In an examination of the effects of the Civil War on the rural Southern home front, Mark V. Wetherington looks closely at the experiences of white "plain folk--mostly yeoman farmers and craftspeople--in the wiregrass region of southern Georgia before, during, and after the war. Although previous scholars have argued that common people in the South fought the battles of the region's elites, Wetherington contends that the plain folk in this Georgia region fought for their own self-interest. Plain folk, whose communities were outside areas in which slaves were the majority of the population, feared black emancipation would allow former slaves to move from cotton plantations to subsistence areas like their piney woods communities. Thus, they favored secession, defended their way of life by fighting in the Confederate army, and kept the antebellum patriarchy intact in their home communities. Unable by late 1864 to sustain a two-front war in Virginia and at home, surviving veterans took their fight to the local political arena, where they used paramilitary tactics and ritual violence to defeat freedpeople and their white Republican allies, preserving a white patriarchy that relied on ex-Confederate officers for a new generation of leadership.

Once, Silas and Lainie Vendine, former bounty hunters and renegade mages, had a home and ranch of their own and the friendship and respect of their non-magical neighbors. Then the mage-hating Chardonikans came and drove them from their home. Now, Silas and his children have been captured by the Chardonikans, who are intent on spreading their despotic rule through the Wildings. On the trail of Silas and the children, Lainie and her companions approach the Broadgrass, territory of the hostile P'wagimet people, in search of the Chardonikan stronghold. When the true extent of the Chardonikans' plans in the Wildings is revealed, Silas and Lainie must somehow work together, even though they're separated by the enemy, to defeat the Chardonikans, reunite their family, and protect the freedom of all the people of the Wildings. Mages' Uprising is the 3rd and final book of Defenders of the Wildings, epic romantic fantasy-western. Contains language, violence, and mild to moderate sensual content.

Once, they were hated and hunted by mage hunters and Plain folk alike. Now, former bounty hunters turned renegade mages Silas and Lainie Vendine finally have the life they dreamed of - until an old and vicious hatred of mages rears its head. Silas and Lainie must fight to protect everything they love, everything they've worked for, before it's all destroyed. If you love fantasy filled with romance and adventure in a unique setting, come join Silas and Lainie Vendine in this new tale from the Wildings. Defenders of the Wildings is a follow-up series to the western-inspired epic romantic fantasy series Daughter of the Wildings. It is a self-contained series and can be enjoyed even if you haven't read Daughter of the Wildings. This ebook omnibus contains all three books of the Defenders of the Wildings series: Mages' Home, Mages' Exile, and Mages' Uprising. Contains language, violence, and mild to moderate sensual content.

By returning to the cotton fields, tobacco barns, and humble dwellings of her ancestral home in the rural South, this author learned firsthand what is missing from the history books between the pages on slavery and present-day African-American culture. It is the experience of ordinary people who, on second glance, have led truly extraordinary lives. She developed an appreciation for their words, wit, and wisdom and has made it her life's work to pass along their experiences. In this collection of original short stories, she pays homage to these ordinary folks through lyrical tributes, many of which have aired or will air on National Public Radio. Her own program, Just Plain Folks: Wisdom from the Front Porch, airs weekly on NPR. Like her radio segments, the stories in Just Plain Folks are meant both to entertain and to educate. Each story concludes with an author's note that places it in its proper cultural context.

The 1934 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a young newlywed woman struggling with her harsh life in rural, impoverished antebellum Georgia. "It has a wonderful freshness about it.... A wonderfully large and vital picture." ―The New York Times Cean and Lonzo are a young couple beginning their married lives two decades before the Civil War in a land where nature is hostile, the seasons dictate the law, and the days are punctuated by the hard work of the land. The couple's only wealth is their hands, their obstinacy, and their love. By the time Cean is forty-three, she has borne fourteen children; buried five of them and her husband; and survived a civil war, venomous snakebite, ferocious panther attack, and a deadly house fire. Neither life nor the din of history has spared her. In her lyrical, fascinating story (winner of the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for Literature), author Caroline Miller explores the struggle and survival of impoverished settlers in pre-Civil War South Georgia. A thought-provoking addition to American, Civil War, and Women's History studies.