June 2023 MBR The American History Shelf

The American History Shelf

Our Flag Was Still There
Tom McMillan
Knox Press
c/o Permuted Press
https://permutedpress.com
9781637587331, $30.00, HC, 336pp

https://www.amazon.com/Our-Flag-Was-Still-There/dp/1637587333

Synopsis: Francis Scott Key saw the original Star-Spangled Banner flying over Baltimore's Fort McHenry on September 14, 1814, following a twenty-five-hour bombardment by the British Navy, inspiring him to write the words to our national anthem. Torn and tattered over the years, reduced in size to appease souvenir-hunters, stuffed away in a New York City vault for the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the flag's mere existence after two hundred years is an improbable story of dedication, perseverance, patriotism, angst, inner-family squabbles, and, yes, more than a little luck.

For this unlikely feat, we have the Armistead family to thank -- led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armistead, commander of Fort McHenry, who took it home after the battle in clear defiance of U.S. Army regulations. It is only because of that quiet indiscretion that the flag survives to this day. Armistead's descendants kept and protected their family heirloom for ninety years. The flag's first photo was not taken until 1873, almost sixty years after Key saw it waving, and most Americans did not even know of its existence until Armistead's grandson loaned it to the Smithsonian in 1907.

With the publication of "Our Flag Was Still There: The Star Spangled Banner that Survived the British and 200 Years - And the Armistead Family Who Saved It", Tom McMillan tells a story as no one has before. Digging deep into the archives of Fort McHenry and the Smithsonian, accessing never-before-published letters and documents, and presenting rare photos from the private collections of Armistead descendants and other sources, McMillan follows the flag on an often-perilous journey through three centuries. "Our Flag Was Still There" provides new insight into an intriguing period of U.S. history, offering a "story behind the story" account of one of the country's most treasured relics.

Critique: The story of one of America's most iconic symbols, "Our Flag Was Still There: The Star Spangled Banner that Survived the British and 200 Years - And the Armistead Family Who Saved It" will hold a very special interest for readers concerned with the American Revolution and our founding history. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library American History collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Our Flag Was Still There: The Star Spangled Banner that Survived the British and 200 Years - And the Armistead Family Who Saved It" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9798212341844, $31.95, CD).

Editorial Note: Tom McMillan (http://www.authortommcmillan.com) is a lifelong student of history, and has served on the board of trustees of Pittsburgh's Heinz History Center, the board of directors of the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial, and the marketing committee of the Gettysburg Foundation. He has written three previous books, including Flight 93: The Story, The Aftermath, and the Legacy of American Courage on 9/11. McMillan recently retired after a forty-three-year career in sports communications, which included twenty-five years as VP/Communications for the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. He has a journalism degree from Point Park University.

Faces, Places, and Days Gone By
Mikel B. Classen
Modern History Press
https://www.modernhistorypress.com
9781615997251, $34.95, HC, 138pp

https://www.amazon.com/Faces-Places-Days-Gone-Pictorial/dp/1615997253

Synopsis: With the publication of "Faces, Places, and Days Gone By - Volume 1: A Pictorial History of Michigan's Upper Peninsula", Mikel Classen's pictorial history is the next best thing to a time machine, as we get a front-row seat in the worlds of shipping and shipwrecks, iron and copper mining, timber cutting, hunting and fishing and the everyday lives of ordinary folks of Michigan's Upper Peninsula across more than 100 years.

"Faces, Places and Days Gone By" peers into our past through the lenses of those that lived and explored it. See what they saw as time passed and how the U.P. evolved into the wondrous place we know today.

Drawn from the Classen's unique collection, "Faces, Places and Days Gone By" is comprised of newly restored images from long lost stereoviews, cabinet cards, postcards and lithograph engravings. It takes the armchair traveler on a visual journey to relive some of those moments, and discover a unique heritage through those faces and places from the Soo to Ironwood, from Copper Harbor to Mackinaw Island.

Critique: A unique and exceptional pictorial history of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, each fully captioned black/white historical photo is a treasure, with the entire "Faces Places and Days Gone By" collection being an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library American History collection. It should be noted that "Faces Places and Days Gone By" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781615997244, $19.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $5.95).

Editorial Note: Mikel B. Classen (www.mikelbclassen.com) has been writing and photographing northern Michigan in news-papers and magazines for over thirty-five years, creating feature articles about the life and culture of Michigan's north country. Currently he is managing editor of the U.P. Reader and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association.

Pilgrims and Puritans in Colonial America
Lievin Kambamba Mboma
Lievin K. Mboma Press
9780998971698, $39.25, HC, 196pp

https://www.amazon.com/Pilgrims-Puritans-Colonial-America-Regulatory/dp/0998971693

Synopsis: With the publication of "Pilgrims and Puritans in Colonial America: Regulatory Laws in the New England Colonies, 1630-1686", Lievin Mboma gives a detailed history and account of the regulatory laws promulgated in the New England colonies by the general courts for the organization of schools, price control, military training, employment, and wage control.

In addition, Mboma recounts the duties of lawmakers and the methods utilized for the promulgation of these many laws. Examples of these include examinations of colonial laws such as the Massachusetts Body of Liberties, the Connecticut Code of 1650, and the Rhode Island code law of 1663. Furthermore, this work investigates the demographic history of the founders of the New England colonies like John Winthrop, John Cotton, Roger Williams, Rev. John White, Roger Ludlow, Thomas Hooker, John Haynes, Rev. John Davenport, and Theophilus Eaton. The data regarding the founders of New England is significant because it correlates with the laws they enacted for the regulation of the economy, religions, courts, employment, and schools.

Moreover, data pertaining to New England colonists reveal pertinent information on their governing styles, as well as the maintenance of law and order. In this book, the academic institutions that the colonists attended in England and Scotland are attentively examined. Historically, many New England colonists were alumni from Cambridge and Oxford. With those academic degrees, they established civilized colonies in accordance with Christian values they acquired from universities in England. This largely shared culture has been subsequently observed by Anglo-Americans.

"Pilgrims and Puritans In Colonial America" also covers the discovery missions conducted by English subjects in North America. The work of explorers such as Captain John Smith, Sebastian Cabot, and his children is pieced together. In a like manner, the impacts made by English explorers such as Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins, and Plymouth and Bristol merchants are noted. This work also points out the contributions made by the crowns of England for the completion of discovery missions in the same region. The impacts made by King Henry VII, King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth, King Edward VI, King James I, and King Charles I were investigated. Equally, the formation of the Plymouth Company and the Council for New England, which served as catalysts for the founding of the New England colonies, are analyzed. Similarly, the incorporation of the same organizations is elucidated. The Council of New England was a body that had the legal power to sell land to the architects of the planting of colonies in New England.

School regulations in the New England colonies are also examined and the establishment of domestic, dame, elementary, grammar, and private schools is detailed in this history. The schools in the colonies followed the same model as the English schools. The contributions of monks and religious leaders in the building of schools in England are stated. Additionally, "Pilgrims and Puritans In Colonial America" explores the history of Harvard University, pointing out the duties of the overseers of the college, the corporation of the institution, and the assistance of poor scholars. Moreover, the judiciary jurisdiction of Harvard College is briefly detailed.

Critique: A seminal and detailed history of Colonial America, "Pilgrims and Puritans in Colonial America: Regulatory Laws in the New England Colonies, 1630-1686" is exceptionally well researched, written, organized and presented. An impressive informative work of original scholarship, "Pilgrims and Puritans in Colonial America" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library 17th Century American History collections and will have a special value for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in Colonial Legal/Governmental History curriculum studies lists.

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