"Illinois rebels will be unwelcome by Civil War enthusiasts who see our greatest national calamity from a totally partisan point of view-- Whether that partisanship be pro-Confederate of pro-Union. Pro-Confederate patricians will be reluctant to recognize the overwhelming historical data that suggests that the Southern Illinois farmers, a majority of whom had been born in the South, detested the planter class of the Southern aristocracy. Pro-Union partisan well be hesitant to accept the mountain of historical evidence that proves the exitance of a small but intensely dedicated group of men from the "Land of Lincoln" who went south to fight against their fellow Illinoisans, Beginning their journey from two hundred miles behind enemy lines. These Southern patriots form Illinois, just like their much more numerous Federal counterparts from the Prairie State, were decent men, firmly committed to the service of God and country. Illinois Rebels is certain to be rejected by those who loudly proclaim the epic drama to be a clear case of the good guys (us) versus (them). But for those who appreciate the horrible ironies of history, this book can serve as one more grim reminder of the terrifying reality that was the real War Between the States. Incredibly, the conflict was a matter of half of the American family--North or South, free or slave, good or bad--pitted against the other half. The Challenge here is to understand history by overcoming stereotypes. And the premise is that fact, as usual, is stranger than fiction"

This gripping study examines slave resistance and protest in antebellum Florida and its local and national impact from 1821 to 1865. Using a variety of sources such as slaveholders' wills and probate records, ledgers, account books, court records, oral histories, and numerous newspaper accounts, Larry Eugene Rivers discusses the historical significance of Florida as a runaway slave haven dating back to the seventeenth century and explains Florida's unique history of slave resistance and protest. In moving detail, Rivers illustrates what life was like for enslaved blacks whose families were pulled asunder as they relocated from the Upper South to the Lower South to an untamed place such as Florida, and how they fought back any way they could to control small parts of their own lives. Against a smoldering backdrop of violence, this study analyzes the various degrees of slave resistance--from the perspectives of both slave and master--and how they differed in various regions of antebellum Florida. In particular, Rivers demonstrates how the Atlantic world view of some enslaved blacks successfully aided their escape to freedom, a path that did not always lead North but sometimes farther South to the Bahama Islands and Caribbean. Identifying more commonly known slave rebellions such as the Stono, Louisiana, Denmark (Telemaque) Vesey, Gabriel, and the Nat Turner insurrections, Rivers argues persuasively that the size, scope, and intensity of black resistance in the Second Seminole War makes it the largest sustained slave insurrection ever to occur in American history. Meticulously researched, Rebels and Runaways offers a detailed account of resistance, protest, and violence as enslaved blacks fought for freedom.

Official records produced by the armies of the United States and the Confederacy, and the executive branches of their respective governments, concerning the military operations of the Civil War, and prisoners of war or prisoners of state. Also annual reports of military departments, calls for troops, correspondence between national and state governments, correspondence between Union and Confederate officials. The final volume includes a synopsis, general index, special index for various military divisions, and background information on how these documents were collected and published. Accompanied by an atlas.

Public funds spent on jets and horses. Shoeboxes stuffed with embezzled cash. Ghost payrolls and incarcerated ex-governors. Illinois' culture of "Where's mine?" and the public apathy it engenders has made our state and local politics a disgrace. In Corrupt Illinois, veteran political observers Thomas J. Gradel and Dick Simpson take aim at business-as-usual. Naming names, the authors lead readers through a gallery of rogues and rotten apples to illustrate how generations of chicanery have undermined faith in, and hope for, honest government. From there, they lay out how to implement institutional reforms that provide accountability and eradicate the favoritism, sweetheart deals, and conflicts of interest corroding our civic life. Corrupt Illinois lays out a blueprint to transform our politics from a pay-to-play–driven marketplace into what it should be: an instrument of public good.