new orleans region (la.)

Historian Daniel Rasmussen reveals the long-forgotten history of America?s largest slave uprising, the New Orleans slave revolt of 1811. No North American slave uprising?not Gabriel Prosser, not Denmark Vesey, not Nat Turner?has rivaled the scale of this rebellion either in terms of the number of the slaves involved or in terms of the number who were killed. Over 100 slaves were slaughtered by federal troops and French planters, who then sought to write the event out of history and prevent the spread of the slaves? revolutionary philosophy. With the Haitian Revolution a recent memory and the War of 1812 looming on the horizon, the revolt had epic consequences for America.

Over the course of twelve years, the author found witnesses to just about every major event of World War II. She has chronicled fifty-three stories, told by ordinary people who were there when the event happened.