The barber of Natchez;: Wherein a slave is freed and rises to a very high standing; wherein the former slave writes a two-thousand-page journal about ... community's reaction to his wanton murder,

Biographies & Memoirs

Davis, Edwin Adams

Regional U.S.

Kennikat Press

Louisiana, the Pelican State

Traces the development of Louisiana from an Indian settlement to a busy modern state.

History

Americas

Louisiana State University Press

In The Barber of Natchez, Edwin Adams Davis and William Ransom Hogan tell the remarkable story of William Johnson, a slave who rose to freedom, business success, and high community standing in the heart of the South―all before 1850. Emancipated as a young boy in 1820, Johnson became a barber’s apprentice and later opened several profitable barber shops of his own. As his wealth grew, he expanded into real estate and acquired large tracts of nearby farm and timber land. The authors explore in detail Johnson’s family, work, and social life, including his friendships with people of both races. They also examine his wanton murder and the resulting trial of the man accused of shooting him. More than the story of one individual, the narrative also offers compelling insight into the southern code of honor, the apprentice system, and the ownership of slaves by free blacks. Based on Johnson’s two-thousand-page diary, letters, and business records, this extraordinary biography reveals the complicated life of a freedman in Mississippi and a new perspective on antebellum Natchez.

Barber of Natchez (Wherein a Slave Is Freed and Rises to a Very High Standing;)

Hogan, William Ransom

Community & Culture

LSU Press

A textbook tracing the development of Louisiana from its first Indian settlement to a busy modern state in 1968.

Children's Books

A textbook tracing the development of Louisiana from its first Indian settlement to a busy modern state in the 1980s.

Louisiana: The Pelican State

Humor & Entertainment

Taylor, Joe Gray

Suarez, Raleigh A.

Humor

Louisiana State Univ Pr

The Barber of Natchez tells the remarkable story of William Johnson, a slave who rose to freedom, business success, and high community standing in the heart of the South-all before 1850. Emancipated as a young boy in 1820, Johnson became a barber's apprentice and later opened several profitable barber shops of his own. The authors explore in detail Johnson's family, work, and social life, including his friendships with people of both races. The authors also examine his wanton murder and the resulting trial of the man accused of shooting him. More than the story of one individual, the narrative offers compelling insight into the southern code of honor, the apprentice system, and the ownership of slaves by free blacks. A new introduction by Ira Berlin explores the historical impact of The Barber of Natchez since its original publication in 1954, and analyzes its relevance today

The Barber of Natchez

Louisiana: A Narrative History

Claitor's Law Books and Publishing

LA a Narrative History

Claitors Pub Div

Although Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House in April, 1865, some Confederates refused to abandon their cause. Fallen Guidon, originally published in 1962 by Jack Rittenhouse's Stagecoach Press, describes the adventures of a Confederate brigade that, rather than surrender, decided to transplant its vision of a Southern Empire in the troubled soil of Mexico. This popularly written history, based on archival sources and the reminiscences of Shelby's adjutant, brings vividly to life a little-remembered episode of the Civil War period and of American incursions in Mexico. General Jo Shelby had led the fiercely loyal and intensely chivalrous Missouri Cavalry Division through numerous battles in the Trans-Mississippi theater. At war's end he heard that the U.S. government supported the idea of ex-Confederates helping to oust European emperor Maximilian from Mexico. Deciding that his troops could save their honor and perhaps enrich themselves by coming to Mexico's aid, Shelby invited the men to participate in the adventure. But the former Rebels did not want to fight alongside Mexican guerrillas. Fallen Guidon traces the Iron Brigade's transformation into "imperialists," the trail of blood they spilled from Piedras Negras to Mexico City, and the final futility of their cause, as Maximilian declined the mercenaries' services.

Fallen Guidon: The Saga of Confederate General Jo Shelby's March to Mexico

Texas A & M Univ Pr

Although Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House in April, 1865, some Confederates refused to abandon their cause. Fallen Guidon, originally published in 1962 by Jack Rittenhouse's Stagecoach Press in 1962, is the gripping story of one such group of men who, rather than surrender, boldly decided to follow their cavalry flag or guidon south and transplant their imperialistic vision in the troubled soil of Mexico. This little-remembered episode of the Trans-Mississippi Civil War was written as a popular history by the late Edwin Adams Davis, a respected scholar of southern and Civil War history. General Jo Shelby had led the Missouri Cavalry Division through battles at Westport, Mine Creek, Newtonia, and elsewhere. Shelby's men were all recruits rather than draftees, fiercely loyal, and they followed the code of chivalry to a degree unusual even in the old South. While preparing to march against the Federals at Little Rock, they heard of Lee's surrender. In a meeting at Marshall, Texas, Shelby announced, "We will stand together, we will keep our organization, our arms, our discipline, our hatred of oppression . . . that this Missouri Cavalry Division preferred exile to submission—death to dishonor." Having heard that the U.S. government wanted the Habsburg emperor Maximilian out of Mexico and that Lincoln liked the idea of ex-Confederates joining forces with Benito Juarez to oust Maximilian and his French military forces, Shelby formed his plan. Shelby believed he had found a way to save their honor and at the same time spread their lost southern empire to a new land, where riches and glory surely awaited them. Shelby and his men marched through Texas, stopping in Corsicana, Tyler, Waxahachie, Waco, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, declaring martial law and forcibly quelling local outbreaks of looting and rioting where they found it. At the Rio Grande, in a funereal memorial, they buried their Confederate battle flag in the murky waters before heading into Mexico. Shelby's men did not want to support Benito Juarez's liberal guerrillas, however. Identifying themselves as "imperialists," they wanted to fight gloriously for Emperor Maximilian. In pitched battles against the local Juaristas and isolated guerrillas and bandits, they spilled blood from Piedras Negras to Mexico City and even undertook the chivalrous and bloody rescue of a woman imprisoned in a hacienda. Once in Mexico City, Shelby's "Iron Brigade" discovered its march to have been futile, and in a bittersweet final review, Shelby said good-bye.

Texas A&M University Press

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