The+Wanderer

=//The Wanderer// comments=



Comments:
Erik Calonius first became interested in the story of the //Wanderer// on a visit to Jekyll Island, Georgia. There he saw a fascinating exhibit of the sleek yacht, and became intrigued with its slave trade story. Being a career journalist, he knew how to thoroughly research a subject as evidenced by the many quotes from various newspaper articles, references to documents regarding the ship building process of that time, and the high seas patrolling agreements between the United States and Great Britain for human contraband. The book is a well researched and vivid story with twists, turns, and suspense that rival any work of fiction. Erik Calonius brought the sensitive topic of the illegal slave trade and the story of //The Wanderer: The last American Slave Ship and the Conspiracy That Set Its Sails// to life with an engaging writing style that reads like a novel. Anyone with an interest in the Civil War will like how he accurately and amply used the microcosm of the //Wanderer// to demonstrate how the agenda of the fire- eaters directly caused the Civil War, and how they eventually paid a price for their propaganda and misrepresentation. Fire-eaters were extremists who despised Yankee domination and urged the South to boost its pride and maintain its customs by celebrating the traditions of slavery. Erik Calonius sheds light on how the Buchanan administration allowed pre-war events to escalate to a crisis level through their pervasive passivity and inertia. The slave trade was made illegal in the U.S in 1820. However, some southern fire-eaters who were pushing for secession favored reinstating the slave trade. Charles Lamar, a relative of L.Q.C Lamar, led the resistance effort. He and his co-conspirators purchased the //Wanderer,// a magnificent 114 foot pleasure yacht, and sailed her swiftly to Africa. This was a devious and brilliant scheme as no one would suspect the //Wanderer//, a member of the prestigious New York Yacht Club, of piracy and the selling of human contraband. Covertly fitted to hold 400 slaves, they brought back to the U.S a load of Africans in 1858 while effectively managing to evade American and British forces patrolling the high seas. Through bullying and the corruption of political figures, Lamar and his conspirators were able to evade justice. They actively utilized witness intimidation, tampering with evidence, and kidnapping to avoid all criminal charges. These illegal tactics allowed them to evade a conviction of piracy in three separate trials by the Buchanan administration during the year of 1859. The Buchanan administration’s overall apathy was a major contribution to the success of Lamar’s legal evasion because it allowed these radicals to flaunt the slave trade law, ultimately triggering a chain of events that would lead to the Civil War. Lamar felt powerful and above the law, using his subsequent piracy acquittals as a sign of Union defeat. In a letter to his father, Lamar arrogantly bragged, “We shall have disunion, certain, if Lincoln is elected! I hope Lincoln is elected-//I want dissolution//- and have, I think, contributed more than any man South for it.” Calonius brilliantly illustrated how Lamar overwhelmed the unfocused and weak-willed majority by doling out inflammatory propaganda depicting freed slave imagery overwhelming the South. Ironically, the unsuccessful prosecution of Lamar and his co- conspirators was spearheaded by Thomas Howell Cobb, Buchanan’s Attorney General. Cobb would later be promoted to a Confederate General during the Civil War. Lamar was killed without a firearm at his side during the war, and The Wanderer was seized and sold by the government, incongruously ending up in Union service. //The Wanderer: The Last American Slave Ship// is a brilliant book that looks into a troubling event in our American history and demonstrates how both the North and South supported the slave trade, albeit in different ways. The lost history of the //Wanderer// is a thrilling account that should be read for all of its implications and ultimately its contribution to the commencement of the Civil War. Brent Demarest

When I read I usually don't choose books on history as my first choice. However I like southern history and culture, so this book seemed like a good choice for reading. I wasn't very interested in it at first, however once you got into the book it became very interesting. Most things on history I have read before were in a text book style, but Erik Calonius took history and turned it into a more readable story that was very captivating and interesting. It especially applied to me because most of the book was focused around the deep south in places like Savannah and Charleston. The plot followed Charles Lamar's attempts to import more slaves and his eventual success through the use of the yacht, The Wanderer. He wanted the south to keep its customs and habits from years before, because with all the new northern laws imposed on the south, it could not keep up with the manufacturing and rich economy of the north. Overall, I enjoyed the book very much and would recommend it for other people to read. Michael Rutherford

I chose The Wanderer when I saw that it was an historical novel about the Civil War. I normally don’t read history books, but I was interested in learning more about the years just before the Civil War. At first, the background information made for slow reading, but the book picked up soon. Calonius’ writing style made the book seem like a fictional novel, which made it easier to read. The plot was not only about the voyage of the Wanderer to the African coast; it was also about politics, the cultural separation between the North and South, and how the Wanderer’s voyage helped drive this nation into civil war. Southern radicals like C. A. L. Lamar, Leonidas Spratt, J. Egbert Farnum, and Captain William C. Corrie played a major role in the novel along with how they escaped being convicted of slave trading. The book explained how the acquittal of the conspirators helped Lincoln get elected and eventually start the Civil War. I was surprised with how good the book was, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the Civil War and the decade preceding it. Anderson Still

I chose this book after the book I originally chose was eliminated from the wiki. "The Wanderer" is a great book for me because i find the topic of slavery fascinating and it is always nice to obtain a new perspective on the issue of slavery. One of the most interesting things that this book offers is an insight to the politics that were involved in promoting/preserving slavery in the south. One of the reasons that Lamar could ever pull off this slave run without being convicted is because he was an upstanding and influential man in the south. As a sailor, it was also interesting to see how when the ship was built in New York it did not resemble a slave ship at all, but with just a few outfitting it could hold hundreds of Africans. This book offers a style of writing that does not feel at all like you are reading a history text book, but rather a fictional work. Although some people may prefer this style, I like reading a more “history text like” book. I would recommend it to a friend. Ed Schendzelos

I chose this book cause I have always had an interest in History. When I first looked at the book thought it looked a little long for me. i normally don't like long books. After I started reading it though i quickly realized it was worth it. It was really facinating to see all about how slavery worked back then. It was back in the time period of the Civil War, I really enjoy American history in this time period, so this book was perfect. This book was a very easy read compared to other history books, cause it didn't have the normal text book feeling. I really enjoyed how in this book it really showed how the slave trade in the south worked in this time period. It showed that it was a very messed up situation that needed to be fixed. The way the slave ships worked was just brutal, how all the slaves were just thrown into one ship and sent across the ocean. The way that Lamar could pull of the operation of bringing in more slaves was very facinating to me as well. This was a very interesting book that i enjoyed and would recommend to a friend. Thomas Rogers

I chose this book because I have always had an interest in history; especially about the Civil War. If always liked reading about the Civil War. When I first saw this book I thought it was too long for me, since I normally don’t read long books and was going to take me a while to finish. At first all of the background information was pretty boring, but after that it was a lot better. As a sailor it was also interesting to see how Lamar changed a ship that did not resemble a slave ship in looks or speed in to a slave ship. It was also interesting to see how ships were built back them. Another interesting part trial and how the found and lost all of the evidence against the Wanderer and Lamar. Calonius’s writing style made this book very easy to read. This was a very interesting book that I would recommend to everyone. Mac McKenzie

I chose this book because history has always been my favorite subject, and American history has always been one of my favorite topics. After reading about some of the other books, none interested me remotely until I found "The Wanderer." I found the subject right up my alley and a very easy read. Although it was an easy read, it still was very interesting and I enjoyed Calonious's writing style. The Wanderer's account of the life of the Lamar family and their relentless pursuit of wealth led them to a activity often looked down upon in many states at the time--the importation and trade of slaves from Africa. My favorite part of the story was the meeting of fellow slavers by the crew of the Wanderer in Africa. Here they also made deals with African tribes like the Kroomen, who helped load slaves on to the boat with a careless brutality and disrespect for those about to enter a veritable hell. The need for money drove all these slavers to violate humanity by enslaving innocent Africans, yet they kept it a vital part of Southern heritage for hundreds of years. In all, this book was an excellent read, and a book I would recommend to anyone interested in history especially that of the South. Luke Nyland

Sorry, I read the wrong book which was also called __The Wanderer.__ I chose this book because i like stories about adventure. In my book and a girl, named Sophie, goes on a trip with three uncles and two of there sons. They are fixing up a sailboat to take across the Atlantic Ocean to see Bompie who is the uncles father. While they are sailing across the ocean they have to teach each other something. Sophie tells stories about Bompie growing up and everything that happened to him but adding a little something of her own life that affected her in a way. But while they are traveling they encounter many thing such as a huge storm. It was a hard travel to England but in the end they made it there safely. I would recommend this book because it is a very good and interesting book about sailing and adventure. Fleetwood Brown