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The Resource The rest I will kill : William Tillman and the unforgettable story of how a free black man refused to become a slave, Brian McGinty

The rest I will kill : William Tillman and the unforgettable story of how a free black man refused to become a slave, Brian McGinty

Creator
Author
Summary
  • A surprising work of narrative history and detection that illuminates one of the most daring--and long-forgotten--heroes of the Civil War. Independence Day, 1861: the schooner S.J. Waring sets sail from New York on a routine voyage to South America. Seventeen days later, it limps back into New York's frenzied harbor with the ship's black steward, William Tillman, at the helm. While the story of that ill-fated voyage is one of the most harrowing tales of captivity and survival on the high seas, it has, almost unbelievably, been lost to history. Now reclaiming Tillman as the real American hero he was, historian Brian McGinty dramatically returns readers to that riotous, explosive summer of 1861, when the country was tearing apart at the seams and the Union army was in near shambles following a humiliating defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. Desperate for good news, the North was soon riveted by reports of an incident that occurred a few hundred miles off the coast of New York, where the Waring had been overtaken by a marauding crew of Confederate privateers. While the white sailors became chummy with their Southern captors, free black man William Tillman was perfectly aware of the fate that awaited him in the ruthless, slave-filled ports south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Stealthily biding his time until a moonlit night nine days after the capture, Tillman single-handedly killed three officers of the privateer crew, then took the wheel and pointed it home. Yet, with no experience as a navigator, only one other helper, and a war-torn Atlantic seaboard to contend with, his struggle had just begun. It took five perilous days at sea--all thrillingly recounted here--before the Waring returned to New York Harbor, where the story of Tillman's shipboard courage became such a tabloid sensation that he was not only put on the bill of Barnum's American Museum but also proclaimed to be the "first hero" of the Civil War. As McGinty evocatively shows, however, in the horrors of the war then engulfing the nation, memories of his heroism--even of his identity--were all but lost to history. As such, The Rest I Will Kill becomes a thrilling and historically significant work, as well as an extraordinary journey that recounts how a free black man was able to defy efforts to make him a slave and become an unlikely glimmer of hope for a disheartened Union army in the war-battered North
  • 1861. The schooner S.J. Waring sets sail from New York on a routine voyage to South America. Seventeen days later, it limped back into New York's harbor with the ship's black steward, William Tillman, at the helm. The Waring had been overtaken by a marauding crew of Confederate privateers, and while the white sailors became chummy with their Southern captors, free black man William Tillman was aware of the fate that awaited him in the slave-filled ports south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Biding his time for nine days, Tillman single-handedly killed three officers of the privateer crew, then took the wheel and pointed it home. McGinty shows how, in the horrors of the war then engulfing the nation, memories of Tillman's heroism-- even of his identity-- were all but lost to history
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First edition.
Extent
236 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Contents
  • A free black man
  • To sea
  • The capture
  • Now is our time
  • The return
  • A hero's welcome
  • A matter of compensation
  • Passing judgment
  • The fury continues
  • Epilogue: a black man's fate
Isbn
9781631491290
Instance
Label
The rest I will kill : William Tillman and the unforgettable story of how a free black man refused to become a slave
Title
The rest I will kill
Title remainder
William Tillman and the unforgettable story of how a free black man refused to become a slave
Statement of responsibility
Brian McGinty
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
  • A surprising work of narrative history and detection that illuminates one of the most daring--and long-forgotten--heroes of the Civil War. Independence Day, 1861: the schooner S.J. Waring sets sail from New York on a routine voyage to South America. Seventeen days later, it limps back into New York's frenzied harbor with the ship's black steward, William Tillman, at the helm. While the story of that ill-fated voyage is one of the most harrowing tales of captivity and survival on the high seas, it has, almost unbelievably, been lost to history. Now reclaiming Tillman as the real American hero he was, historian Brian McGinty dramatically returns readers to that riotous, explosive summer of 1861, when the country was tearing apart at the seams and the Union army was in near shambles following a humiliating defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. Desperate for good news, the North was soon riveted by reports of an incident that occurred a few hundred miles off the coast of New York, where the Waring had been overtaken by a marauding crew of Confederate privateers. While the white sailors became chummy with their Southern captors, free black man William Tillman was perfectly aware of the fate that awaited him in the ruthless, slave-filled ports south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Stealthily biding his time until a moonlit night nine days after the capture, Tillman single-handedly killed three officers of the privateer crew, then took the wheel and pointed it home. Yet, with no experience as a navigator, only one other helper, and a war-torn Atlantic seaboard to contend with, his struggle had just begun. It took five perilous days at sea--all thrillingly recounted here--before the Waring returned to New York Harbor, where the story of Tillman's shipboard courage became such a tabloid sensation that he was not only put on the bill of Barnum's American Museum but also proclaimed to be the "first hero" of the Civil War. As McGinty evocatively shows, however, in the horrors of the war then engulfing the nation, memories of his heroism--even of his identity--were all but lost to history. As such, The Rest I Will Kill becomes a thrilling and historically significant work, as well as an extraordinary journey that recounts how a free black man was able to defy efforts to make him a slave and become an unlikely glimmer of hope for a disheartened Union army in the war-battered North
  • 1861. The schooner S.J. Waring sets sail from New York on a routine voyage to South America. Seventeen days later, it limped back into New York's harbor with the ship's black steward, William Tillman, at the helm. The Waring had been overtaken by a marauding crew of Confederate privateers, and while the white sailors became chummy with their Southern captors, free black man William Tillman was aware of the fate that awaited him in the slave-filled ports south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Biding his time for nine days, Tillman single-handedly killed three officers of the privateer crew, then took the wheel and pointed it home. McGinty shows how, in the horrors of the war then engulfing the nation, memories of Tillman's heroism-- even of his identity-- were all but lost to history
Biography type
individual biography
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
McGinty, Brian
Dewey number
973.7/415
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • maps
  • plates
Index
index present
LC call number
E540.N3
LC item number
M238 2016
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Tilghman, Billy
  • S.J. Waring (Schooner)
  • Tilghman, Billy
  • Tilghman, Billy
  • S.J. Waring (Schooner)
  • American Civil War (1861-1865)
  • United States
  • United States
  • Free African Americans
  • Free African Americans
  • Military operations, Naval
  • Military participation
  • HISTORY
  • SOCIAL SCIENCE
  • Free African Americans
  • Military operations, Naval
  • Military participation
  • United States
Label
The rest I will kill : William Tillman and the unforgettable story of how a free black man refused to become a slave, Brian McGinty
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-226) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
A free black man -- To sea -- The capture -- Now is our time -- The return -- A hero's welcome -- A matter of compensation -- Passing judgment -- The fury continues -- Epilogue: a black man's fate
Control code
ocn921868993
Dimensions
22 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
236 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9781631491290
Isbn Type
(hardcover)
Lccn
2016014687
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations, map
System control number
  • (Sirsi) i9781631491290
  • (OCoLC)921868993
Label
The rest I will kill : William Tillman and the unforgettable story of how a free black man refused to become a slave, Brian McGinty
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-226) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
A free black man -- To sea -- The capture -- Now is our time -- The return -- A hero's welcome -- A matter of compensation -- Passing judgment -- The fury continues -- Epilogue: a black man's fate
Control code
ocn921868993
Dimensions
22 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
236 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9781631491290
Isbn Type
(hardcover)
Lccn
2016014687
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations, map
System control number
  • (Sirsi) i9781631491290
  • (OCoLC)921868993

Subject

Genre

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