The Slave-Trader's Letter-Book
Charles Lamar, The Wanderer, and Other Tales of the African Slave Trade
- 354 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
The Slave-Trader's Letter-Book
Charles Lamar, The Wanderer, and Other Tales of the African Slave Trade
About This Book
Long-lost letters tell the story of an illegal slave shipment, a desperate Savannah businessman, and the lead-up to the Civil War. In 1858 Savannah businessman Charles Lamar, in violation of U.S. law, organized the shipment of hundreds of Africans on the luxury yacht Wanderer to Jekyll Island, Georgia. The four hundred survivors of the Middle Passage were sold into bondage. This was the first successful documented slave landing in the United States in about four decades, and it shocked a nation already on the path to civil war. Nearly thirty years later, the North American Review published excerpts from thirty of Lamar's letters, reportedly taken from his letter book, which describe his criminal activities. However, the authenticity of the letters was in doubt until very recently. In the twenty-first century, researcher Jim Jordan found a cache of private papers belonging to Charles Lamar's father, stored for decades in an attic in New Jersey. Among the documents was Charles Lamar's letter bookâconfirming him as the author. The first part of this book recounts the flamboyant and reckless life of Lamar himself, including involvement in southern secession, the slave trade, and a plot to overthrow the government of Cuba. A portrait emerges at odds with Lamar's previous image as a savvy entrepreneur and principled rebel. Instead, we see a man who was often broke and whose volatility sabotaged him at every turn. His involvement in the slave trade was driven more by financial desperation than southern defiance. The second part presents the "Slave-Trader's Letter-Book." Together with annotations, these seventy long-lost letters shed light on the lead-up to the Civil War from the remarkable perspective of a troubled, and troubling, figure.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Abbreviations
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction. The Journey of the Slave-Traderâs Letter-Book
- Chapter 1. The Last Laugh: December 2, 1858
- Chapter 2. âYou Are a Noble Boyâ: June 1838
- Chapter 3. âYoung as You Are, You Are Failing Already in Mindâ: 1838â1854
- Chapter 4. âI Have No Fears of the Consequencesâ: 1851â1856
- Chapter 5. âI Never Was So Hard Up in My Lifeâ: 1855â1857
- Chapter 6. âAn Expedition to the Moon Would Have Been Equally Sensibleâ: October 1857âJuly 1858
- Chapter 7. âLet Your Cruisers Catch Me If They Canâ: AprilâJuly 1858
- Chapter 8. âAs Near Perfection as Anything of the Kindâ: MarchâSeptember 1858
- Chapter 9. âThe Degraded Children of Africaâ: JulyâNovember 1858
- Chapter 10. âI Tell You Hell Is to Payâ: NovemberâDecember 1858
- Chapter 11. âShe Could Not Possibly Accommodate More Than Half That Numberâ: December 1858âJanuary 1859
- Chapter 12. âI Am Afraid They Will Convict Meâ: JanuaryâOctober 1859
- Chapter 13. âI Shall Simply Put an Indignity upon Himâ: AprilâMay 1859
- Chapter 14. âTell the People of Savannah They Can Kiss My Arseâ: JuneâOctober 1859
- Chapter 15. âSuch Men as C. A. L. Lamar Run Riot without Hindranceâ: NovemberâDecember 1859
- Chapter 16. âThe Wanderer Bothers Me to Deathâ: December 1859âMay 1860
- Chapter 17. âThe Most Strangely Constituted Piece of Human Natureâ: MayâDecember 1860
- Chapter 18. âI Want Dissolutionâ: April 1860âDecember 1861
- Chapter 19. âHe Was a Prime Mover in Secessionâ: 1862â1864
- Chapter 20. A Sad Legacy: 1864â1865
- Letters of the Slave-Traderâs Letter-Book, Part A: Letters Concerning Filibustering and Slave Trading
- Letters of the Slave-Traderâs Letter-Book, Part B: Letters Concerning Miscellaneous Subjects
- Notes
- Selected Bibliography
- Index