Monte Akers's Books

Year of Desperate Struggle

Jeb Stuart and His Cavalry, from Gettysburg to Yellow Tavern, 1863-1864

By: Monte Akers

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Year of Desperate Struggle

Jeb Stuart and His Cavalry, from Gettysburg to Yellow Tavern, 1863-1864

By: Monte Akers

By the summer of 1863, following Chancellorsville, it was clear to everyone on both sides of the Civil War that the Army of Northern Virginia was the most formidable force Americans had ever put in the field. It could only be ÒtiedÓ in battle, if against great odds, but would more usually vanquish its opponents. A huge measure of that armyÕs success was attributable to its cavalry arm, under Major General J.E.B. Stuart, which had literally Òrun ringsÓ around its enemies. But Northern arithmetic and expertise were gradually catching up. In this work, the sequel to his acclaimed Year of Glory, author Monte Akers tracks Stuart and his cavalry through the following year of the war, from Gettysburg to the Overland Campaign, concluding only when Jeb himself succumbs to a gunshot while fending off a force three times his size at the very gates of Richmond. Gettysburg put paid to the aura of unstoppable victory surrounding the Army of Northern Virginia. But when Grant and Sheridan came east they found that Lee, Stuart, Longstreet, and the rest still refused to be defeated. It was a year of grim casualties and ferocious fightingÑin short, a year of Òdesperate struggleÓ with the gloves off on both sides. This work picks up where Year of Glory left off, with a minute examination of StuartÕs cavalry during the controversial Gettysburg campaign, followed by the nine months of sparring during which the Army of Potomac declined to undertake further major thrusts against Virginia. But then the UnionÕs western chieftains arrived and the war became one huge Òfuneral procession,Ó as Grant and Sheridan found that their prior victories had by no means prepared them for meeting the Army of Northern Virginia. In this work Akers provides a fascinating, close-in view of the ConfederacyÕs cavalry arm during this crucial period of the war. After StuartÕs death the Army of Northern Virginia would eventually be cornered, but while he was alive it was often the Northerners who most needed to look to their security.

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309

Publisher

Casemate

Published Date

ISBN 10

161200282X

ISBN 13

9781612002828

Flames After Midnight

Murder, Vengeance, and the Desolation of a Texas Community, Revised Edition

By: Monte Akers

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Flames After Midnight

Murder, Vengeance, and the Desolation of a Texas Community, Revised Edition

By: Monte Akers

What happened in Kirven, Texas, in May 1922, has been forgotten by the outside world. It was a coworker's whispered words, "Kirven is where they burned the [Negroes]," that set Monte Akers to work at discovering the true story behind a young white woman's brutal murder and the burning alive of three black men who were almost certainly innocent of it. This was followed by a month-long reign of terror as white men killed blacks while local authorities concealed the real identity of the white probable murderers and allowed them to go free. Writing nonfiction with the skill of a novelist, Akers paints a vivid portrait of a community desolated by race hatred and its own refusal to face hard truths. He sets this tragedy within the story of a region prospering from an oil boom but plagued by lawlessness, and traces the lynching's repercussions down the decades to the present day. In the new epilogue, Akers adds details that have come to light as a result of the book's publication, including an eyewitness account of the burnings from an elderly man who claimed to have castrated two of the men before they were lynched.

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286

Publisher

University of Texas Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0292726333

ISBN 13

9780292726338

Year of Glory

The Life and Battles of Jeb Stuart and His Cavalry, June 1862–June 1863

By: Monte Akers

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Year of Glory

The Life and Battles of Jeb Stuart and His Cavalry, June 1862–June 1863

By: Monte Akers

No commander during the Civil War is more closely identified with the “cavalier mystique” as Major General J.E.B. (Jeb) Stuart. And none played a more prominent role during the brief period when the hopes of the nascent Confederacy were at their apex, when it appeared as though the Army of Northern Virginia could not be restrained from establishing Southern nationhood. Jeb Stuart was not only successful in leading Robert E. Lee’s cavalry in dozens of campaigns and raids, but for riding magnificent horses, dressing outlandishly, and participating in balls and parties that epitomized the “moonlight and magnolia” image of the Old South. Longstreet reported that at the height of the Battle of Second Manasses, Stuart rode off singing, “If you want to have good time, jine the cavalry . . .” Porter Alexander remembered him singing, in the midst of the miraculous victory at Chancellorsville, “Old Joe Hooker, won’t you come out of the Wilderness?” Stuart was blessed with an unusually positive personality—always upbeat, charming, boisterous, and humorous, remembered as the only man who could make Stonewall Jackson laugh, reciting poetry when not engaged in battle, and yet never using alcohol or other stimulants. Year of Glory focuses on the twelve months in which Stuart’s reputation was made, following his career on an almost day-to-day basis from June 1862, when Lee took command of the army, to June 1863, when Stuart turned north to regain a glory slightly tarnished at Brandy Station, but found Gettysburg instead. It is told through the eyes of the men who rode with him, as well as Jeb’s letters, reports, and anecdotes handed down over 150 years. It was a year like no other, filled with exhilaration at the imminent creation of a new country. This was a period when it could hardly be imagined that the cause, and Stuart himself, could dissolve into grief, Jeb ultimately separated from the people he cherished most.

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363

Publisher

Casemate Publishers

Published Date

ISBN 10

1612001424

ISBN 13

9781612001425

The Accidental Historian

Tales of Trash and Treasure

By: Monte Akers

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The Accidental Historian

Tales of Trash and Treasure

By: Monte Akers

Chronicles the author's fascination with the past, exploring little-known incidents, episodes, and sidelights related to the Civil War, Custer's Last Stand, the Alamo, and the career of Bonnie and Clyde, among others. Told with humor, scholarship, self-effacement, and passion, the stories both entertain and celebrate cultural history"--Provided by publisher.

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Page Count

230

Published Date

ISBN 10

0896727084

ISBN 13

9780896727083

Flames after Midnight

Murder, Vengeance, and the Desolation of a Texas Community

By: Monte Akers

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Flames after Midnight

Murder, Vengeance, and the Desolation of a Texas Community

By: Monte Akers

The “well-written and compelling history” of a 1922 racist reign of terror in a small Texas town—now updated with a shocking deathbed confession (USA Today). What happened in Kirven, Texas, in May 1922, has been forgotten by the outside world. But in Flames After Midnight, historian Monte Akers uncovers the true story behind a young white woman's brutal murder and the burning alive of three black men who were almost certainly innocent of it. This was followed by a month-long reign of terror as white men killed blacks while local authorities concealed the identity of the white murder suspects and allowed them to go free. Akers paints a vivid portrait of a community desolated by race hatred and its own refusal to face hard truths. He sets this tragedy within the story of a region prospering from an oil boom but plagued by lawlessness, and traces the lynching's repercussions down the decades to the present day. In an epilogue, Akers reveals new information that came to light as a result of this book's publication, including an eyewitness account of the burnings from an elderly man who claimed to have castrated two of the men before they were lynched.

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286

Publisher

University of Texas Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0292773412

ISBN 13

9780292773417

Kelly's Bar

By: Joe Monte

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Kelly's Bar

By: Joe Monte

This is a historical fiction novel. The main story is about Bill Giovanni, a bartender at Kelly’s Bar in Sunnyvale that his uncle John Kelly built in 1933. Paul, a hermit like regular at the bar always keeps to himself in the back booth typing on a laptop. When he doesn’t get up for his regular 2nd pitcher of beer Bill checks on him and finds him dead, choked on a peanut. Bill takes the laptop before calling 911. When he arrives home Mary, his wife, ask about the computer. Bill tells her what happened and he is going to pawn it tomorrow. Mary begs him to let her have it as they would never be able to afford one. Mary finds a fantastic novel on the computer, about espionage and murder at Space Key, the Silicon Valley high tech company, where she happens to work, and tells Bill. He wants to know if it is worth anything. She says yes but an unknown author could never get a publisher. Bill makes a plan to divorce Mary and have her sue for community property rights to the novel for publicity.

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Page Count

199

Publisher

Gatekeeper Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1642377260

ISBN 13

9781642377262

Year of Glory

The Life and Battles of Jeb Stuart and His Cavalry, June 1862–June 1863

By: Monte Akers

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Year of Glory

The Life and Battles of Jeb Stuart and His Cavalry, June 1862–June 1863

By: Monte Akers

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363

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Casemate Publishers

Published Date

ISBN 10

1612001424

ISBN 13

9781612001425

Year of Desperate Struggle

Jeb Stuart and His Cavalry, from Gettysburg to Yellow Tavern, 1863-1864

By: Monte Akers

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Year of Desperate Struggle

Jeb Stuart and His Cavalry, from Gettysburg to Yellow Tavern, 1863-1864

By: Monte Akers

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

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Page Count

309

Publisher

Casemate

Published Date

ISBN 10

161200282X

ISBN 13

9781612002828

Kelly's Bar

By: Joe Monte

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Kelly's Bar

By: Joe Monte

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

199

Publisher

Gatekeeper Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1642377260

ISBN 13

9781642377262

Book's by Monte Akers

Year of Desperate Struggle

Year of Desperate Struggle

Flames After Midnight

Flames After Midnight

Year of Glory

Year of Glory

The Accidental Historian

The Accidental Historian

Flames after Midnight

Flames after Midnight

Kelly's Bar

Kelly's Bar

Year of Glory

Year of Glory

Year of Desperate Struggle

Year of Desperate Struggle

Kelly's Bar

Kelly's Bar

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