Rage Creek

Hello, I’m Scott Richards. Hatred is a divisive thing. I’ve seen first hand during my time serving in the UN on peacekeeping duties how hate can divide a peoples and a country. North America too has seen and is seeing an acute uptick in intolerance and outright hatred that has divided us. I feel the need to do something.

Being a fan of history, I chose the backdrop of the Civil War for this fictional story to show that hatred does not help our society, only hinder its growth.

RAGE CREEK is feature film about a group of Confederate soldiers marching Union prisoners South, right at the end of the war. It takes place entirely in North Carolina, around the farm of a lonely Southern Belle who’s husband went off to fight the civil war four years prior. It’s not a grand war movie but a drama about our intolerances.

The main characters are: Union Lieutenant Henry Russel, Confederate Sergeant Emmet Andrews and Southern Belle, Azalene Boden.

Henry is a young idealist forced into a situation well outside his comfort zone. He would far rather lead his men in battle than be responsible for them in any other situation. He doesn’t shirk from his duty to try and keep his men alive, but he has no idea what the best way to do that is. He believes that all men have honor and as soldiers, the Confederates guarding them would not think of harming helpless prisoners.

Confederate Sergeant Emmet Andrews is in charge of the escort detail. Emmet is a hate-filled man torn between his duty to get the prisoners to Andersonville POW camp, and revenge for the death of his three brothers in the war.

Azalene Boden, the owner of the farm the soldiers stop at, is a proper Southern Belle who hides secrets. Those secrets, if discovered would result in her deaths of her entire family. Azalene longs for her husband to return from the war. But she doesn’t know if he’s dead or alive, and the struggle with her loneliness heightens when Emmet, Henry and their men arrive at her farm.
Hate is a living thing, and desires to be fed.

Confederate soldiers led by Emmet, escort Union prisoners to a POW camp when they stop at a small farmstead. Tensions are already high. One of the prisoners attempted to escape as they marched along the road. He was killed in the attempt.

Azalene welcomes them, though she hides her extreme worry. She has them bed down for the night along a near-by creek where they can shelter under the trees. That first night, a rider arrives with news that the war is over and the South lost.

Emmet and Henry clash over what they should do. Henry demands the prisoners be let go but the Confederates want only to kill their hated enemy and go home. Emmet’s inner conflict between duty and revenge stalls any action either way. He needs time to consider. Tensions rise even more, when a few of his men, having lost their humanity long ago decide to take matters into their own hands.
Henry risks his life to stop them, but it’s Azalene who proves to be the voice of reason. They make an agreement. Henry will not tell his men that the war is over, and promises that his men will not try to escape, while Emmet will keep his men from killing them. Henry’s promise creates conflict with his own men who want desperately to escape. He becomes quite unpopular with them.
Azalene is conflicted over the news of the war’s end. She awaits, but dreads the return of her husband from the war.

When renegade confederates, who refuse to surrender, arrive and add fuel to the fire. The first thing they do is take over the farm to use as a base of operations. They force Emmet and his men to join them and plan to slaughter the prisoners.

One of the renegades recognizes Azalene’s only slave as a runaway from his neighbor’s plantation. When they discover one of the Confederate soldiers dead in Azalene’s barn, they accuse the slave of the deed and hang him.

With anger and hatred ready to burst, Azalene’s husband comes home. Unfortunately for Azalene and her family, her husband wears a Union uniform. He’s been fighting for the North the whole time. The renegades seizes them all and finds the slave’s family hiding on the farm. A farm that has been part of the Underground Railroad for years. Out of hate, they burn down the farm, then take them all with the Henry and the Union prisoners down to the creek to hang.

Azalene pleads for Henry and Emmet to do something. As the renegades sting up Azalene, Henry finally decides to act. Emmet and his men are split. Some, including Emmet help the Union prisoners while most try to kill them. The short battle proves costly, but Henry and his men overcome the renegades to save Azalene and her family.
We leave them as the former prisoners help to rebuild the farm, and recover from their wounds, both physical and emotional. The graves of the dead nearby.

Thank you for your time.
Scott Richards