Civil War in the Ozarks
Civil War in the Ozarks

Author: Phillip Steele

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2009-05-11

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 9781455602292

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A history of the bitter battles and skirmishes in the Ozark Region, including photos: “It’s great to see a revised edition of this Civil War classic.” —Ozarks Mountaineer In this revised edition of Civil War in the Ozarks, Phillip W. Steele and Steve Cottrell provide new insight into the clashes that occurred in the Ozarks and additional commentary from experts. Explanations of the political and cultural conditions there at the time create a backdrop for the drama that unfolded as a result. An updated map is also included. In writing the original version, the authors extensively researched the battles taking place between 1861 and 1865. With meticulous detail, they chronicle the heroes, outlaws, and peacemakers who were at the center of this hot-blooded battleground. Skirmishes between the abolitionist Kansas Jayhawkers and slaveholders in Arkansas and Missouri began years before the firing upon Fort Sumter, making the Ozarks a volatile and dangerous region during the Civil War. Although many citizens of Missouri wished to remain neutral, they reluctantly found themselves caught in the crossfire of raids between the two groups. Relocated Indian tribes of present-day Oklahoma also fell prey to the vicious fighting. As the war crept westward, more groups were drawn into the conflict—making the Ozarks one of the bloodiest regions in the battle between the Blue and Gray. Includes photos and illustrations “Highly recommended.” —Curled Up with a Good Book

A History of the Ozarks, Volume 2
A History of the Ozarks, Volume 2

Author: Brooks Blevins

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 2019-09-30

Total Pages: 463

ISBN-13: 0252051599

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The Ozarks of the mid-1800s was a land of divisions. The uplands and its people inhabited a geographic and cultural borderland straddling Midwest and west, North and South, frontier and civilization, and secessionist and Unionist. As civil war raged across the region, neighbor turned against neighbor, unleashing a generation of animus and violence that lasted long after 1865. The second volume of Brooks Blevins's history begins with the region's distinctive relationship to slavery. Largely unsuitable for plantation farming, the Ozarks used enslaved persons on a smaller scale or, in some places, not at all. Blevins moves on to the devastating Civil War years where the dehumanizing, personal nature of Ozark conflict was made uglier by the predations of marching armies and criminal gangs. Blending personal stories with a wide narrative scope, he examines how civilians and soldiers alike experienced the war, from brutal partisan warfare to ill-advised refugee policies to women's struggles to safeguard farms and stay alive in an atmosphere of constant danger. The war stunted the region's growth, delaying the development of Ozarks society and the processes of physical, economic, and social reconstruction. More and more, striving uplanders dedicated to modernization fought an image of the Ozarks as a land of mountaineers and hillbillies hostile to the idea of progress. Yet the dawn of the twentieth century saw the uplands emerge as an increasingly uniform culture forged, for better and worse, in the tumult of a conflicted era.

A History of the Ozarks, Volume 1
A History of the Ozarks, Volume 1

Author: Brooks Blevins

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 2018-06-28

Total Pages: 475

ISBN-13: 0252050606

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Winner of the Missouri History Book Award, from the State Historical Society of Missouri Winner of the Arkansiana Award, from the Arkansas Library Association Geologic forces raised the Ozarks. Myth enshrouds these hills. Human beings shaped them and were shaped by them. The Ozarks reflect the epic tableau of the American people—the native Osage and would-be colonial conquerors, the determined settlers and on-the-make speculators, the endless labors of hardscrabble farmers and capitalism of visionary entrepreneurs. The Old Ozarks is the first volume of a monumental three-part history of the region and its inhabitants. Brooks Blevins begins in deep prehistory, charting how these highlands of granite, dolomite, and limestone came to exist. From there he turns to the political and economic motivations behind the eagerness of many peoples to possess the Ozarks. Blevins places these early proto-Ozarkers within the context of larger American history and the economic, social, and political forces that drove it forward. But he also tells the varied and colorful human stories that fill the region's storied past—and contribute to the powerful myths and misunderstandings that even today distort our views of the Ozarks' places and people. A sweeping history in the grand tradition, A History of the Ozarks, Volume 1: The Old Ozarks is essential reading for anyone who cares about the highland heart of America.

Damming the Osage
Damming the Osage

Author: Leland Payton

Publisher: Lens & Pens Press

Published: 2012-11-01

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 9780967392585

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If changed by development, the authors found the present Osage valley landscape expressive. Illustrated with hundreds of color photographs, period maps, and vintage images, this book tells the dramatic saga of human ambition pitted against natural limitations and forces beyond man's control.

White Man's Heaven
White Man's Heaven

Author: Kimberly Harper

Publisher: University of Arkansas Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1610754565

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Drawing on court records, newspaper accounts, penitentiary records, letters, and diaries, White Man’s Heaven is a thorough investigation into the lynching and expulsion of African Americans in the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Kimberly Harper explores events in the towns of Monett, Pierce City, Joplin, and Springfield, Missouri, and Harrison, Arkansas, to show how post–Civil War vigilantism, an established tradition of extralegal violence, and the rapid political, economic, and social change of the New South era happened independently but were also part of a larger, interconnected regional experience. Even though some whites, especially in Joplin and Springfield, tried to stop the violence and bring the lynchers to justice, many African Americans fled the Ozarks, leaving only a resilient few behind and forever changing the racial composition of the region.

The Outlaw Album
The Outlaw Album

Author: Daniel Woodrell

Publisher: Hachette+ORM

Published: 2011-10-05

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13: 0316193399

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Twelve timeless Ozarkian tales of those on the fringes of society, by a "stunningly original" American master (Associated Press). Daniel Woodrell is able to lend uncanny logic to harsh, even criminal behavior in this wrenching collection of stories. Desperation-both material and psychological -- motivates his characters. A husband cruelly avenges the killing of his wife's pet; an injured rapist is cared for by a young girl, until she reaches her breaking point; a disturbed veteran of Iraq is murdered for his erratic behavior; an outsider's house is set on fire by an angry neighbor. There is also the tenderness and loyalty of the vulnerable in these stories -- between spouses, parents and children, siblings, and comrades in arms-which brings the troubled, sorely tested cast of characters to vivid, relatable life. And, as ever, "the music coming from Woodrell's banjo cannot be confused with the sounds of any other writer"-Donald Harington, Atlanta Journal Constitution "Twelve timeless Ozarkian tales of those on the fringes of society, by a "stunningly original"-Associated Press, American master.

The Code of the Hills
The Code of the Hills

Author: Nancy Allen

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2014-04-15

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 0062325949

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To uncover the truth, she'll have to break the code of the hills … In the Missouri Ozarks, some things aren't talked about … even abuse. But prosecutor Elsie Arnold is determined to change that. When she is assigned to prosecute a high-profile incest case in which a father is accused of abusing his three young daughters, Elsie is ready to become the Ozarks' avenging angel. But as Elsie sinks her teeth into the case, everything begins to turn sour. The star witness goes missing; the girls refuse to talk about their father, who terrorizes the courtroom from the moment he enters; and Elsie begins to suspect that their tough-as-nails mother has ulterior motives. To make matters worse, Elsie receives gruesome threats from local extremists, warning her to mind her own business. While Elsie swears not to let a sex offender walk, she realizes the odds—and maybe the town—are against her, and her life begins to crumble. But amidst all of the conflict, the safety of three young girls hangs in the balance ... A powerful debut, with the haunting atmosphere of Winter's Bone and the page-turning suspense of Alafair Burke's thrillers.

Sage
Sage

Author: Debora Clark

Publisher: Tate Publishing

Published: 2010-10

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 1616636564

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Sage: a venerable, wise man, judicious; and aromatic plant with grayish-green leaves used as seasoning; the healing plant; the herb of happiness. Lenny and her sister were as close as two sisters could be. Their mother died when Lenny was fourteen, and Lenny took on the role of caretaker, tending her eight-year-old sister and the herb garden their mother left behind. The garden was just about the only thing that brought joy to the desolate farm until a handsome stranger rode through on his way to Missouri. The mysterious man stayed a while to help their pa rebuild the storm-damaged barn, and his presence on the farm led to an event that changed all their lives. Thirty-three years later, Lenny's younger sister receives a mysterious package. When she opens the green velveteen hatbox, the smell of sage overwhelms her. But what's more, she realizes the box contains the missing pieces of her puzzled life. Soon she finds answers and learns that things were not always as they appeared as Lenny's story unfolds before her eyes. Will these discoveries bring closure after all these years? Can sage truly bring the sisters healing and happiness? Set in the beautiful Ozark mountains of Missouri, Sage is a historical novel highlighted by the mighty men and women who forged a wilderness. These early settlers demonstrated courage only surpassed by their determination when faced with a war between the states and the lifelong wars that raged within. Debora Clark and her husband, Jim, enjoy the nature and beauty of the rugged hills, the scenic Ozarks, from their porch swing in Alton, Missouri. They are thankful for their many blessings. Sage is the first book in Debora's series, In the Rugged Hills.

The Ozarks in Missouri History
The Ozarks in Missouri History

Author: Lynn Morrow

Publisher: University of Missouri Press

Published: 2013-12-29

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 0826273033

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Interest in scholarly study of the Ozarks has grown steadily in recent years, and The Ozarks in Missouri History: Discoveries in an American Region will be welcomed by historians and Ozark enthusiasts alike. This lively collection gathers fifteen essays, many of them pioneering efforts in the field, that originally appeared in the Missouri Historical Review, the journal of the State Historical Society. In his introduction, editor Lynn Morrow gives the reader background on the interest in and the study of the Ozarks. The scope of the collection reflects the diversity of the region. Micro-studies by such well-known contributors as John Bradbury, Roger Grant, Gary Kremer, Stephen Limbaugh Sr., and Milton Rafferty explore the history, culture, and geography of this unique region. They trace the evolution of the Ozarks, examine the sometimes-conflicting influences exerted by St. Louis and Kansas City, and consider the sometimes highly charged struggle by federal, state, and local governments to define conservation and the future of Current River.