Touched by the Sun

Touched by the Sun
Author: Stuart B. McIver
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2016-07-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1561647772

Florida has long been a mecca for those looking for a change of scenery, pace, or fortune. One way or another, all who enter Florida are "Touched by the Sun." Its powerful rays leave them with a sense of well-being, better health, or maybe just a sunburn. Come meet some of the glorious sun-drenched characters. In this third volume of the Florida Chronicles, a continuing series on the states history, author Stuart B. McIver tells his tales of Florida through the often tangled lives of people who could never be brushed aside as ordinary. These players in that great theatrical production called Florida include presidents, cowboys, gangsters, baseball players, writers, politicians, captains of industry, inventors, movie stars, and even a fire chief. See all of the books in this series

Firebrand of Liberty: The Story of Two Black Regiments That Changed the Course of the Civil War

Firebrand of Liberty: The Story of Two Black Regiments That Changed the Course of the Civil War
Author: Stephen V. Ash
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2008-07-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 0393069907

A nearly forgotten Civil War episode is restored to history in this masterful account. In March 1863, nine hundred black Union soldiers, led by white officers, invaded Florida and seized the town of Jacksonville. They were among the first African American troops in the Northern army, and their expedition into enemy territory was like no other in the Civil War. It was intended as an assault on slavery by which thousands would be freed. At the center of the story is prominent abolitionist Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who led one of the regiments. After waging battle for three weeks, Higginson and his men were mysteriously ordered to withdraw, their mission a seeming failure. Yet their successes in resisting the Confederates and collaborating with white Union forces persuaded President Abraham Lincoln to begin full-scale recruitment of black troops, a momentous decision that helped turned the tide of the war. Using long-neglected primary sources, historian Stephen V. Ash’s stirring narrative re-creates this event with insight, vivid characterizations, and a keen sense of drama.

Freedom for Themselves

Freedom for Themselves
Author: Richard M. Reid
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 441
Release: 2012-02-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 080783727X

More than 5,000 North Carolina slaves escaped from their white owners to serve in the Union army during the Civil War. In Freedom for Themselves Richard Reid explores the stories of black soldiers from four regiments raised in North Carolina. Constructing a multidimensional portrait of the soldiers and their families, he provides a new understanding of the spectrum of black experience during and aftger the war.

Discovering the Civil War in Florida

Discovering the Civil War in Florida
Author: Paul Taylor
Publisher: Pineapple Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2012-10-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 156164529X

A chronicle of Civil War activity in Florida, both land and sea maneuvers. For each engagement the author includes excerpts from official government reports by officers on both sides of the battle lines. Also a guide to Civil War sites you can visit. Includes photos and maps. Sites include: Fort Pickens, Natural Bridge Battlefield State Historic Site, Fort Clinch State Park, Olustee Battlefield, Suwannee River State Park, Castillo de San Marcos, Bronson-Mulholland House, Cedar Key Island Hotel, Gamble Plantation, Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins State Historic Site, Fort Zachary Taylor State Historic Site, Fort Jefferson State Historic Site.

The Book Lover's Guide to Florida

The Book Lover's Guide to Florida
Author: Kevin M. McCarthy
Publisher: Pineapple Press Inc
Total Pages: 524
Release: 1992
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781561640126

"Here is the book lover's literary tour of Florida, an exhaustive survey of writers, books, and literary sites in every part of the state. The state is divided into ten areas and each one is described from a literary point of view. You will learn what authors lived in or wrote about a place, which books describe the place, what important movies were made there, even the literary trivia which the true Florida book lover will want to know. You can use the book as a travel guide to a new way to see the state, as an armchair guide to a better understanding of our literary heritage, or as a guide to what to read next time you head to a bookstore or library."--Publisher.

Way Down Upon the Suwannee River

Way Down Upon the Suwannee River
Author: Gary Loderhose
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2000-12-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0595159400

When the Civil War erupted, Florida was a rough and independent frontier state recognized by few outside of its boundaries. During the war Florida gave an equal amount of men, in ratio to the state's population, than any other Confederate state. Yet Florida's Civil War involvement remains hidden in the obscure shadow of the more influential Southern states. Are the names Bradford, Dickison, Finegan, Lang, Pearson, or Perry familiar? What was the importance of the Battle of Santa Rosa Island? Why was the Florida Brigade criticized following the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg? What was Florida's home front like? What was the Cow Cavalry? What was Florida's Civil War Governor like? The answers to these colorful questions are found within these pages. Florida's Civil War involvement was a substantial and costly one. Those who molded history way down upon the Suwannee River tell their amazing stories.

Thunder on the River

Thunder on the River
Author: Daniel L Schafer
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2010-01-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 0813047021

When the Civil War finally came to North Florida, it did so with an intermittent fury that destroyed much of Jacksonville and scattered its residents. The city was taken four separate times by Federal forces but abandoned after each of the first three occupations. During the fourth occupation, it was used as a staging ground for the ill-fated Union invasion of the Florida interior, which ended in the bloody Battle of Olustee in February 1864. This late Confederate victory, along with the deadly use of underwater mines against the U.S. Navy along the St. Johns, nearly succeeded in ending the fourth Union occupation of Jacksonville. Writing in clear, engaging prose, Daniel Schafer sheds light on this oft-forgotten theatre of war and details the dynamic racial and cultural factors that led to Florida’s engagement on behalf of the South. He investigates how fears about the black population increased and held sway over whites, seeking out the true motives behind both the state and federal initiatives that drove freed blacks from the cities back to the plantations even before the war's end. From the Missouri Compromise to Reconstruction, Thunder on the River offers the history of a city and a region precariously situated as a major center of commerce on the brink of frontier Florida. Historians and Civil War aficionados alike will not want to miss this important addition to the literature.