The Memory of Defeat

Luke still remembered it vividly.

The sight of his comrades falling amidst the gunfire at Gettysburg and the humiliating moment when they finally surrendered to The North were impactful events.

He knew it was an uphill battle from the start, but the young Luke believed it was a war they could win if it was for freedom and justice.

He thought they could crush those damn Northerners and restore peace to The South.

But the South was defeated.

The corrupt leadership of The South succumbed to The North, and the Southern people who trusted and followed them became beggars overnight.

Luke's family, which had been established in Virginia for over 100 years, went bankrupt.

When he returned home after the war, all that greeted him was deserted cotton fields, empty after all the Black slaves had fled.

His other family members had already lost their lives, caught in the aftermath of the war.

It was then that Luke left The South and migrated to the West, vowing: He would not forget this grudge. He would rebuild The South and reclaim freedom...