Includes bibliographical references (pages 311 - 318) and index.
Contents:
A 'lobster claw' and three little demons -- Meet Mrs. B, Civil War mission control -- Charleston, South Carolina : storming a rebel fort with an Englishman -- Columbia, Tennessee : 'murder' and marriage in the mule capital of the world -- Sharpsburg, Maryland : tales from my Civil War poppa -- Memphis, Tennessee and Marion, Arkansas : lives lost and a passion found on the mighty Mississippi -- Hinds County, Mississippi : exploring Champion Hill with my 'psychotic connection' -- Vicksburg, Mississippi : 'whoa, he's a Black guy' -- Resaca, Georgia : characters, coonskin caps and cognac 'cee-gars' -- Perryville, Kentucky : 'what a pisser' -- Thompson's Station, Tennessee : Alice's 15 seconds of fame -- Ashwood, Tennessee : the 'lost' mansion site of 'the fighting bishop' -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : my very own 'Philly special' -- Shepherdstown, West Virginia : in the footsteps of A Civil War badass -- Franklin, Tennessee : 'hypno-history' at a U.s. Army fort -- Middle Tennessee : spies, gaps and graves -- Roberts switch, Tennessee : exploring graveyards with a moonshiner's son -- Andersonville, Georgia : voices from America's saddest place -- Deatonville, Virginia : 'the house with nobody in it' -- Farmville, Virginia : a vow to be buried on his battlefield -- Virginia's Shenandoah Valley : the mother road -- Sharpsburg to Frederick, Maryland : Abraham Lincoln and the Oreo Cookie lady -- Middletown, Virginia : rambling with 'the chief' at Cedar Creek -- Nashville, Tennessee : on the trail of a medal of honor recipient with an ex-roadie in an all-girl band -- Murfreesboro, Tennessee : carnage in a construction zone -- Middletown, Maryland : a love story in a house with a presidential suite -- Henrico, Virginia : guardian of a medal of honor recipient's legacy -- Richmond, Virginia : talking Turkey Hill at Cold Harbor -- Sharpsburg, Maryland : mayhem and monarchs in the 40-acre cornfield -- Gettysburg, Pennsylvania : my first ghost walk and investigation -- Gettysburg, Pennsylvania : a collection that got out of hand -- Trevilians, Virginia : where Custer lost his underwear and love letters -- Henrico, Virginia : messy history -- Marshall, North Carolina : four hours in 'bloody Madison' -- Sharpsburg, Maryland : 'the shadow king' -- Lessons learned.
Summary:
Over more than a year, John Banks crisscrossed the country, exploring battlefields, historic houses, forts, and more. He rode on the back of an ATV with his “psychotic connection” in Mississippi, went under the spell of an amateur hypnotist at a U.S. Army fort in Tennessee, admired a sunset from the grounds of the notorious Andersonville prison camp in Georgia, prayed during a tense boat ride in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, and briefly interviewed Louie the wild boar in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Join him on a road trip like no other.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.