Released from Yankee captivity at the end of the Civil War, 45 year old Washington Duke had no other option but to walk the 137 miles home. Along the way Duke met a Union soldier looking for a souvenir, and the 50 cents that he received for his practically worthless Confederate five dollar bill, was the capital that he used to form W. Duke, Sons and Company. Duke had been a farmer with a small tobacco crop before being drafted into the Confederate Navy in 1863. His 300 acre farm, which was located just outside Durham, NC, had been in the path of Union Army as they swept through the South. Almost everything had been looted, included most of the bright leaf tobacco that Duke had in storage. Acquiring a taste for the unique bright yellow tobacco that had become 'free samples', the former union soldiers became customers when they wanted to buy more. On the floor of a small log building, Washington Duke and his three sons beat the tobacco that hadn't been stolen, bagged it, labeled it "Pro Bono Publico," and then sold or traded it to country store owners. Duke made long trips peddling his granulated tobacco from a wagon bought on credit, and pulled by two blind mules. These successful trips led to his decision to switch from farming to manufacturing, and this decision eventually led to the creation of The American Tobacco Company.