The story begins in March 1865 as Union troops closed in on Richmond. Jefferson Davis tries to establish new capitals in Danville, Greensboro, and Charlotte and is ultimately captured in Georgia. Secretary of War Breckinridge dons the style of a pirate to escape. Secretary of State Benjamin disguises himself as a poor farmer--with his gold sewn inside his clothes. Nearly 60 primary and secondary sources were used to research this dramatic history. The book contains sketches made by an artist who accompanied Davis on much of the escape, and includes maps of the escape route.

Learn 200 quick, painless history lessons in one thoroughly researched book. An indispensable guide for Florida students, newcomers, and old-timers alike.

Florida has a long and complex and very interesting history, but few of us have time to read it in depth. So here are 200 quick looks at Florida's 10,000 years of history, from the arrival of the first natives to the present. The distilled version is packed with unusual and little-known facts and stories.

For nearly a century in Florida and throughout the South, election to the United States Senate virtually guaranteed a lifetime position, especially if you were a Democrat. Certainly no Republican candidate stood a chance in the general election, and it was nearly unthinkable to imagine a serious challenger emerging in the primary. Claude Red Pepper first ran for the U.S. Senate in 1934. Though unsuccessful, despite allegations of voter fraud, he won a special election two years later after both senators from Florida died in office. Reelected to full terms in 1938 and 1944 as a vigorous...

This is the first in a series of collections of fiction and nonfiction about Florida by legendary writers who came here some to escape the chilly North, some to find freedom, and some to investigate what the fuss was all about. From Audubon in 1834 to Dave Barry in 1990, these writers reveal Florida's natural beauty and her residents' human foibles. In poetry, John Greenleaf Whittier exposes our shameful slave-holding past, and Elizabeth Bishop extols our turtles and sandbars and tropical rain. Jules Verne shoots a moon rocket off from Tampa, and Hunter Thompson delivers up his own gonzo...

This third, and final, volume in the Pineapple Anthology of Florida Writers includes Samuel Coleridge and Oliver Goldsmith, who never saw Florida, but used it in their poems. Several writers, such as Henry James and William Dean Howells, helped expose Florida to the nation. H. L. Mencken reported on the aftermath of the Jacksonville fire, John Rothchild wrote of the state s past, and Jack Kerouac wrote of his dislike of the state. There are works by two bestselling mystery writers, William Connelly and Randy Wayne White. Backroads Florida is captured by Harry Crews and Totch Brown. And...

Florida has a history as diverse as its residents. And much of that is still hidden. Since the arrival of the Spanish in 1513, the state has played host to strange stories. A heartbroken senator entered a mental institution over unrequited love for an heiress. Thousands of British pilots trained in flight schools across the state. And the true, and darker, story of Pocahontas is linked with the "first barbecue." Author and historian James C. Clark unearths a history hidden beneath swamps and sand for years.