Goose Creek, a Definitive History: Volume Two: Rebellion, Reconstruction and Beyond

In this companion to his successful Goose Creek, A Definitive History: Volume One, Goose Creek mayor Michael Heitzler continues his engrossing study of this often-overlooked community of the South Carolina Lowcountry. As the war for American independence approached, the agricultural economy of the area, which brought untold wealth to many, continued to show signs of weakening. However, the foundation of this economy?slavery?did not fracture until ninety years later, and only then was the area?s African American population able to achieve a marginal existence under continued exploitation. In this volume, the lives of the white landowners who controlled the forests and fields and the African Americans who lived virtually invisible as they endured on small farms are revealed in detail.

Heitzler?s work employs hundreds of unique primary sources such as private journals, tenant farmer rosters and hunting club records. The two-volume series is a must read for laymen and scholars alike who wish to broaden their understanding of this important section of the South Carolina Lowcountry.