The Whole Interview

© 2009-2010 Books by Bob Rogers, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

 

Follow Bob's adventures and misadventures here...

17 Jul 10

William Aiken, Jr., Governor of South Carolina, 1844-1846

 http://www.historiccharleston.org/experience/arh/


If your vacation plans include Charleston, SC this summer, a "must see" stop is the Aiken-Rhett House at 48 Elizabeth Street.  The Aiken-Rhett House will take you to 1858 and let you see the splendor of one of Charleston's premier urban mansions, complete with dormitory-like quarters for enslaved African Americans.  The house is now a museum and owned by the Historic Charleston Foundation.  Use the link above to visit the Foundation's Aiken-Rhett House web page and make plans for your visit.


During my stopover this spring at the Aiken-Rhett House, members of the Foundation's staff provided important assistance in my quest to familiarize myself with William Aiken, his family, and the source of his wealth.  William Aiken, Jr. served in the South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate prior to his election as governor.  In the 1850s, Governor Aiken served three terms in the United States House of Representatives.  Given the opportunity to spend hours pouring over personal correspondence of the Aiken family and survey their former home, I was able to envision and describe and write a scene within one of their high society balls in my forthcoming novel, The North Americans. 


My novel is set during America's Civil War, Reconstruction, and Indian Wars.  Five excerpts from Chapter 2 of the novel, told from the point of view a twenty three year old servant woman named Bianca, appear below.  I am grateful to the staff of the Historic Charleston Foundation for going above and beyond the call of duty to unearth a treasure-trove of unpublished Aiken documents that support this and other chapters in my novel.


. . .

 

      "Huh?  I no yeddy."

      "How old is Isaac?"

      "Oh, dis year he be sixteen summers."

      "Will oonah stay in Charleston until after the big Saturday night ball?"

      "Yeah, I stay to run and fetch last minute stuff.  Den, Missus says I take oonah back to Tiffany de day atter de ball."

      Bianca smiled as she reflected on how cleverly she had dropped her question about Isaac in the middle of a different conversation topic.  She continued.  "What do oonah think dey really want me to do?"

      "Oh, Chile, I don't know.  My guess is dey want oonah to do more'n chop food and hep in the kitchen."

      Bianca was puzzled.  "Like what?"

      "Oonah a comely lass.  I guess oonah be servin' ‘mongest the guests at de ball.  Dat give the Tiffany family som' braggin' rights.  Dem and the Aikens allus tryin' som' clever way to out do one another."  Luke added a small knowing laugh.

      "Well, thanks, Mister Luke.  But, that can't be the reason Missus sent for me.  Why, oonah said yesterday that an Aiken servant just gave birth and I'm to replace her."

      "Yeah, dat be Dorcas.  And, Missus latched on dat chance to slip you in wid an offer o' catfish and rice to show off Tiffany hepin' out the Aiken family.  O'course when oonah gets down to it, the Aikens don't need no hep from nobody.  But, dat way Missus Margaret can show guests how close friends she be to Missus Harriet.  Oh, I kin heah it now."  Luke laughed and raised his voice into a falsetto.   "In front o'dey friends, Missus Margaret say, ‘Chile, you know dat cute little negress in the tasteful uniform over dere was trained at Tiffany.'  Den, Missus Harriet say, ‛Oh, isn't she marvelous!  And, she so clever and moves wid sich grace!'"

      Bianca doubled over laughing at Luke's imitation.  Luke laughed and slapped his knee.  The horse on the left flinched.

      "Who is Missus Harriet?"

      "Oh, dat be Gobernor Aiken's wife."

      "How is Gobernor Aiken de gobernor when all ‘e do is sell de rice we African's grow?"

      "Chile, ‘e ain't de gobernor no mo'.  He was gobernor back in de middle‘40s when oonah was a babe."

      "Well, how cum peoples still call'im ‘gobernor?'"

   

   "Ni, I don't know dat; but, dey do - even atter he served in de Congress o' de New Nited States in de ‘50s."


* * *

        As they passed, Bianca turned about in her seat for a better look at the rear of the Manigault house.  Luke turned east on John Street and north again on Elizabeth.  After short distant, Luke stopped his rig and pointed out Wragg Square Park on his left and the Aiken mansion ahead on their right.  At her first sight of the Aiken's three story brick double house, Bianca gasped and held her hands, one over the other, against her collar bone.  "Oonah mean dis huge house is jes fuh one lil' family - Gobernor Aiken, Missus Harriet, and one daughter!?"  She marveled at the sight of a three story brick house that sat high above the ground over a cellar with half windows and large wrap-around piazzas on two sides at the first and second levels.  The white columns and rail spindles of the piazzas gleamed in the bright sunlight, contrasting with the brick of the house and the greenery of the front garden and trees.

            "Yeah.  Jes dem three.  And, a few years ‘fore de war started, dey added another room biggen my house in de back to show off all de stuff dey done brung back from Europe." 


* * *


     Luke turned east on Mary Street and stopped at two tall wooden gates mounted on taller brick columns.  He pulled a chain that rang a bell in the masonry built livery.  The livery building was a part of the outer wall on the Elizabeth Street side of the Aiken's urban plantation where its first level served as quarters for horses and coaches.  In the upper level, coachmen and drivers lived in small dormitory rooms facing the garden and courtyard that were accessed by a narrow wooden spiral stair case.  On one side of the second level, hay was stored for horses, which was dropped through chutes into feeding troughs below.

      The gates opened and they were greeted by a coachman named Charles Jackson.  Bianca saw before her a short avenue, brick paved between the kitchen house and the mansion, and flanked by five magnificent magnolias with brilliant white blossoms on each side.  Brown-red chickens and white chickens scratched about and pecked in the dirt of the courtyard.  Between the magnolias and the Elizabeth Street wall stood two cows eating hay in a small brick shed.  On the opposite wall were a brick chicken coop and a small spice and vegetable garden.  Ahead on the left was a two story masonry kitchen house.  The kitchen was on the first level in the end closest to the main house, with a laundry sharing the remaining space.  The Aiken's domestic enslaved families occupied the second level, living in one room apartments, each equipped with a fireplace.


* * *


      From her position in the first parlor by the door to the piazza, Bianca saw guests arriving at the top of the marble stairs from the grand entrance on the Elizabeth Street side of the house.  The butler announced the arrival of each guest.  Every family name Luke had mentioned during their tour of the city and more were announced, some several times, including Alston, Ball, DeSaussure, Drayton, Grimball, Heyward, Huger, Jenkins, Laurens, Manigault, Middleton, Pringle, Ravenel, Rutledge, Tiffany, and Vanderhorst.  There was a stir among the guest when applause erupted upon the arrival of General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, the hero of the Battle of Bull Run, who had, five weeks prior, successfully defeated an attempt by the Union to capture Charleston.

      Bianca was surprised by the youthful appearance of General Beauregard, splendid in a perfectly tailored gray tunic festooned with eighteen brass buttons arranged in two columns and a high priest-like collar bearing the stars of his rank.  She smiled as she thought, "It won't be difficult to find him again."


      * * *


      On a signal from Henrietta, the Aikens' daughter, the orchestra struck Robert Alexander Schumann's Piano Quintet in E flat, major. A hush fell in the first parlor and all eyes followed Henrietta to the stairs from the living quarters on the third floor.  Slowly descending the stair was her mother, Harriet.  The assembled guest gasped, and then applauded.  Harriet wore a serene smile as she fairly floated from the stair into the parlor.  Diamonds on the front of her blue brocade full length dress were attached to silver threads woven into the fabric.  Harriet's dress left her shoulders bare and was form-fitting down to her knees, so that it flattered her almost perfect figure.  Below her knees were black mesh covered slits on each side and a pleated train that trailed behind her.  Light from twenty four candles in the ornate candelabra suspended from the sixteen foot ceiling was reflected in all directions by Harriet's diamonds.  Gilded floor to ceiling mirrors flanking the ten foot wide passage between the double parlors accented the effect by multiplying the light reflected by Harriet.  Dark haired ‘Heart', as close relatives and friends called Harriet, moved through the adoring throng like a queen.                               

      Bianca watched Heart's triumphant entry in silent awe from a perch beside a plant on the front wall almost as tall as she.  "Dese folk are richer dan I thought.  How did dey git so much when most peoples haves so lil'?"


* * *

# # #

10:49 pm edt | link          Comments

23 Jan 10

Fighting Two Enemies
92ndinItaly.jpg

 
92nd Infantry Division troops in the Po Valley, Italy, April-1945. Courtesy of the National Archives. 

  
In 1972, Ned Almond told the US Army’s Chief of Military History:  “I do not agree that integration improves military efficiency; I believe it weakens it.... The basic characteristics of Negro and white are fundamentally different and these basic differences must be recognized by those responsible for integration.... There is no question in my mind of the inherent difference in races. This is not racism – it is common sense and understanding. Those who ignore these differences merely interfere with the combat effectiveness of battle units.”

 

Major General Edward M. (Ned) Almond was the commanding general of the 92nd Infantry Division from 1942 until 1945.  He was responsible for training (1942-44) and leading the division during combat in Italy (1944-45).

 

In November of 1944, the all-black 366th Infantry Regiment was attached to the 92nd.  Corporal Will Wallace, Jr. and his friends (see my novel: Will and Dena) in the 2nd Battalion, 366th Infantry Regiment were present when the entire regiment assembled at Livorno, Italy to hear Ned Almond’s “welcome speech.” 

 

The late Captain Hondon B. Hargrove served in the 92nd Infantry Division and authored the book, Buffalo Soldiers in Italy: Black Americans in World War II.  According to Captain Hargrove, General Almond told the 366th in his welcome speech, “I didn’t ask for you.  I don’t need you.  You’re here because your Negro newspapers have seen fit to cause you to be brought over here; now I’m going to see that you suffer your share of the casualties.”

 

The stories I heard as a boy, while eavesdropping on my uncles telling my father tales from Italy about Generals Mark Clark and Ned Almond, have never been far from my mind.  From my childhood memories, the Korean War was raging at the time I heard these stories.  Ned Almond’s name contended well with the Dodgers - Yankees rivalry of the early 1950s as a topic of discussion when the men of my family gathered.  Almond was in the news again because he led the US Army’s X Corps in Korea.  My kinsmen argued that during World War II, the black enlisted men of the 92nd Infantry Division had “two enemies” – Ned and the Germans.  These men bitterly alleged that Almond’s strategies amounted to the use of black troops as cannon fodder.

 

During World War II, the army brass considered the performance of the 92nd as poor.  Ned Almond took the extraordinary step of blaming the failure of the division under his command on his Negro troops.  Further, he recommended that Negro troops never again be employed in combat roles by the army.
  

Military Historians have made the opposite conclusion.  They attribute the 92nd’s poor showing directly to Ned Almond and his command policies and strategies.  Among the august historians making this conclusion were Ulysses Lee, the author of The Employment of Negro Troops in World War II (Washington: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1966) and Major Paul Goodman, author of "A Fragment of Victory: The 92nd Infantry Division in Italy During World War II, 1942-45" (Carlisle Barracks, PA: Army War College, 1952).  Major Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D., wrote an award-winning essay on the impact of segregation on African Americans in the military — “Recipe for Failure: Major General Edward M. Almond and the Preparation of the U.S. 92nd Infantry Division for Combat in World War II” — which appeared in the July 1992 issue of the Journal of Military History. 
  
Not until 1997, did 92nd Infantry Division veterans Lieutenants John Fox (posthumously) and Vernon Baker receive the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions against German forces in 1944 and 1945.
  
 

In Will and Dena, readers are given the opportunity to see the effects of Ned Almond’s method of “handling Negro troops” from the point of view of privates and corporals.  Readers follow Will and his army buddies as they react, discuss, and cope with the orders that are passed down to them.
  

Click “Bob’s Books” on the left edge of this page and order your copy of Will and Dena. 

  
© 2010 by BBBR.  All Rights Reserved.

4:27 pm est | link          Comments

20 Jan 10

Charlotte and Oakton reach for Exposure
  
CHARLOTTE
, NC
-- January 20, 2010 – (WFAE 90.7 FM).  Charlotte officials are making a pitch to host the 2012 Democratic National Convention. A delegation of city, county and private officials last week formally notified the Democratic party of its intention to bid for the convention.

“This is the largest media event in the free world, so to have that opportunity for exposure the world over for Charlotte as a great destination is something that is unparalleled," says Tim Newman, CEO of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx will lead the public lobbying effort while Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers will head a private fund-raising campaign.
  

In the novel, Will and Dena, the make-believe central North Carolina town of Oakton seeks exposure for the purpose making itself a destination for tourists and investment.  During World War II, Oakton Mayor Andrew Mitchell, other elected officials, and business leaders established a baseball team of premier players to bring fame and exposure to Oakton and “Cardinal County.” 

The character, Judge Bill Stevens, told a gathering of investors in Oakton, “When we’re successful, the folks in Raleigh and the rest of the state will know who we are and answer the phone when we call.”

Discover the role played by Will Wallace, Jr. on the Oakton Red Birds baseball team and later on US Army teams.  Discover the unforeseen impact on Will, Dena, and the town of Oakton.

4:50 pm est | link          Comments

8 Dec 09

Buffalo Soldier Lectures and Presentations


Beginning Monday, 11 January 2010, I will be available for in-person lectures and presentations about the cavalrymen and infantrymen called “Buffalo Soldiers.”

 

As a charter member of Baltimore’s 9th and 10th (Horse) Cavalry Association, I performed “Buffalo Soldier” lectures and presentations requested by K-12 schools, churches, and Maryland state agencies during the 1990s. 

 

My new “Buffalo Soldier” lecture/presentation series will also be available via Internet video conference, as well as in-person.  This is a no-fee service provided by Books by Bob Rogers, Inc.  This service is also available to corporations and universities.

 

Use the “Contact Bob” page in this web site to request and schedule a lecture or presentation for your organization.  My short bio is on the “About Bob” page.

 

Y’all visit again real soon.

3:49 pm est | link          Comments

23 Nov 09

Excerpts from My Recent Interview

This is an excerpt from my recent interview.  A link to the whole interview appears on page to your left.

Tyler:  Will you tell us a little bit about what is the separation between fact and fiction in “Will and Dena”? Are the main characters based on real people or just the supporting characters who are famous and well-known?

Bob:  The primary fiction is my invention of the dialog characters. The secondary fiction is that I added a one hundred first county to North Carolina’s one hundred: Cardinal County, and of course, its county seat, Oakton. Lastly, I took the liberty to change the designation of a company in the 366th Infantry Regiment and use only that one out of convenience to describe training and combat.

So, for example, my character, Joe, grieved over his cousin’s hanging. The “cousin,” Robert Hall, was a historic figure and the very real victim of a lynch mob in Newton, Georgia in January 1943.

My character called Judge Stevens and his wife, Elizabeth, are based loosely on one of my mother’s heroes, Judge J. Waites Waring of Charleston, SC. After Judge Waring’s ruling opened South Carolina’s Democratic Primary to black voters in 1948, my mother never missed another election until 2004, the year she passed away. Judge Waring also ruled that qualified black teachers must be paid the same as qualified white teachers. Thurgood Marshall argued several cases before Judge Waring. Judge Waring and his wife, also named Elizabeth, were ostracized by Charleston’s white society to the point that after a few years he resigned from the bench and they moved to New York.

First Sergeant Hardy is based totally on a first sergeant I met on my first day of active duty at Fort Hood, Texas.

Tyler:  What about the World War II background of the novel do you think will appeal to readers?

Bob:  Readers may understand intellectually that the Armed Services of the United States were segregated until after World War II. The bonus they get in “Will and Dena” is being there with a character they have come to know since his days before the military. Experiencing with Will the need to fight two enemies brings a whole new perspective to suffering under the command of an American general who does not want your presence while fighting a skilled and dug-in German army. This makes real for readers what one finds in some history books that only report on the combat engagements of the US Army’s segregated 92nd Infantry Division in Italy.

Will’s life journey is accelerated as he deals firsthand with the feelings of depravity and inhumane treatment at the hands of the US Army in World War II. I think readers will appreciate the dimension added by this backdrop.

Y'all c'mon back real soon for another look at my blog.

5:52 pm est | link          Comments

2010.07.01 | 2010.01.01 | 2009.12.01 | 2009.11.01

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Available Now:
  • Will and Dena: Love and Life in World War II

Coming:

  • Summer 2011: Isaac, Rachel, and Alejandra: Indian Wars