Voting follows old patterns in Missouri (again!)

Four years ago, on the day after the election, I wrote the following post about the breakdown of voting in Missouri. While the name Obama has been replaced with Clinton and I had to change the percentage of the popular vote, otherwise everything remains true.

In the weeks running up to the election I became obsessed with CNN's Election Center. With all the results in, I took a look at voting in Missouri. CNN posted an interesting map showing how Missouri voted county by county.

As you can see, Clinton only carried three counties. They were St. Louis, Jackson, and Boone. She also carried St. Louis city. St. Louis County is part of the metro area, Jackson is home to Kansas City, and Boone is home to Columbia, which serves as the setting for my Civil War novel.

Knowing Missouri, I never expected Clinton to win there. She did pretty well, though. St. Louis and Jackson are, of course, the most populous counties, and Boone is number 7, so while Clinton only managed to carry three counties and St. Louis city, she did get 38% of the popular vote.

What's interesting is that St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia were the three main strongholds for Union sentiment during the Civil War. More rural areas (called "Outstate" by Missourans) tended to be for the South. They supported the Democrats, who back then were a conservative party that wanted to preserve the status quo. If you wanted to find supporters of the liberal alternative to the Democrats, the Republicans Party, you had to look in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia.

A sweeping generalization, I know, but one that still has a ring of truth 150 years later. The three cities are still liberal and the rest of the state is still conservative, all they've done is switch parties! 

Civil War Photo Friday: Black Civil War Soldiers Fighting Bloodhounds

I've been researching the Civil War for more some 15 years now and this is the first time I've come across this little tidbit. Titled, “Terrible Fight with Bloodhounds,” this engraving appeared in Leslie’s Illustrated magazine in March of 1864. It illustrates the strange fight of one of the very first African-American regiments organized during the Civil War.

On October 23, 1862, the 1st South Carolina Regiment (Colored) was attacked by the Confederates at Pocatalago Bridge, South Carolina. The rebels sent bloodhounds after the black troops. These dogs, as any student of black history knows, were commonly sent after runaway slaves and most black people were terrified of them. Things had changed, however. Now these former slaves had rifles and bayonets. As their hated canine enemies charged at them, the Union soldiers bayoneted them.

This odd little fight made quite an impression on both the black and white population and highlighted that black soldiers were not to be trifled with. They weren't scared anymore!

Book Review: The Last Battle of the Civil War: Palmetto Ranch

The Last Battle of the Civil War: Palmetto Ranch by Jeffrey W. Hunt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

On May 12-13, 1865, a month after the surrender at Appomattox and when the Confederacy had all but disappeared east of the Mississippi, there was a final battle in Texas. Oddly enough, it was a Confederate victory, and the Battle of Palmetto Ranch has become part of the Civil War legend.
There are many incorrect beliefs about this battle, such as that the black Union troops broke and the rebels didn't know General Lee had surrendered. In fact, the 62nd USCT was the only Union unit that didn't break, and Texas newspapers had published details about Lee's surrender more than two weeks before the battle. The author even uncovered a letter from a rebel soldier posted at Palmetto Ranch, dated a few days before the fight, talking about Lee's surrender.
This is typical of the deep and detailed research that went into this book. Hunt studies the principal people involved, how the politics south of the border affected the war along the Rio Grande, and gives us insights into the trials and sufferings of the regular soldier. It also includes clear, detailed maps, something that so many military history books lack.
If you want an interesting, quick read on a famous but still somewhat obscure episode of the Civil War, this book is for you.

View all my reviews

Book Review: A Long Shadow: Jefferson Davis and the Final Days of the Confederacy

A Long Shadow: Jefferson Davis and the Final Days of the Confederacy by Michael B. Ballard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book covers the flight of Confederate President Jefferson Davis after the fall of Richmond until he was captured and put in prison. The focus is on the man himself and only touches briefly on the military situation with Generals Lee and Johnston, so if you are unclear on the military side of the war's final weeks you'll want to read up on that first.
The main thesis of this book is that Davis, through his insistence on trying to get away and continue the war from South Carolina, or the Trans-Mississippi, or Mexico, or pretty much anywhere, helped found the idea of the Lost Cause. His stubborn resistance inspired Southerners with the idea of the undying South that would some day rise again.
Ballard makes a good case, but he is hampered by the relatively short length of the book, much of which is given over to day-to-day details of the long flight away from his Union pursuers. I finished this book in only three sittings and closed it thinking it could have been much longer and more detailed. Perhaps it wouldn't have been as marketable, but it would have been a better work of history. Still, it's a good blow-by-blow account of the last day of the Confederate government.
One major complaint: Ballard keeps referring to slaves as "servants". There is a world of difference between the two. Just because 19th century sources didn't always make a distinction, doesn't mean that 20th century historians shouldn't.

View all my reviews

Get my ebooks for half off!

Over at Smashwords I'm participating in their great summer/winter sale. Whether you're sweltering in the summer of the Northern Hemisphere, or chilling out somewhere south of the Equator, it's always a good time to read an ebook. Through July 31, all my ebooks at Smashwords are 50% off. You can see an entire list on my Smashwords page.

The books include my Trench Raiders World War One action series, each now $1.50; older works such as the short story collection The Night the Nazis came to Dinner and the historical fantasy The Quintessence of Absence, both $1.50; and my Civil War horror novels A Fine Likeness and The River of Desperation.

Use the coupon code SSW50 at checkout to save 50%!

Civil War Photo Friday: Boatswain Piping on Deck of a U.S. Naval Warship

I like this photo. So many images from the Civil War are stiff, but this one really lets this guy's character shine through. Here, a boatswain is playing his little pipe for the camera on an unknown U.S. warship during the American Civil War.

You don't hear much about the naval aspect of the war, so it was interesting to research that for my latest novel, The River of Desperation. Most of the action takes place on one of the new ironclads. It's a sequel to my first novel, A Fine Likeness, which is on sale as a 99 cent ebook through April 26.

Photo courtesy Library of Congress.

My latest Civil War horror novel The River of Desperation out now!

I've just released my latest Civil War horror novel, The River of Desperation. It's the sequel to A Fine Likeness. While the first book in the House Divided series stands on its own, The River of Desperation continued the story of the primeval struggle between Order and Chaos. A blurb is below.

In the waning days of the Civil War, a secret conflict still rages. . .
Lieutenant Allen Addison of the USS Essex is looking forward to the South's defeat so he can build the life he's always wanted. Love and a promising business await him in St. Louis, but he is swept up in a primeval war between the forces of Order and Chaos, a struggle he doesn't understand and can barely believe in. Soon he is fighting to keep a grip on his sanity as he tries to save St. Louis from destruction.
The long-awaited sequel to A Fine Likeness continues the story of two opposing forces that threaten to tear the world apart.
Length: 103,000 words (356 pages)

It's available as an ebook on Amazon, all Amazon affiliates, Smashwords, and soon to come to Barnes & Noble, the Apple store, and more.

In order to celebrate the release, I'm discounting A Fine Likeness. It's only 99 cents until April 26, the 150th anniversary of General Joe Johnston surrendering the Army of Tennessee. It will then be $2.99 until May 21, the 150th anniversary of the surrender of Jesse James, who makes an appearance in both of these books. A Fine Likeness is available on Amazon, all Amazon affiliates, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and almost everywhere else ebooks are sold.

Civil War Photo Friday: Confederate Prisoners Waiting To Go Home

As I'm sure you've heard, April 9 was the sesquicentennial of the surrender of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House. In the following weeks, more Confederate armies would surrender and tens of thousands of men would soon be heading home. This photo shows Confederate prisoners in Belle Plain, Virginia. While it's undated, scenes like this were common in April 1865. Large masses of men, no longer carrying guns, waited transport back to their home state.

Since the above photo is a bit small, I've zoomed in on part of the crowd. I like the ghostly figures of the ones who moved, and the guy in front looking at the camera. I wonder what happened to all of them after the war?

Photo courtesy National Archives.

Which cover do you like better?

Below are two mockups for the cover of my next novel, which is a sequel to my Civil War horror novel A Fine Likeness. Which do you think is better? You might want to click on the link to see how the first looked like. I appreciate your input!

Civil War Photo Friday: Goofing Around for the Camera

War isn't all serious. These two Union soldiers took the time out to fool around for posterity. The guy on the left is holding a Springfield Model 1861 rifled musket and facing off against his friend, who's getting serious with a Colt Model 1851 Navy revolver. As was common with these pictures, the subjects had a choice of painted backdrops. They should have picked a bigger one.

I wonder how these guys reacted to real fighting. . .

Image courtesy Library of Congress.

Book Review: The First Shot (Caleb Thorn Book 1)

The First Shot by L J Coburn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was originally published in 1973 during the high point of the men's action paperback genre, and is definitely a product of that time. This quick, easy read relies on sex and violence rather than plot and characterization to entertain readers.
The title character Caleb Thorn is an unsympathetic cad, a Southern gentleman who cares about no one except his mother (and cares about her way too much). Early in the book, he kills a man in a duel, and by a series of circumstances ends up in the Union army under the command of the boy's father. The officer sends Thorn off on a suicide mission with a group of condemned men.
This is a well-worn formula but it works here. The action scenes are fast-paced and believable, and the tension is unrelenting.
I could have used some more background on the supporting cast. For example, one man is an expert on explosives (there's always an explosives expert in these things) but it's never explained where he got this uncommon skill. The whole book seems somewhat rushed, and padded out with sex scenes that are often distasteful rather than enticing.
If you're looking for an unchallenging read with lots of Saxon Violins (as they say), this may be for you. It's available as an inexpensive ebook from Piccadilly Publishing.

View all my reviews

Civil War Photo Friday: Crewmen of the USS Hunchback

These two jaunty fellows are from the crew of the USS Hunchback. Before the war this ship was a ferry in New York City. It was purchased by the U.S. government for military service and spent most of the war in the rivers and along the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina, seeing action numerous times and chalking up a good record of captured enemy vessels.

Like many gunboats converted from civilian use, the Hunchback had most of its guns on deck. They were simply regular artillery guns put on a ship.

The ship took some hits during the war but survived to see the end, at which point it went back to being a ferry in New York City until the early 1880s.

Photo courtesy Library of Congress.

Civil War Photo Friday: Winter Sentinel

This is for my friends in chilly North America. Stay warm!

Got my author's copies of Spirits of St. Louis!

A nice little package from Rocking Horse Publishing arrived here in Spain, containing my author's copies of Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories.

It includes my story "After the Raid", an offshoot of my Civil War horror novel A Fine Likeness. For those who have read the novel, it follows the story of Helena, the daughter of the German photographer who gets killed by the bushwhacker band, and how she takes a terrible revenge. Of course a terrible revenge comes at a terrible price. . .

The story also stands on its own in case you haven't read the book (ahem).

There are lots of good stories in here. I especially liked "Ghost in Celestial Blue" by Donna Volkenannt, which is set in Bissell Mansion in St. Louis. Since I know you read this blog, Donna, could you tell me if there's really a ghost there? I suppose I could Google it, but where's the fun in that?

The Apache way of war

"You want us to ride around your wagon circle making perfect targets while you shoot at us? I don't think so, paleface!"

In the movies we're told that the Apache were pretty dumb. As soon as our heroes, the settlers, put their wagons in a circle, the Apaches would ride around it, whopping and waving their guns over their heads, making perfect targets.

Not likely. The Apache defied the U.S. government for a century despite the Americans having greater numbers and better weapons. They did this by launching a classic guerrilla campaign.

The Apache offset their numerical inferiority by focusing their forces on isolated army detachments, giving them a localized superiority in numbers. They were also quick to adopt the latest weaponry, whether through illegal trading or by capturing guns from the enemy.

Their greatest ally was the land itself. Arizona and New Mexico, where the greatest number of Apache lived in the 19th century, is a rugged place, with scarce water and countless mountains and ravines in which to hide. The Apache knew the land well and could strike fast from unexpected directions and disappear into the wilderness.

Spirits of St. Louis anthology out now!

Missouri publisher Rocking Horse Publishing has just come out with Spirits of St. Louis, an anthology of ghost stories set in Missouri.

It includes my story "After the Raid", an offshoot of my Civil War horror novel A Fine Likeness. For those who have read the novel, it follows the story of Helena, the daughter of the German photographer who gets killed by the bushwhacker band, and how she takes a terrible revenge. Of course a terrible revenge comes at a terrible price. . .

The story also stands on its own in case you haven't read the book (ahem).

Here's the back cover blurb.

Lonely Hitchhikers. Dirt Roads. Tired Soldiers. Strange Children. Mysterious Ladies. Dark Houses. What do they have in common? 

They all haunt the pages of this book.

From the Lemp Mansion to The Exorcist, from the 1904 World's Fair to Jefferson Barracks, the history of St. Louis, Missouri and its surrounding river towns is filled with stories of haunts and the supernatural.

Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories is a collection of over thirty stories from authors across the globe, celebrating these ghosts, banshees, and shadows.

Do you believe in ghosts? If you believe or not, this collection of dark tales of the dead and disturbed is sure to keep you awake at night. Lock the doors, turn down the lights, and prepare to be terrified.

Photo Friday: Union troops participate in National Novel Writing Month!

Well, it's here. I and thousands of other writers around the world are hunched over our computers or notebooks writing the first chapters of our books. We need to get through 50,000 words to be a National Novel Writing Month winner. I'm planning on winning.

The Library of Congress says these are men from the Army of the Potomac writing letters to friends and family. Actually this is the only known image of the first National Novel Writing Month, which took place in 1861. The war stopped for the entire month of November while men on both sides sharpened their pencils and wrote novels for the folks back home. You can see them all hard at work here, except for the fellow in front who is sewing his shirt. He had been writing so hard the sleeve wore out!

. . .or not. :-)

All I'm going to do today is focus on my novel and write, write, write! I wrote this blog post on Wednesday just to clear the decks. :-)

Helping out with National Novel Writing Month

I've started a thread on the National Novel Writing Month website for writing a Civil War novel during NaNoWriMo.

If you're writing about the American Civil War, I'll be happy to answer your questions if I can. I've written two books about the Civil War for Osprey Publishing and numerous magazine articles for magazines such as Missouri Life and America's Civil War. I also have a novel set in Civil War Missouri titled A Fine Likeness.

My research focus is on the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi Theater and guerrilla warfare. I'll try to answer any questions posed to me, however. I've already had a couple of good ones. Please don't ask questions that can easily be researched online, though. I'm going to be a wee bit busy this month!


Image of bombardment of Fort Sumter courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

My Civil War novel A Fine Likeness on sale for only $2.99. Happy Valentine's Day!

Um. . .isn't Valentine's Day February 14? Yes it is, but I love my readers so much I've decided to celebrate early. From now until the day after Valentine's Day (Feb. 15) I'm discounting my Civil War novel A Fine Likeness to $2.99.

My novel has been out two months now and I've received some wonderful reviews and a modest number of sales. I'd like to increase both by offering this discount. I love getting new readers!

I also love my existing readers, so if you've already purchased A Fine Likeness at full price, here's a deal for you: I'll send you a complimentary copy of my short story collection The Night the Nazis Came to Dinner and other dark tales. Just email me at seansontheweb (at) yahoo (dot) com and answer this question about the book: what Union officer was entrusted to guard Rocheport? (Hint: he did a really crappy job!).

I love my readers!

Deja-Vu Blogfest: My thoughts on my page 99

Today I'm participating in the Deja-Vu blogfest, where everyone revives one of their favorite old posts. This one is from more than a year ago and concerns my Civil War novel A Fine Likeness, which back then was still unpublished.

Ford Madox Ford suggested that if you want to know how good a book is, you should "open the book to page ninety-nine and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you."

A new website plans to let aspiring and published authors upload page 99 of their work for public scrutiny. The Page 99 Test isn't running yet, so I've decided to jump the gun and post page 99 of my Civil War horror novel A Fine Likeness here to see how it stands up. Regular readers of this blog will know that this novel made it to the finals of Dorchester and ChiZine's Fresh Blood contest before losing. Oddly enough, five months on, the novel's fan page is still attracting hits. The manuscript currently squats malevolently in ChiZine's submissions pile.

So here's page 99. Let me know what you think. I'll post my own thoughts in my next post.

“This the right way?” Hugh asked.

“’Course it’s the right way,” Morgan said. “You think I don’t know where I’m going?”

“Don’t seem the right way,” Hugh said.

“It ain’t,” Elijah replied.

“Shut your mouth,” Morgan said, looking around at the woods uncertainly. “What’s that old devil thinking making us come all the way out here for anyways? Why didn’t we meet back at his cabin?”

“Probably afraid we’d get followed,” the Kid said.

“Damn it, we should have made that road by now. He said head north five miles and we’d hit it,” Morgan grumbled.

“We would have if we’d gone north,” Elijah said.

“Course we’ve been going north!” Morgan shouted. “We’ve been going north the entire time, haven’t we Jimmy?”

Jimmy didn’t reply, looking down at the ground as the Kid led his horse.

“Don’t ask him nothing,” Elijah said. “He’s been told his end and that’s a hard thing to take. And we ain’t been going north the whole time. When we took off from the Schmidt place, remember how we cut along that streambed? That made us move east a ways before we straightened out. We’ve passed the road.”

Morgan frowned at him, not wanting to believe, but he knew as well as the rest of them that Elijah never got lost in the woods.

“Jimmy, what do you think?” Morgan asked, bringing his horse alongside him.

“I don’t know what to believe,” Jimmy said.