Recounting more than three centuries of Spanish and French exploration, English and Huguenor agriculture, and African slave labour, this text traces the history of one of North America's oldest settlements, covering what are now Jasper, Hampton, and part of Alllendale countries.

***Finalist for the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize*** Henry Louis Gates, Jr: "A stunning tale of a little-known figure in history." Candice Millard: “Be Free or Die makes you want to stand up and cheer.” The astonishing true story of Robert Smalls’ amazing journey from slave to Union hero and ultimately United States Congressman. It was a mild May morning in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1862, the second year of the Civil War, when a twenty-three-year-old slave named Robert Smalls did the unthinkable and boldly seized a Confederate steamer. With his wife and two young children hidden on board, Smalls and a small crew ran a gauntlet of heavily armed fortifications in Charleston Harbor and delivered the valuable vessel and the massive guns it carried to nearby Union forces. To be unsuccessful was a death sentence for all. Smalls’ courageous and ingenious act freed him and his family from slavery and immediately made him a Union hero while simultaneously challenging much of the country’s view of what African Americans were willing to do to gain their freedom. After his escape, Smalls served in numerous naval campaigns off Charleston as a civilian boat pilot and eventually became the first black captain of an Army ship. In a particularly poignant moment Smalls even bought the home that he and his mother had once served in as house slaves. Cate Lineberry's Be Free or Die is a compelling narrative that illuminates Robert Smalls’ amazing journey from slave to Union hero and ultimately United States Congressman. This captivating tale of a valuable figure in American history gives fascinating insight into the country's first efforts to help newly freed slaves while also illustrating the many struggles and achievements of African Americans during the Civil War.

Beaufort's long history of wickedness stretches back to 1562, when Captain Jean Ribaut built the ill-fated French outpost Charlesfort on Parris Island, eventually destroyed by mutiny and starvation. Colonial Beaufortonians were no strangers to thwarting the law, from the murder of Charles Purry to the priestly misbehavior of Reverend William Peaseley. The Revolutionary War brought civil strife to the area in the form of bands of outlaws, and the early Federal years were times for the "gentlemanly"? pursuits of drinking, gambling and fighting. Reconstruction brought violence of several varieties as freedmen, carpetbaggers, scalawags and others sought to develop a new order. Join local author Alexia Jones Helsley as she delves into the history of these misbegotten times in Beaufort's history, from the earliest instances of illicit activity through the infamous Beaufort banking scandal of 1926.