STRANGE FRUITShop the archiveEpisode 6 · 1862 · Georgia
The Front Line
Forced into a cold Georgia river by their white officers, Black Union soldier Isaiah Brooks and Black Confederate soldier Noah Carter meet between two armies. They soon discover the sacred water is not hunting them—it is holding an ancient reckoning for those who died escaping chains.
- Collection
- Season 1
- Episode
- 06
- Runtime
- 6:20
- Year
- 1862
- Setting
- Georgia
Images from the episode
The visual archive
Select a frame to look closer.
Frame from the finished film · 01
History behind the horror
Two uniforms. One forced front line.
Isaiah and Noah arrive from opposing armies but recognize the same coercion behind the orders sending them into the river first.
The sanctuary in the water turns the armies' confrontation into a supernatural judgment—and gives the soldiers a chance to see one another beyond their uniforms.
Characters
Isaiah BrooksBlack Union soldier
Noah CarterBlack Confederate soldier forced into service
Lieutenant HawkinsThe commanding officer
JonahA soldier on the front line
Production notes
Set along a Georgia river in 1862.
The river was blessed as a sanctuary and carries the memory of people who died escaping enslavement.
The episode closes on discarded uniforms and broken chains.
Content advisory
Wartime violence, slavery, racial violence, and supernatural horror.
The world around the story
1862: slavery and military service collide.
Isaiah and Noah are fictional. Their encounter takes place as federal policy shifted toward emancipation and Black military service while the Civil War continued around them.
Historical context · The episode itself is a work of fiction.
July 1862
Congress authorizes Black enlistment
The Second Confiscation and Militia Acts freed some people enslaved by Confederate supporters and authorized the president to receive Black men into U.S. service.
Explore the source · National ArchivesSeptember 22, 1862
The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
After Antietam, Lincoln announced that enslaved people in areas still in rebellion would be declared free on January 1, 1863.
Explore the source · National Archives
Continue the story
The episode ends.
The story goes deeper.
Return to this world in the full novel-length expansion of The Front Line.
From $6.99
Instant e-book, or print editions shipped to your door.