The Hornet's Nest; A Novel of the Revolutionary War

by Jimmy Carter

• ISBN13: 9780743255424
• ISBN10: 0743255429
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-11-11
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Summary

The first work of fiction by a President of the United States -- a sweeping novel of the American South and the War of Independence

In his ambitious and deeply rewarding novel, Jimmy Carter brings to life the Revolutionary War as it was fought in the

Author Biography

Jimmy Carter, who served as thirty-ninth President of the United States, was born in Plains, Georgia, in 1924. After leaving the White House, he and his wife, Rosalynn, founded the Atlanta-based Carter Center, a nonprofit organization that works to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health around the world. The author of numerous books, Jimmy Carter was awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize

Table of Contents

Principal Characters	p. xiii
1763-1773
The Philadelphia Cordwainers	p. 3
Sons of Liberty in Norfolk	p. 10
A Corrupt Royal Government	p. 25
The Regulators	p. 37
The Regulator Revolt	p. 46
Quakers Move to Georgia	p. 58
The Battle at Alamance	p. 67
Trial and Execution	p. 74
The Pratts Move to Georgia	p. 81
Life on the Frontier	p. 87
The Pratts and the Morrises	p. 96
The Neighboring Indians	p. 111
William Bartram Visits Georgia	p. 130
1774-1777
Stirrings of a Conflict	p. 141
A Special Colony	p. 152
Massacre of the Indians	p. 158
Clarke Organizes a Militia	p. 169
Peace in Georgia, Fighting in the North	p. 178
The Georgia Navy Strikes	p. 183
Does God Approve Revolution?	p. 187
Thomas Brown, British Spy	p. 191
Tar and Feathers	p. 209
A Rebirth at St. Augustine	p. 225
The Florida Rangers	p. 236
"Common Sense"	p. 245
Georgians Expel the British Governor	p. 247
The Struggle for Indian Allegiance	p. 255
Florida Rangers Versus Georgia Militia	p. 261
Georgia Remains Independent	p. 266
A Deadly Duel	p. 274
1778-1785
The British Southern Strategy	p. 285
Last Invasion of Florida	p. 293
Quash Dolly, Slave Woman	p. 300
The British Take Savannah	p. 317
The Hornet's Nest	p. 323
"Take No Prisoners!"	p. 329
Ethan Pratt Goes to War	p. 349
The British Take Georgia	p. 355
The Americans and d'Estaing Attack Savannah	p. 364
New York to Savannah	p. 373
Brown Returns to Augusta	p. 378
The Fall of Charles Town	p. 381
Cornwallis Triumphant	p. 386
Georgia Militia to Carolina	p. 392
Attack on Augusta	p. 403
Four Hundred to the Watauga Valley	p. 409
The Over Mountain Men	p. 414
Ethan at King's Mountain	p. 417
General Nathanael Greene	p. 426
Georgians Turn to Combat at Home	p. 433
A Victory at Augusta	p. 437
Ethan and Mavis	p. 442
Cornwallis Moves North	p. 447
Mavis Goes North	p. 451
Georgia Finally Secured	p. 457
Ethan Returns to Augusta	p. 458
Epilogue	p. 463
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Chapter 16: Massacre of the Indians Having experienced troubles with doubtful land titles in the Carolinas, Elijah Clarke and his neighboring families were careful to get the proper documents when they obtained rights to settle near the Savannah River along the northern border of the 1773 land grant. Elijah encouraged the other men to locate their homesteads so that the entire group could remain in close contact with one another. All of the cabins were soon connected with a spiderweb of trails. Elijah and Hannah decided to build a new cabin and barn that almost joined each other, and to accept the constant animal sounds and odors in lieu of risking another fire being set by undetected intruders. This proximate location made possible an additional safety precaution, as they spent weeks of hard work putting up a stockade of upright poles, just large enough to encompass the two buildings and a small yard. Except for slits left as rifle ports and the large swinging entrance gate, the barricade cut off their view of the surrounding woods, but they did not trust the Indians who lived only a few miles away, and felt that the increased safety was worth the trouble.Aaron Hart and his wife had settled within a mile of the Clarkes, and within sight of where two major trails crossed. Maintaining his far-reaching trade route and not intending to farm for a living, Aaron decided to take a minimum amount of land, only fifty acres, which was to be used mostly for pasture. An extra shed was built on the side of the Harts' cabin as a storeroom for his goods, and he now cut off some of his former trading territory in North Carolina and added an equivalent area in south Georgia. When Aaron was away, his wife frequently spent nights with the Clarkes.Their decisions concerning safety seemed justified toward the end of January 1774, when Aaron came home to report that a group of Creeks had burned a homestead fifteen miles to the southwest, and murdered and scalped a man named William White, his wife, and their four children.Elijah said, "Damn the bastards! We've got to go teach 'em a lesson."By the time Elijah and Aaron arrived at White's place, a dozen men were there, looking at the smoldering ruins and already having dug six graves for the scalped and mutilated bodies. Since no one else seemed to be in charge, Aaron asked Elijah what he thought they should do, and the others seemed willing to listen to his opinion. Naturally assuming the role of leader, he decided that they should follow the war party, which they assumed had crossed the Ogeechee River.Clarke insisted that they examine the surrounding area carefully and report to him on all tracks left by unshod horses, which they followed carefully. After a day and night of tracking and examining the trail and campsites, they learned that there were about a dozen Indians, that they had two or three guns, and that they were moving fast and staying together as a unit. It was also clear that the Indians were skirting the towns of their own people, indicating a renegade group. When the trail turned north and then east, the settlers decided that another attack was planned, somewhere north of Augusta. One by one, the men announced that they were returning to protect their own homes, and Elijah was not able to dissuade them. Finally, he and Aaron were forced to abandon the chase.Two weeks later, at about nine o'clock in the morning, what seemed to be the same band of Indians attacked a place known as Sherall's Fort, where there was a small commissary store. They had apparently watched David Sherall and the youngest of his three sons leave the area and then began firing on the fort. Mrs. Sherall, two adult sons, and a Negro slave killed three of the attackers as they attempted to scale the palisade wall. The others set fire to a corner of it and then backed off and continued the assault with their weapons.Sherall had stopped to talk to his closest ne