In this exceptional biography, Canter Brown, Jr., removes Ossian Bingley Hart (1821 1874) a Unionist, the principal founder of the Republican Party in Florida, and a Reconstruction-era governor of the state from the shadows of history. Through an examination of Hart s life and career, Brown offers new insight into the political problems of the day the role of Unionism in Deep South politics in particular and enriches our understanding of the complexities of Reconstruction. Brown traces Hart s life from his privileged childhood in the newly founded port town of Jacksonville through his...