"This vignette of local southern history . . . recounts Renfroe's career as sheriff of Sumter County for a little more than two years, followed by six years of bizarre activities as a fugitive from justice before being lynched in July 1886. . . . He led the local Ku Klux Klan in 1868-69, participated in the Meridian riot of 1871, and took part in the killing of two active Republicans, one white and one black, in 1874. Rumors attributed other slayings to this violence-prone man who in 1867 had fled another county after killing his brother-in-law. . . . The story clearly illustrates the violent...

Once the home of aboriginal inhabitants, Alabama was claimed and occupied by European nations, later to become a permanent part of the United States. A cotton and slave state for more than half of the 19th century, Alabama declared its independence and joined another nation, the Confederate States of America, for its more than four-year history. The state assumed an uneasy and uncertain place in the 19th century's last 35 years. Its role in the 20th century has been tumultuous but painfully predictable. This comprehensive history, written in the last decade of that century, presents,...

One of the most elegant mansions in Florida, Goodwood was built over a century ago and stands today as one of Tallahassee's grandest historical monuments. It was once the center of a thriving plantation founded by the Croom family of North Carolina, who in the 1820s sought to revive their fortunes in the newly opened Florida territory. William Warren Rogers and Erica R. Clark tell the story of this family and their legacy, shedding new light on many aspects of antebellum family life, plantation management, and race relations. They describe how brothers Hardy and Bryan Croom developed Goodwood...

James Jewel enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1862 with numerous friends from Oglethorpe and Greene counties, east of Athens, Georgia. His 114 letters present a new and unreported perspective on war life in the Tallahassee and Quincy, Florida, areas.

A solid history of a relatively unknown area of Florida. The rich detail of destruction by hurricanes and fires; the building of lighthouses, schools, banks, and bars; and the stories of the people who were associated with those events and facilities makes lively reading. Rogers writes with vivacity and a quick wit. His book will be welcomed not only by Florida historians interested in state and local history but also by a much wider reading public. Journal of American History

A painstakingly researched account of the economic, social, and political history of...