North Across the River [Hardcover]

Ruth Beaumont Cook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1999

A chronicle of the exodus of southern cotton mill workers forced by General William Tecumseh Sherman during the American Civil War, this book traces the compelling story of this Civil War trail of tears through the true stories of the families whose lives were profoundly affected for generations to come. A must for every reader, library, and bookstore's collection of authentic Civil War history, it includes archival photographs, maps, and sketches.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

A competently told account of an overlooked episode in Civil War history. Roswell, Ga., was Cherokee Indian territory until that people was forcibly relocated to Oklahoma in the 1830s. Thereafter it became a small center of textile manufacture, specialized in the making of rough cloth that could be finished and dyed elsewhere. As such, Roswell became an important supplier of materiel to the Confederate forces during the Civil War, for which reason William Tecumseh Sherman, the famed Union general, charged the millworkers with treason for providing yarn and cloth to the rebel enemy. In 1864 Shermans soldiers burned the mill to the ground and deported the workers, most of them women, and their families to a federal camp in Louisville, Ky. He evidently wanted, writes amateur historian Cook, to do more than that: he asked the secretary of war for permission to send all males and females who have encouraged or harbored guerrillas, including the Roswell weavers, to South America, for, he said, one thing is certain, there is a class of people, men, women, and children, who must be killed or banished before we can hope for peace and order even as far south as Tennessee. The citizens of Louisville were more kindly disposed, and a commission aided the civilians with food and clothing. Some of those refugees, however, were then taken further afield, abandoned in a railroad depot in Indianapolis and told to fend for themselves. Many of them remained in the north after the war ended, opening a textile mill in Cannelton, Ind. Cook bases her account on the reminiscences of those Indiana-relocated Roswell children and their descendants. Others returned to Georgia, and still others are lost to history entirely. Readers with an interest in Civil War history, and especially in the local history of Georgia, will find this worth a look. (b&w photos) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

...Cook bases her account on the reminiscences of those Indiana-relocated Roswell children and their descendants. Others returned to Georgia, and still others are lost to history entirely. Readers with an interest in Civil War history, and especially in the local history of Georgia, will find this worth a look. (b&w photos) Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --Kirkus Reviews --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Crane Hill Publishers (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575870703
• ISBN-13: 978-1575870700
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,503,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ruth Beaumont Cook is a native of Bedford, Ohio and a graduate of The Ohio State University (German and English Education). Since 1970, she has made her home in the Birmingham, Alabama area. In addition to her work as an author and historian, Ruth maintains an active consulting business. She provides outsource editing services and teaches workshops in business communication skills.

Ruth's first book, NORTH ACROSS THE RIVER, was published in 1999. She spent two years researching this fascinating story of textile mill operatives who were arrested by General Sherman when he marched on the Atlanta area in the summer of 1864. Through archival records in Atlanta and interviews with descendants of many of these workers, she pieced together the stories of several families who were part of that arrest. Sherman sent them "north across the Ohio River" until the end of the war. Traveling by train, some of the operatives and their families went only as far as Louisville, where they stayed in refugee prison houses, under guard. Others signed an Oath of Allegiance to the United States and crossed the river to eventually find work at a cotton mill on the banks of the Ohio River. Some returned to the devastated South after the war. Others remained in southern Indiana and raised their families there. Part of the fascination with writing this story was learning about the connections and disconnections between relatives down through the years.

Ruth's second book, GUESTS BEHIND THE BARBED WIRE, was published in 2007 and won the Bronze Medal in History in the Independent Publishers Book Awards in 2008. It tells the story of German prisoners of war during WWII who passed their time at Camp Aliceville in Pickens County, Alabama. The book tells the stories of many of those POWs--their capture in North Africa, their Atlantic crossing, and their activities in Aliceville. It also chronicles the experiences of their "raw recruit" American MPEG guards and also the experiences of the civilian residents of Aliceville who often interacted with the POWs. The story goes beyond the war, to the many connections and friendships that developed down through the years.

Currently, Ruth is at work on a research project for the Comer Library in Sylacauga, Alabama. She is gathering the stories of families connected to the marble quarries that flourished near Sylacauga in the early 1900s and the company village named Gantt's Quarry that was connected with the Alabama Marble Company. She is also researching the connections of sculptor Giuseppe Moretti to these quarries, which are considered to yield cream white marble of the same quality as the Carrera marble of Italy.

Ruth's interest in "things German' stems from two things. First, her paternal grandmother is descended from a Hessian mercenary who fought for the British during the Revolutionary War. He remained in America when the war ended, purchased land near Sunbury, PA and became a farmer who was much loved by his neighbors. Second, she served as an American Field Service exchange student in Germany while in high school and lived with a family in Ravensburg who spoke no English.

Ruth maintains two blogs that may be of interest to readers. One (www.grammarglitch.blogspot.com) showcases grammar goofs and offers corrections for them. She's caught everyone from her local newspaper to the Wall Street Journal and USA Today--even a spelling error on a recent Wal-mart pharmacy bag.

Her second blog (www.genevapow.blogspot.com) features additional information about Camp Aliceville and German POWs since her book was published.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reads like a well-plotted novel., November 2, 1999

By 

"gecalo" - See all my reviews

This review is from: North Across the River (Hardcover)

This book is sure to please all students of American history. It's a well-written account of the plight of the Civil War refugees in Georgia...but reads like a novel. I got caught up in the lives of the people and kept turning pages...and I'm not a Civil War buff! Ruth Cook is a master at keeping the reader interested in this fascinating story. You will find yourself in awe of the people who lived these lives. You will follow their trails and cry their tears. Their important story was left largely untold until Cook unearthed the tale and gave it sparkle. Cook's research and details are also very thorough and impecable. This story is another rich tale in the tapestry of southern history.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elizabeth Wood, January 10, 2002

By 

B. Wayne Shelly (Rome, Ga. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: North Across the River (Hardcover)

I am glad to see this story come to the light of day. I dont remember the first time that I heard the story of the Roswell Women. It has been a part of our family history for as long as I can remember. My grear great grandmother Elizabeth Wood, her mother Margarett Sumner Wood and her mother
Mary Ann Smith Sumner were all taken North to be "desposed of". Thank you Ms. Cook for a story well told. Very good book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Carter Metclaf: A Story Not Taught in School, April 17, 2000

By 

Carter Metclaf (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: North Across the River (Hardcover)

I grew up in Alabama, heard thousands of Civil War stories, and thought that I knew all that had occurred. Then I read, North Across the River. The events that are discussed were never taught to me in school. The book is very detailed and well researched. Very few Civil War books that I have read have had the impact on me that this one did. The book does not stop at telling the story. As a reader I became emotional involved with the families and their own personal battles.

If you are not a history or Civil War buff you will still find this book to grab your attention and keep it from cover to cover.