Yellowneck

The group’s de facto leader, Todd is practical and battle-hardened. He tries to maintain order and hope as the landscape and circumstances push the deserters apart. His resolve wanes as the mission becomes a test of his own limits.

Carrying stolen Confederate gold, Plunkett is wary and calculating. His paranoia about betrayal strains the group and drives some of the central conflict. His fixation on the gold ultimately collides with reality and leads to a fatal end.

Cockney is anxious and easily rattled, notably by snakes. His snake-phobia becomes a liability in a swamp filled with danger. In the end, his fear contributes to his demise among the rattlesnakes.

A deserter with a history of poor judgment, the Colonel is feverish and increasingly delusional. His instability endangers the group and catalyzes key losses, including his own death at the Seminole camp.

Encounters with Seminole warriors introduce a dangerous, unpredictable element to the trek. The tribesmen contribute to the peril as the deserters are driven to improvise for safety amid the swamps. The encounter is a stark reminder of the broader regional conflict surrounding the march to the sea.

Another Seminole presence intensifies the swamp’s threat and heightens the tension of the journey. The encounter underscores the precarious balance between pursuit, defense, and survival.

A dead deserter is found along the route, signaling the high mortality risk in the swamp and in Seminole territory. The discovery injects immediacy and reinforces the danger the men face as they push toward the coast.