| “ | A failed man is often the most dangerous. | „ |
| —Lyndon Monroe |
Captain Lyndon Monroe is a supporting character featured in Red Dead Redemption 2.
History[]
Background[]
A military officer who graduated from West Point, Captain Monroe was sent down from Washington following reports of unrest in the region. Despite his best efforts to help the reservation and make peace between the Wapiti and the US Army regiment based at Fort Wallace, the conflict continued to escalate.
Events of Red Dead Redemption 2[]
Arthur first meets Monroe when he goes to the reservation to talk to Rains Fall. During this encounter, Monroe will ask Arthur for some help. If he accepts, Arthur will later meet with him at the reservation. Monroe tells him that Colonel Favours has ordered for vaccines to be redirected from the reservation, which was meant to help the Indians fight off a surge in smallpox. Arthur steals the smallpox vaccine from an Army carriage and delivers it to Monroe at the reservation.
Arthur next encounters Monroe when he and Charles attend peace talks between the army and the Indians. When Arthur is forced to go into a medical tent due to coughing from tuberculosis, he hears some soldiers talking about Monroe. After listening closer, he learns that Favours plans to charge Monroe with treason and hang him for impeding his efforts to antagonize the Indians. The negotiations between Rains Fall and the colonel promptly collapse, with Favours ordering for Monroe to be arrested. This results in Charles and Arthur taking a soldier hostage and trading him for Monroe. The three leap onto their horses and attempt to escape, but the soldiers pursue them. The trio is forced to take shelter within the trees, as waves of enemies assault their position.
Arthur and Charles slay the attacking soldiers, before bringing Monroe to Emerald Station. When they get there, Monroe boards a train after being given some money by Arthur and is not seen again.
Character[]
Personality[]
Monroe is an honest and loyal military officer. Monroe displayed no prejudice or disdain towards the native Wapiti Indians, instead showing compassion and concern for the tribe as the situation between the Fort Wallace regiment and the Wapiti continued to escalate, going as far as to personally go to the reservation to care for the Indians.
Despite his steadfast loyalty to the Army, Monroe also possessed enough insight to recognize the instability that Colonel Favours' leadership presented. During his stay, Monroe had observed that the Fort Wallace regiment had developed a "culture" of its own, and Monroe had also grown to be wary of the actions Colonel Favours and his men were taking against the Wapiti. When Colonel Favours redirected vaccines meant for the Wapiti, Monroe circumvented Favours' authority by asking Arthur to steal them. However, despite realizing Colonel Favours' erratic behaviour, Monroe failed to anticipate Favours going as far as to have him hanged for treason.
Even in the face of betrayal, Captain Monroe refused to fight back against any of Colonel Favours' men, holding his oath as a soldier in high regard.
Appearance[]
Monroe wears a United States Army officer's uniform and wears the rank insignia of a first lieutenant. He appears to be at least in his late 30s to early 40s with brown hair and a full beard.
Mission appearances[]
- Red Dead Redemption 2
Quotes[]
| “ | He'd love to provoke me almost as much as to provoke these poor bastards. | „ |
| —Monroe on Colonel Favours. |
| “ | Despite the fact, I think he is a horse's ass, he knows I think that. So we are just stuck here, trying to make the best of things. | „ |
| —Monroe on Colonel Favours. |
Trivia[]
- While Monroe is referred to as a captain, his shoulder board rank insignia indicates the grade of a first lieutenant. However, it is possible that he might have received a brevet promotion—a type of honorary promotion in the United States Army for meritorious action or duration of service. The brevet system was abolished in the United States in 1870, so this is unlikely to be the case for Captain Monroe.[1]
- Another possible explanation for the discrepancy in rank is that Monroe might have held a captain's commission with the United States Volunteers during the Spanish-American War, only recently concluded at the time of the events of the game.
- A captain in the United States Army commands a company. Captain Monroe appears to be in command of an infantry company garrisoned at Fort Wallace, while Colonel Favours would have held command of an entire regiment.
- Monroe is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, more commonly referred to as West Point. As such, he would have been commissioned as an officer upon graduation.
- Monroe's first name is only mentioned once by Rains Fall in "The Fine Art of Conversation" and only if the player did not meet him prior to the mission.
- Monroe rides a different horse during each mission that he appears in.
- Monroe could possibly be a reference to 1st Lieutenant John J. Dunbar, a fictional character created by Michael Blake for the 1990 film Dances with Wolves where he forms a deep bond with the local Sioux tribe, earning the name "Dances with Wolves".
Gallery[]
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- ↑ It is true that the present-day United States Army insignia for a second lieutenant is a single gold bar, while a first lieutenant has a single silver bar: however, during this period, a second lieutenant's shoulder board did not have a bar at all, while a first lieutenant's shoulder board did have a bar. Furthermore, the sky blue color indicates an officer in the infantry service.