shore of the state. Factories and orchards litter the wet swamplands of Bayou Nwa; plantations, farmland, and the town of Rhodes can be found in Scarlett Meadows to the west; and the north-eastern region of Bluewater Marsh is relatively uninhabited due to its damp and muddy terrain. Notable plantations in Lemoyne include Caliga Hall and Braithwaite Manor, belonging to the feuding Gray and Braithwaite families, respectively. By the 1890s, the metropolis of Saint Denis, as well as Rhodes boosts Lemoyne’s numbers and its favorable geographic position and relatively hospitable conditions allow the state to flourish.

In the past, Lemoyne was a member of the short-lived Confederate States of America during the American Civil War (1861-1865), with many citizens of the state fighting against the North. Remnants of Civil War battlefields can be found deep within the meadows of the state. Lemoyne is also home to the ex-Confederate militia movement known as the Lemoyne Raiders, who are still bitter from the Civil War and are excessively patriotic of Lemoyne's former past.

Geography[]

RDR2 Lemoyne — Map of the Southwestern US as shown in-game, with Lemoyne highlighted in red.

The western portion of Lemoyne consists of lush rolling hills, red-earth soil, pastures, and ponds that make up Scarlett Meadows. Dewberry Creek, a dried creek, is found within the borders of the meadows. Low-level shrubs and short grass primarily grow in the region, which is suitable for grazing and ranching.

The eastern part of the state (Bayou Nwa and Bluewater Marsh) consists of mostly marshes, floodplains, and swampland, where the American alligator and various semi-exotic creatures are found. Kamassa River feeds the bayous of the territory, where stagnant water rests before emptying to Lannahechee River. Hardwood trees abundantly grow within the nutrient-rich swampland of Bayou Nwa.

Lemoyne is directly based on the state of Louisiana, the two even sharing similar names. Being a giant forest-like marshland near the Gulf of Mexico, both Lemoyne and Louisiana have major metropolitan areas (Saint Denis and New Orleans, respectively) as well as French/African-American heritage and a Confederate Civil War history.

Scarlett Meadows is heavily reminiscent of the regions of Northern and Central Louisiana, especially those surrounding the Red River. The red clay soil, forests, small rivers and ponds, and rolling hills would be commonly found in this region of Louisiana, as well as the rest of the Dixie (Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia).
Bayou Nwa is directly based on the various bayous and swamps in lower Louisiana, including Saint Denis being a stand-in for New Orleans.
Bluewater Marsh is more akin to coastal Louisiana bordering the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River, including the marshes and wetlands in this region.
The Lannahechee River serves as the game's version of the Mississippi River, whereas the Kamassa River seems to be based on the Ouachita River.

Red Dead Redemption 2[]

Lemoyne is first visited in the Chapter 2 mission, “Pouring Forth Oil II,” when Arthur Morgan steals an oil wagon from either Valentine, Cornwall Kerosene & Tar, or the trails around New Hanover in order to prepare for an upcoming passenger train heist. After stealing the wagon, he parks it beside a secluded abandoned house in Lemoyne, just south of the border. Later on, he’ll meet up with Sean MacGuire, John Marston, and Charles Smith and drive the wagon down into Scarlett Meadows, just south of the New Hanover state border. Although they are confronted by lawmen on patrol, they manage to successfully pull of the robbery.

After a shootout in Valentine, where the gang is confronted by Leviticus Cornwall and his men, the gang is forced to relocate to avoid any further attention. Micah Bell suggests moving down to Dewberry Creek, along the state line with Lemoyne. In response, Dutch sends Arthur and Charles to find a suitable campsite, although Dewberry Creek was too open for the pair’s liking. They find a small campsite along the southern bank of the dried up river, and find a German mother and her two children, begging Arthur and Charles to save their father. They find the father at a small camp located deep in the forest called Clemens Point. After saving the father and returning him to his family, Arthur and Charles decide to move the gang’s camp to Clemens Point.

A couple of weeks after the gang relocates to their new camp, Dutch, Arthur, and Hosea Matthews go for a fishing trip, where they learn of a blood feud between two old plantation families: the Grays and the Braithwaites. In hopes of finding the “hidden gold” the families originally fought over, the gang begins to manipulate both families. Unfortunately, the gang underestimates both families, who are well aware of Dutch’s plans. As Arthur, Micah, Bill Williamson, and Sean arrive in Rhodes to meet the Grays at the saloon, Sean is unexpectedly shot in the head, initiating a massive shootout. Sheriff Leigh Gray, Archibald MacGregor, Jock Gray, and many more are later killed by Arthur and Micah. As Arthur arrives back to camp, he discovers that Jack Marston was kidnapped by the Braithwaites. In response, the gang launches a full assault on Braithwaite Manor, leading to the deaths of Gerald, Gareth, and Bartholomew. They burn down the manor and interrogate Catherine Braithwaite on Jack’s whereabouts. She reveals that she sold Jack to Italian mob boss Angelo Bronte in Saint Denis. As the gang leaves the burning manor, Catherine runs inside her burning mansion, resulting in her death.

The following day, Pinkerton agents Andrew Milton and Edgar Ross confront the gang at their camp, offering the gang their freedom if they turned in Dutch. The two agents are forced out of camp as Dutch decides to relocate. Arthur suggests moving to Shady Belle, an old plantation manor in the swamplands of Bayou Nwa that he and Lenny ambushed earlier. After moving into the mansion, Dutch, Arthur, and John search Saint Denis for Jack. They search around the city for information regarding Angelo Bronte and learn that he resides in a mansion in the west side of town. After completing an “errand” for him, Bronte gives Jack back, along with inviting Dutch to a gala. Dutch, Arthur, Bill, and Hosea meet Bronte at the mayor’s mansion later on, where they scoop up several tips on scores across the city before they leave the country for good. One of them includes a ferry heist, where Arthur helps Josiah Trelawny, Javier Escuella, and Leopold Strauss rob the Grand Korrigan during a high-stakes Poker tournament.

Bronte also informs the gang about a trolley station with a considerable sum of money. Arthur, Dutch, and Lenny rob the station only to learn that they were tricked, and are forced to fight their way out of the city against policemen and Bronte’s mobsters. In a fit of rage, Dutch decides to get revenge against Bronte, leading the gang to his mansion after helping a villager in Lagras in exchange for a boat. They assault the mansion, kidnapping Bronte. After barely escaping the law on their boat, the gang arrives back at Shady Belle, where Dutch drowns Bronte to death out of his anger. After this, the gang robs the Lemoyne National Bank, their supposed last heist before they leave for Tahiti. However, it goes horribly wrong as the Pinkertons had caught onto their plans. As the gang robs the bank, they are confronted by Agent Milton, who murdered Hosea Matthews in front of them. The gang is forced to flee via the rooftops. Unfortunately, Lenny is gunned down by two Pinkertons on the rooftops while John is arrested, but the rest of the gang barely escapes alive. They eventually hide in an old building and wait until dark, where they make their escape on a boat at the docks.

The boat sinks, stranding half of the gang on the sugar plantation island of Guarma. After a hectic few days, they manage to escape and return to America, docking at Van Horn Trading Post in New Hanover. Arthur is assigned to travel back to Shady Belle to look for any sign of the gang, but all he finds is a note from Sadie Adler, telling him to meet the gang at Lakay, a small abandoned village north of Saint Denis. Arthur makes his way there and the rest of the gang are reunited; unfortunately, the Pinkertons quickly find them and launch an attack, but the gang survives. They then realize that they need to make an escape up north quickly. After Arthur and Charles clear out Beaver Hollow, a cave in Roanoke Ridge, the gang leaves Lakay and the state altogether.

Lemoyne is revisited a few times in Chapter Six, such as when Arthur, Dutch, and Sadie go to Saint Denis to ensure that Colm O'Driscoll gets hanged after he got arrested. They succeed in their objectives but after Sadie goes into a blind rage over her husband's death and ends up killing some of Colm's men, Dutch and Sadie are forced to partake in a shootout while Arthur provides covering fire. Dutch and Sadie escapes while Arthur leaves the scene.

The state is visited one last time by the gang as they prepare to rob a train that was supposed to stop at the train station in Saint Denis, but sped past it. The train continues through and out of the territory. Sometime after the robbery and the gang's downfall, Tilly Jackson takes Jack to go hide at Copperhead Landing in Bluewater Marsh, where they wait until things cool down. Abigail Marston and Sadie join up with them soon after. After the help and sacrifice of Arthur, John escapes and makes it to Copperhead Landing to reunite with his family.

Eight years after the downfall of the gang, John and Uncle visit Lemoyne once again as they go to Saint Denis to search for Charles Smith after learning he was alive. After rescuing him and escaping the city after a shootout against Guido Martelli's men, John, Uncle, and Charles go back to John's ranch at Beecher's Hope in West Elizabeth.

Sometime later, John and Sadie deliver a bounty named Ramón Cortez to Rhodes, but unfortunately, they lose him after a breakout. They recapture him at the Old Greenbank Mill and Ramón is sent to Saint Denis to hang.

In the end credits, Simon Pearson is seen at his shop in Rhodes viewing an old photo of the Van der Linde gang; Tilly Jackson is seen walking with her husband in Saint Denis, and Bureau of Investigation agents Edgar Ross and Archer Fordham interrogate some passers-by in Scarlett Meadows as they are searching for the murderers of Micah Bell after John, Sadie, and Charles killed him in the mountains of Ambarino.

Locations in Lemoyne[]

Scarlett Meadows[]

Bayou Nwa[]

Bluewater Marsh[]

Interactive Map[]

Trivia[]

Lemoyne comes from the French word for "the monk" ("le moine"). One other possible source for the name may have been Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, who in 1718 founded the real life city Saint Denis is based on, New Orleans.
"Lemoyne" is also a common French surname, although the spelling and even pronunciation can vary.
Lemoyne is the only state/territory depicted in the series so far to be completely based on chiefly one real-life state (Louisiana); all other depicted states/territories combine elements of multiple real-life equivalents.
Despite the ongoing unrest with the Lemoyne Raiders and deep-seated racial tensions following the American Civil War, Lemoyne is by far the most ethnically diverse state in the game, with Anglo, French, Cajun, African-American, Chinese, and Italian people all living side-by-side. It also reflects the real-life Louisiana history with French, Spanish, British, and American influence as well as New Orleans (or in this case Saint Denis) having a large population of immigrants.
- Although the game broadly presents some realistic elements of de facto racial segregation (neighborhoods, poverty, and quality of life, labor divisions, etc.), its legal enforcement (such as the infamous Jim Crow laws) is not explicitly depicted or discussed. Plessy v. Ferguson (a decision on a state case revolving around real-life Louisiana and New Orleans in particular) upheld state and local segregation laws in 1896 with the ostensible demand for "separate but equal" quality for blacks and whites among public facilities. However, there is also no visible forms of segregation seen in Lemoyne (or anywhere in the game) that would have been commonplace in the real-life Southern US in the era, such as signs saying "White (or Colored) People Only" or otherwise separate facilities for the races.
When the player is in Lemoyne, the ambient music will change to a more distinct southern/Creole-style ambient theme unique only to the state.
The Van der Linde gang makes their camp in Clemens Point and Shady Belle during chapters 3 and 4 respectively. They also set up camp briefly in Lakay near the end of chapter 5.
One of the loading screens in the game labelled as Lemoyne incorrectly displays Ambarino instead.