Recommended Reading

(Click the plus sign for a synopsis)

"Jesse James: The Last Rebel of the Civil War" (outside link)
by T. J. Stiles, publisher: Alfred A. Knoph, NY 2002
"The Hornet's Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War"
by Jimmy Carter ISBN: 0743255429

Synopsis
- From Publishers Weekly
  With this intricately detailed novel of the American South and the Revolutionary War, President Carter becomes our first chief executive, past or present, to publish a work of fiction. By concentrating on Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas from 1763 to 1783, Carter takes a fresh look at this crucial historical period, giving life and originality to a story usually told from the viewpoint of the northern colonies.
- There's a large cast of characters, but the focus is on the families of Ethan and Epsey Pratt and neighbors Kindred and Mavis Morris, backwoods Georgia homesteaders who are swept up, albeit reluctantly, in the revolution against the British. Among many other subjects, Carter covers military tactics, natural history, 18th-century politics, celestial navigation, the causes of the war, the sexual practices of both Indians and pioneers and how to tar and feather a man without killing him.
- Fascinating tidbits about well-known historical figures abound: "After some New Jersey militia actually mutinied [George] Washington decided to set an example of stern discipline; he forced the top leaders to draw lots, and the winners shot the losers."
- Carter's style leans toward the academic ("Mr. Knox, what's the difference between Whigs and Tories?"), but readers who can put up with the occasional lecture will learn fascinating truths about this exceedingly brutal war and the stories of the men and women who lived and died in the course of it. Those seeking a riveting prose style would be advised to look to more experienced fiction writers, but anyone who has ever wondered about the difference between a Whig and a Tory will find this an interesting and informative read. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- From Booklist Carter continues to have one of the most productive and varied post-political careers of any former U.S. president. A prodigious writer with 16 works of nonfiction to his credit, Carter turns to fiction with this account of the Revolutionary War as fought in the Deep South. Because most of the accessible literature revolves around battles fought in New England and the Middle Atlantic colonies, it is easy to overlook the fierce fighting that took place in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. The plot revolves around the migration of newlyweds Ethan and Epsey Pratt from Philadelphia to a homestead in Georgia. When the War for Independence heats up, the Pratts and their friends and neighbors--many of them Quakers--are forced into the vortex of historical events beyond their control.
- What Carter lacks in narrative style and characterization, he more than makes up for in the breadth of historical fact and detail interwoven into this obvious labor of love. It is not surprising that a history-maker would turn to history for fictional inspiration; what is surprising is the effectiveness of his debut effort. Margaret Flanagan In his ambitious and deeply rewarding novel, President Carter brings to life the Revolutionary War as it was fought in the Deep South. He reminds listeners that much of the fight for independence took place in that region, and that it was a struggle of both great and small battles and of terrible brutality, with neighbor turned against neighbor, Indians' support sought by both sides, no quarter asked nor given.
- The Hornet's Nest follows a cast of characters on both sides of this violent conflict, including some who are based on the author's ancestors. At the heart of the story is Ethan Pratt, who in 1773 moved with his wife Epsey from Philadelphia to North Carolina and then to Georgia in the company of Quakers. On their homesteads in Georgia, Ethan and Epsey form a friendship with neighbors, Kindred Morris and his wife Mavis. Through Kindred and a young Indian, Ethan learns about the frontier and the Native American tribes who are being continuously pressed further inland by settlers. As the eight-year war develops, Ethan and Kindred engage in life-and-death combat with opposing forces.
- Depicting a moving love story, vivid action, and suspense in a war fought with increasing ferocity and stealth, The Hornet's Nest is historical fiction at its best, in the tradition of such major classics as The Last of the Mohicans.

"They Were White and They Were Slaves. The Untold History of the Enslavement of Whites in Early America."
By Michael A Hoffman II
- Synopsis
  - By Michael A Hoffman II
    Subject: [ROGERS-BEN] Benjamin, The Immigrant
    Date: 12-Jan-03 7:25:30 PM W. Europe Standard Time
    From: Rlbeagle71@aol.com
    
    Cousins:
    
    A fellow researcher recommended that I purchase the following book:
    
    They Were White and They Were Slaves. The Untold History of the Enslavement of Whites in Early America. By Michael A Hoffman II
    
    As I read this book, I was reminded again and again of our ancestor, Benjamin Rogers, The Immigrant. We are fortunate that he survived!!
    
    Mr. Hoffman offers interesting insight to the individuals that were transported to Colonial America. From page 6, he states, "Who wants to be reminded that half-perhaps as many as two-thirds- of the original American colonist came here, not of their own free will, but kidnapped, shanghaied, impressed, duped, beguiled and yes, in chains?…we tend to gloss over it…we'd prefer to forget the whole sorry chapter."
    Orphaned children and other children of poor white families, from the slums of England, were kidnapped and transported to the colonies. To be 'sentenced to transportation" to the colonies was tantamount to being sentenced to slavery. Some claimed that this was a mercy since the "felons" would otherwise be hanged. (Page 126-27)
    
    1. The definitions of "felon and "convict" in this period entirely constructed by the ruling class. For example, in 1699 the Shoplifting Act extended capital offenses to include any theft from a shop to the value of five shillings. Hence a "convict" was very often a starving boy who had committed the "felony" of stealing food for his brothers and sisters. It does not seem like much of a mercy to take him from his parents and siblings forever to slavery in a foreign land.
    
    2. Even hardened professional criminals feared transportation more than hanging because they were not blind to first-hand accounts from sailors and others that penal enslavement in the colonies was often more horrible than death itself, was in fact a kind of living death.
    " The notion that transportation was a merciful alternative to imprisonment or death in Britain is an erroneous one. In fact, a merciful judge was regarded as one who did not transport British people into slavery in America." Transportation represented a curse that large numbers sought to avoid….they commonly requested other punishments be substituted. Many requested hanging, others volunteered their bodies to medical research, In 1721, six prisoners volunteered to undergo a smallpox experiment. Ten years later (about the time our Benjamin was convicted) a prisoner, Charles Ray, of Newgate Prison, offered to let doctors remove his ear drum rather than be transported.
    
    Transportation of the white individuals from England had higher losses of life than that of the Black slaves of Africa. It cost more to obtain Blacks from Africa and the Whites were heaply obtained and were viewed as expendable. In the 17th and 18th century it was customary to keep the White slaves below deck for the entire nine to twelve week journey. A white slave would be confined to a hole not more that sixteen feet long, chained with 50 other men to a board, with padlocked collars around their necks.
    
    The death rate of white slaves to America was about 25% compared to 10% of black slaves. If a white slave was sold in advance to a Virginia planter, his well being and care was the responsibility of the Captain of the ship until they reached the halfway point of the voyage. After that the responsibility of costs of provisions went to the planter whether or not the slave survived the trip. Captains became infamous for providing sufficient food for only the first half of the trip and virtually starving their captives until they arrived in America.
    
    Upon arrival in America, the white kidnapped and convicts were displayed on an auction block, examined, then sold by the ship's Captain.    Once sold, the nightmare began. As many as 80% of a shipment of white slaves died their first year. Long hours and sun exposure were considered part of a first year 'seasoning". They would work from sunrise to sunset in the fields or lead mines and then would be put to work in a shed grinding corn until midnight.
    
    Some expected to serve their time and obtain land, others to apprentice to learn a trade, but in most cases they were severely treated by beatings, etc. and did not survive. As their terms of indenture came to a close, many were beaten and tortured, in hopes they would try to flee. If they did flee and were caught, their indenture was extended another seven, ten or more years.
    
    Also additional time would be added for the cost of their capture. They were branded on the cheek with the letter "R" and/or one or both ears were removed so they would not repeat their fleeing. One half of White "indentured servants" did not live to attain their freedom.
    
    Young white females in bondage were denied the right to marry. A woman having a baby, out of wedlock, was an extension of two and a half years to her term. The baby was taken from her and sold. These children's bondage was a "mere" 21 years for boys and 18 years for girls.   By 1769, all children born to even free white women who were unmarried were also candidates for enslavement. Children were sold for a few pounds of tobacco to another master.
    
    On the other hand, men were allowed to earn their freedom by joining the conflicts of the time. During Dunmore's War, The French and Indian War, and the American Revolution the ruling class was desperate for fighting manpower. They granted white slaves their freedom by permitting recruitment of white slaves into the army.
    
    I hope this post is "thought provoking"
    
    Lyla
"All Afire to Fight: The Untold Tale of the Civil War's Ninth Texas Cavalry"
By Martha Crabb ISBN: 038097794X
- Synopsis
  - Martha is descended from William McKendree Rogers b. 1817 who was the son of Jesse Rogers b. 1791 and grandson of John (the Powder Maker) Rogers b. 1757. Two of William McKendree Rogers' son served in the 9th Texas Cavalry during the Civil War.
"Albion's Seed" Four British Folkways in America
By David Hackett FischerISBN: 0-19-506905-6
- Synopsis
  - David Fischer describes the four different groups or groupings who came from Brittan to the American colonies and how they influenced every part of life in the new land and that these differences exist even today. This very good work goes a long way toward explaining why folks in different parts of the US even today have different beliefs, habits, way of talking, etc. Michael Kammen called this book "The finest work of synthesis in early American history in more than fifty years."
"William Preston and the Allegheny Patriots"
by Patricia Givens Johnson Library of Congress Catalog Card # 76-9446
- No Synopsis
"The Winning Of The West"
by Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt
- No Synopsis
"The New River Early Settlement"
by Patricia Givens Johnson
- No Synopsis
Writings of Charles Elkins Rogers (Off Site)

This page was last updated on: June 15 2010 08:04:00