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 territories in Red Dead Redemption 2.

It is also home to the most civilized settlement of the Southwest, Saint Denis.

Description
Lemoyne has three smaller regions: Scarlett Meadows, Bayou Nwa and Bluewater Marsh. A prison island called Sisika Penitentiary is located not far from the territory. Lemoyne is bordered by New Hanover territories to the north and the rest are bordered by bodies of water: Flat Iron Lake to the west and Lannahechee River to the east and south.

The area is mostly characterized by the massive crawl of industrialization and unique biomes. The state's capital, the former French colony Saint Denis, is located on the eastern shore of the state. Factories and orchards litter the swamplands; plantations and agricultural farms can be found by the west. Notable plantations in Lemoyne are Caliga Hall and Braithwaite Manor, belonging to the feuding Gray and Braithwaite families, respectively. By 1907, Lemoyne is the most populated of the five American territories seen in the Red Dead Redemption series; the metropolitan area of Saint Denis, as well as another major settlement in Rhodes boost its 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 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 territory. Lemoyne is also the base of the gang/ex-Confederate militia movement called the Lemoyne Raiders.

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

The eastern part of the state consists of mostly marshes, floodplains, and swampland, where American alligators can be 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.

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 served as the French Colonial Governor of Louisiana from 1701 to 1713.
 * "Lemoyne" is also a common French surname, although the spelling and even pronunciation can vary.
 * Despite the ongoing unrest with the Lemoyne Raiders and deep-seeded 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 peoples all living side-by-side. It also reflects the real-life state of Louisiana history with French, Spanish, British, and American influence as well as New Orleans (or in this case Saint Denis) having large immigrant populations.
 * 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.
 * Lemoyne is the only state in the game to have a depicted state flag. It is a simple design, white background with a red stripe on the bottom, with the Seal of the State of Lemoyne in the center. It can be seen on several government buildings around Saint Denis, as well as outside of the gunsmith in Rhodes.
 * When the player is in Lemoyne, the ambient music will change to a more distinct southern/Creole-style ambient theme unique to the state. This is similar to the first game where New Austin and West Elizabeth had distinct music styles, where New Austin had primarily western-sounding ambient music while West Elizabeth had more modern instruments and Nuevo Paraiso having more Spanish and Mexican influences.
 * The Van der Linde gang makes their their camp in Clemens Point and Shady Belle during chapters 3 and 4 respectively.