Hey, y'all: If ya like seein' your name in print, HERE'S YOUR CHANCE! If you saw any of the ROLLING STONE's '72 shows, a cat named RICHARD HOUGHTON wants to hear from you. Since 2015, he's specialized in books that tell a rock band's story through THE EYES & EARS OF THEIR FANS. If you're interested, Richard is on Facebook and his email address is iwasatthatgig@gmail.com (from the July 2, 1972 ATLANTA CONSTITUTION) 

 page 324 of DEVIL MAKE A THIRD: She began to pack the money back into the bag, feverishly, counting bundles as she packed.

"I know what let's do," she said between counts, "Lets - "

"Wait a minute," he interrupted. "You'll do all right without that- and so will all the others." His voice dropped lower and his words came fomr slowly. "This is for something else - kind of a crutch till I can get my hands fastened where they belong."

Lota jerked her hand away from the money and her face was suddenly frightened and pained.

"Not money, Buck?" 

He touched her jaw with a gentle fist.

"Not just money, but nearly everything, good or bad, costs money. This will easy build something that a lot of folks have been wanting around home."

Lota's eyes widened and she caught at his knee with strong fingers.

He nodded. "Unh-hunh. The opera house."

She pulled herself closer and higher until her forehead would rub hard against his chest and the satchel fell on the floor. Some of the money spilled out, unnoticed.

"You didn't need to change," she said with her voice muffled. She pulled herself higher against him. "Buck, Buck, Buck. I'm so proud, it's like excitement." She pulled away to look at him, "Mostly because you thought of it."

(Buck Baker got in the opera house business years before he led the City of Dothan to build the opera house that stands today on North St. Andrews Street ~ clipping from the March 7, 1908 DOTHAN EAGLE)

 Many years ago I proposed erecting a historic marker on the triangle of land just south of the location of Sam Jackson's (Avery's) on Queen City (a copy of that proposal is at the end of this post). This eleven day quest to commemorate THIS DAY, Friday (THE HOLIDAY), OCTOBER 29, 2021, the 200th anniversary of THE 1821 TUSCALOOSA TOWN PLAT).

Well, y'all, as of today, I've changed the location of that proposed marker. Now I think it should be placed near where the clock stands now @ the corner of Greensboro and University. I believe that to be the initial point of the survey and the lines radiating out from that point determined the rest of the subdivision of the township section that made up old Tuscaloosa.

 proposal for a historical marker to be erected on Queen City Avenue in 2021:

THE TOWN PLAT OF TUSCALOOSA, 1821

On Friday, October 4, 1816, The Choctaw Indians extinguished their title to this property when they signed a treaty which ceded all of their land east of the Tombigbee River to the United States. On March 3, 1817, the U.S. Congress reserved from public land sale this Section 22 of Township 21 South, Range 10 West (Huntsville Meridian). Queen City Avenue runs north to south along the eastern margin line of this land section. On January 9, 1821, the commissioner of the General Land Office, ordered General John Coffee, Surveyor General for the State of Alabama, to survey this section of land. This survey laid out all of the original city of Tuscaloosa's streets at right angles to the present-day intersection of Greensboro Avenue and University Boulevard. On Monday, October 29, 1821, Colonel John McKee, registrar of the Tuscaloosa Land Office, began to auction off town lots. With only a few alterations, the present layout of the city blocks and streets in the original city of Tuscaloosa preserves and brings down to us to this day the Town Plat Survey of Tuscaloosa, 1821.

Imagine this headline in newspapers on Friday, October 29, 2021:

PAUL W. BRYANT DRIVE 200 YEARS OLD TODAY!

Every street and town lot in the original city of Tuscaloosa turns 200 years old this week.

On Friday, October 29, 2021, Tuscaloosa will experience an anniversary that has never had a popular commemoration in all of the town's history. Friday will be the 200th anniversary of an American citizen being allowed to own a piece of T-town dirt. On Monday, October 29, 1821, private land ownership in the original city of Tuscaloosa began. When the sun comes up this Friday, every street and town lot in Tuscaloosa will experience it's 200th birthday.

There are no buildings standing in Tuscaloosa which witnessed this event and all we have to show for it are our present-day streets, the boundaries of our town lots and the graves of the men and women who occupied them two centuries ago.

Tuscaloosa's first settlers arrived in 1816 but the land of the town was not legally ready to be sold until the fall of 1821. By 1821, probably as many as 600 souls lived in log cabins and shacks constructed by driving logs into the ground and nailing vertical planks on the outside of them. These structures were randomly scattered along the crest of River Hill from present-day 28th Avenue down to about 23rd Avenue. For the first five years of its life as a town, Tuscaloosa's citizens were all squatters. The section of land they lived upon had been reserved from public sale by an act of Congress passed the same day that the Alabama Territory was established on March 3, 1817. It took over 4 years for President James Monroe to order the survey of Section 22 of Township 21 South, Range 10 West.

Finally in the spring of 1821, the Section 22 was subdivided and a street grid established. Many Tuscaloosans found that their dwelling was located in the middle of a street designed to be 132 feet wide. These buildings doomed to demolition included the town's best tavern and the Tuscaloosa County jail which were both located in the middle of present-day Greensboro Avenue between the present-day old First National Bank building and the BAMA Theater. President Monroe ordered that all of the 511 town lots laid out in the survey be sold at public auction at the Tuscaloosa Land Office on Monday, October 29, 1821.

From the May 12, 1899 TUSCALOOSA WEEKLY TIMES: "At last, in the spring of 1821, after long and impatient waiting by the citizens, the town of Tuscaloosa was laid off and the lots sold at public sale. The earliest deed of a lot that I find on record is dated October 31, 1821. William Toxey sells to Cincinattus Lacy, 'the east half of lot 109 in the town of Tuscaloosa, which adjoins Lot 108, as by reference to a plan of said town will now presently appear.' " ~ Dr W. S. Wyman

How appropriate that the first town lot that was sold at auction on October 29 and subdivided two days later would be the only one which was unaltered by the town plan of Tuscaloosa. In fact, the entire street grid of the town is based upon the angle of the western half of LOT 109, the northeast corner of present-day Greensboro Avenue (Market Street) and University Boulevard (Main or Broad Street), the present-day location of the old 1st National Bank building.

 BOY! This Eagle ad TRIGGERS so many memories and emotions in me! Going to strange INTEGRATED (!!!!!) DHS in the fall of '65 wasn't really so strange for us. We YOUNG JR. BABY CRIMINALS had already known MANY of our fellow Girard Bunch "good sports" since EARLY elementary school  because of the 10 A.M. movies @ the Martin on Saturday morning.(from the July 13, 1962 DOTHAN EAGLE)

July, 1820: A land  office was established in Tuscaloosa (clipping from the July 1, 1820 NEW BERN SENTINEL)

from the December 19, 1820 Nashville Clarion and Tennessee State Gazette

JUNE, 1821:

In a letter to his wife dated "Tuscaloosa, 2nd June, 1821," William Ely (1767-1847), land agent for the Connecticut Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb,  bragged that, "The population now may be from 6 to 800 souls, not one of whom, except a few to whom I sold land since I came here, have any title to the land they live on."

Ely sold the section west of Tuscaloosa to a group of investors and they were selling lots in Newtown ten  months before Tuscaloosa property went up for sale.

"As dates on steroids, anniversaries permit us toOn consider the local and the global at the same time. Historians often choose major anniversaries as ways of reassessing and mobilizing interest in the past. As Pierre Nora observed, national anniversaries are sites of memory; they have served as a key indication of how modern nations recognize their histories. Some historians use anniversaries to highlight studies of a particular event, while others study the anniversaries themselves, analyzing them as a window into the popular commemoration of history."

THE FIRST SENTENCE FROM THE APPLICATION FOR THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES DESIGNATION FOR DOWNTOWN TUSCALOOSA READS: "The Downtown Tuscaloosa Historic District is located in the north central section of the city near the Black Warrior River and was a part of the original U.S. Government survey of 1821. It is bounded on the north by the railroad and a natural ravine. The district is laid out in a typical high density grid iron pattern at the intersection of two of the broadest streets in the city, Greensboro Ave. and University Blvd., each of which measures 132 feet in width. Although this section of the city has historic ties with the early 19th century, none of the buildings from that period are still standing, and the majority of the structures date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. "

Imagine this headline in newspapers on Friday, October 29, 2021:

PAUL W. BRYANT DRIVE 200 YEARS OLD TODAY!

Every street and town lot in the original city of Tuscaloosa turns 200 years old this week.

On Friday, October 29, 2021, Tuscaloosa will experience an anniversary that has never had a popular commemoration in all of the town's history. Friday will be the 200th anniversary of an American citizen being allowed to own a piece of T-town dirt. On Monday, October 29, 1821, private land ownership in the original city of Tuscaloosa began. When the sun comes up this Friday, every street and town lot in Tuscaloosa will experience it's 200th birthday.

There are no buildings standing in Tuscaloosa which witnessed this event and all we have to show for it are our present-day streets, the boundaries of our town lots and the graves of the men and women who occupied them two centuries ago.

Tuscaloosa's first settlers arrived in 1816 but the land of the town was not legally ready to be sold until the fall of 1821. By 1821, probably as many as 600 souls lived in log cabins and shacks constructed by driving logs into the ground and nailing vertical planks on the outside of them. These structures were randomly scattered along the crest of River Hill from present-day 28th Avenue down to about 23rd Avenue. For the first five years of its life as a town, Tuscaloosa's citizens were all squatters. The section of land they lived upon had been reserved from public sale by an act of Congress passed the same day that the Alabama Territory was established on March 3, 1817. It took over 4 years for President James Monroe to order the survey of Section 22 of Township 21 South, Range 10 West.

From the May 12, 1899 TUSCALOOSA WEEKLY TIMES: "At last, in the spring of 1821, after long and impatient waiting by the citizens, the town of Tuscaloosa was laid off and the lots sold at public sale. The earliest deed of a lot that I find on record is dated October 31, 1821. William Toxey sells to Cincinattus Lacy, 'the east half of lot 109 in the town of Tuscaloosa, which adjoins Lot 108, as by reference to a plan of said town will now presently appear.' " ~ Dr W. S. Wyman

How appropriate that the first town lot that was sold at auction on October 29 and subdivided two days later would be the only one which was unaltered by the town plan of Tuscaloosa. In fact, the entire street grid of the town is based upon the angle of the western half of LOT 109, the northeast corner of present-day Greensboro Avenue (Market Street) and University Boulevard (Main or Broad Street), the present-day location of the old 1st National Bank building.

In 1817, Fractional Section 22 was reserved from public sale by an act that passed Congress on the same day another act of Congress created the ALABAMA TERRITORY. (from the May 12, 1899 TUSCALOOSA WEEKLY TIMES)

from the October 16, 1821 MISSISSIPPI FREE TRADER (Natchez)

from page 194 of DEVIL MAKE A THIRD: "I've watched 'im grow from a little chunk," he said, sadly, "to a big ol' stand-up-in-the-road that owns half them buildin's you see up the street." He paused and took one step up the stairway. "An' I've fostered him," he went on over his shoulder, "but now, if the Lord lets me, I'm agoin' to cuss him for a thievin' dog." He cleared his throat as he reached the top of the stairs. "Soon as I get a couple more drinks in me an' find a damned telephone that works."

Bass snickered, but Jake didn't notice him. He walked down the dim hall until he came to a door marked, "Aven Telephone Co." Then he held out his hand for the receiver. "Gimme that." Bass dropped it into his hand. Jake opened the door and brighter light flooded into the hall.

"Miss Edie," Jake said, with dignity, "here's number twenty-five"

(Dothan's first telephone operator was named "Miss Pattie" Borland.)

(clippings from the August 15, 1929 Dothan Eagle; from the August 22, 1938 Dothan Eagle; from the September 22, 1898 Montgomery Advertiser)

 Landscaping of Aven's residential area is an important theme in the novel. Lawns covered in grass with ornamental plants like camellias and azaleas were unheard of to most Aven residents who had grown up on farms where the area around the house was kept swept clear of all plant life. Buck Bannon's mother continues to sweep her yard even after she moves to Aven. This scene in the novel with the standpipe occurs around 1900 when St. Augustine grass was becoming a common lawn grass in Florida. It was introduced in Louisiana around 1880. The author including "St. Augustine grass" adds a colorful detail which enriches the novel and shows the author's concern for THE TRUTH. "Literature makes real what history forgot." ~ Carlos Fuentes (from the March 25, 1902 Montgomery Advertiser)

 Contents of DEVIL MAKE A THIRD

Forward

SECTION 1- circa 1887

           Chapter 1- "Headin' for town..."

           Chapter 2- "Take the first job somebody offers me, long as it ain't handlin' a tool." 

           Interlude #1- " 'F I hadn't borrowed the first dollar from Buck Bannon, he'd never 'o made a loan."

SECTION 2- 16 months later; circa 1888-1889

           Chapter 3- "His wife's sick. He needs money now for some doctorin' in Atlanta."

           Chapter 4- "I don't give a damn about bein' a gentleman but, by God, I'll be payin' my debts, till I                                     die."

            Interlude #2-  circa 1890 "He left in a rubber-tired buggy, all right."

SECTION 3-  circa 1890

             Chapter 5- "Please don't let me be scared of all them folks."

             Interlude #3- " Now I couldn't even be a night watchman if Buck wasn't buildin' his folks a house                                          an' hired me so he could get his money back."

SECTION 4- circa 1890

             Chapter 6- "Big Vic," she said. "We got a Little Vic."  

             Chapter 7- "We're goin' to call her Christina."

             Interlude #4-  "Wasn't for him, you wouldn't even have a job helpin' to lay out the town."

SECTION 5- circa 1891

             Chapter 8- "He'll be drunk for two days and won't have a chance to tell it in town."  

             Chapter 9- "I don't reckon you could do anything that wasn't pretty."

             Interlude #5- "He got me this job 'cause him and  old man Dean got to be big political buddies and                                        he says if I'll pay him half my salary ever' week, he won't charge no more interest."

SECTION 6

              Chapter 10- "Stick around," he said, "reckon we can gee on some other matters, too." [Stylish George's card game. Meets Tobe.]

              Chapter 11- "I'm all that and I'm a man that don't change. But if you're in love with the kind of                                             man  I am now, by the Lord, I ain't goin' to change."

               Chapter 12- "We don't need a light right now."   [meets Virgil after his own wedding]

               Interlude #6- "Jake, what bothers me is, how come he can do things like he'd doin' to you and you 

                                       stay friends with him?"

SECTION 7

              Chapter 13- "Hold supper up. Got something to 'tend to."

              Chapter 14- "Losses don't worry me. I just draw a new hand an' raise all bets."

               Chapter 15- "Papa died."

               Interlude #7- (scene is set ten years later- circa 1900) "Talkin' 'bout me wastin' on women, look                                           at  him. It was a woman made that girl clear out."

SECTION 8 - circa 1900

               Chapter 16- "It was kinda fun fixin' up to give 'em that stuff."

               Chapter 17- "One thing I've always wanted to see though, New York."

               Chapter 18- "A hotel with a bathroom and a telephone in every room."

                Interlude #8- "Miss Edie, here's number twenty-five."

SECTION 9

              Chapter 19-  "I hope you can find me a place."

              Chapter 20-  "You've only known me three weeks, you don't even know if you'd like to kiss me."

              Interlude #9- "Old as Buck is, there ain't apt to be no more a'comin'."   

SECTION 10

             Chapter 21-  "Go on down. Lessie Whitfield!"

             Chapter 22- "Well, Preacher, lucky you didn't sleep in your tent last night."

             Chapter 23- "I can just see little old Ed Reddick collectin' taxes from Josie's Hollow Horn girls."

             Interlude #10- "Well, sir, you can't never tell about Buck. I didn't figure he'd get over Tobe Parody                                        gettin' killed." 

SECTION 11

            Chapter 24- "She's just got a one-way fare, Buck, but she's routed right."

            Chapter 25- "It's a plumb shame that everybody can't afford to live all the time like they didn't have                                      but one more day."      

            Chapter 26- "Your place is so much like the house we used to live in, maybe you'd just let me come                                   down here to visit."       

             Interlude #11- "Pore Buck, ever'body around him droppin' out, an' his brand-new wife packin' off                                          to  boardin' school."

SECTION 12

             Chapter 27- "And, by God, when I get to where I have to be serviced like a damned brood mare,                                        I'll get a man. It won't be a spineless dog.      

             Chapter 28-  "Good God, let me get out of this place."

             Chapter 29- "I'm going to wear white satin, cut real low, and white gloves up past my elbows. At                                        the dedication, when you make the speech."  

             Chapter 30- "She's gone."

             Chapter 31- "Put it on the records as a bridal suite and charge double our usual rates."

              Interlude #12- "Mighty good to see a fellow get in shape to retire."

                                      "Go to hell."

SECTION 13

               Chapter 32- "My God, that'll be the capitol calling from Montgomery."

                Chapter 33- "Drop the guitar."

              

                                

              

             

              

                       

Documents concerning the U.S. Navy's two-week-long bombardment of Fort Powell @ Grant's Pass in February of 1864 and the U.S. Army's amphibious landing at the west point of Dauphin Island on August 2, 1864:    

ABSTRACT LOG OF THE U.S.S. J.P. JACKSON, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant M.B. Crowell, U.S. Navy, Commanding

February 16, 1864 — From 12 to 4 a. m. : At anchor with the fleet off Dauphin Island. Moderate breezes from N. N.W. Saw several lights on the north shore and one on the Shell Bank. At daylight got our anchor, went alongside the schooner ORVETTA, took her in tow, placed her in position, she stopping in the mud, Shell Bank bearing E., west point of Dauphin Island woods bearing S. E. \ S. Returned for another schooner. At 8 took the O. H. LEE in tow and placed her in position; Shell Bank bearing E. by N., woods S. E. Returned and took the HENRY JAMES into position at 9:30; Shell Bank bearing E. by N. 1/2 N., west point of woods on Dauphin Island bearing S. E. 1/2 S. At 9 o'clock U. S. S. Port Royal arrived from westward. At 9 : 30 the first shot was fired by U. S. S. Octorara. At 10 o'clock took our station on the left as far to northward as we could get, in 8 feet 6 inches water, between the Orvetta and O. H. Lee, and engaged rebel works with Sawyer rifle. At 12:40 ceased firing, having fired 42 shell, 23 of which taking effect inside the enemy's works. Up to this time none of the mortars have struck the fort. Saw a steamer, sloop, and schooner outside. The enemy returned our fire briskly at times, most of the shot fell short. From 12 to 4 p. m. moderate wind from N. N. W. All the mortar boats moving nearer to the fort under sail. At 2:30 p. m. the Sebayo stood to the westward. At 3:30 we commenced action again. At 3:50 the fifth shell was fired, when the Sawyer rifle split in the vent, about five inches long, which rendered it useless. During the afternoon action was continued by the steamers and mortar schooners with but little success. From 4 to 6 p. m. : Communicated with the senior officer. The rebel gunboat Gaines came down Mobile Bay and anchored near the Shell Bank. At 5:15 withdrew from action; stood to S. to communicate with outside fleet. Saw a gunboat outside standing to eastward. At 6:30 stood nearer the fleet. At 7 anchored in our former position.

PAGE  132-136 from CONFEDERATE MOBILE by Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr.

The anticipated attack on Fort Powell began on February 16, 1864. Six mortar schooners and four gunboats opened fire on the fort about nine o'clock that morning. The Confederates manning the guns in Powell replied infrequently to the enemy bombardment [ed. note: Fort Powell's guns included two SELMA, ALABAMA-made 7 inch Brooke Rifled Cannon, the most accurate naval gun of its day, as well as the Columbiad cannon now located near the Admiral Semmes statue at Government and Royal.] Most of the shells hurled at the fort fell short. A Confederate officer wrote later to his girlfriend: "The damage to the Fort was very trifling." At least five Federal shells exploded in the officers' quarters and destroyed them. Two men in the fort, one of them Lieutenant Colonel James M. Williams, commanding the post, were wounded during the attack. A shell fragment knocked Williams down and stunned him. According to a newspaper report, he barely escaped being killed: "The shell grazed the front of his arm and body, entirely tearing away the sleeve and breast of his coat." At least one Confederate concluded from the results of the bombardment that naval fire alone would not reduce the fort.

Heavy winds from the north prevented the Federal vessels from renewing their attack for a week...

... Farragut's mortar schooners and gunboats renewed their attack on Fort Powell on February 23 and continued the bombardment the two days following. On the twenty third, the Federal gunners fired slightly more than 300 shells at the fort but caused no damage and no casualties. During the attack on the following day, the Federal vessels threw nearly 375 shells toward Fort Powell. Again, few shells struck the target, and those that did had no serious effects. The Confederate artillerymen in Fort Powell initiated action on February 25 by firing on the Federal squadron. Despite the 470 shells fired in reply by the enemy, the fort sustained less damage than it had the previous day, although the garrison lost one man killed and two wounded.

A frustrated Union officer wrote to a comrade about these fruitless attacks: "We are hammering away at the fort here, which minds us about as much as if we did not fire- that is, the fort- for the men skedaddle as soon as the fire is at all brisk, although they will keep up anything like a fair fight, as they did with me for two hours yesterday in the ORVETTA, and until the the others commenced action, when they retired."

Heavy northerly winds, low tides and bad weather prevented Farragut's vessels from renewing their attack on Fort Powell until February 29, but on that day they carried ouOnagain had only negligible results: "Only 20[shells] struck the island and 3, the bombproof, killing or wounding no one and damaging the Fort so slightly that ten men in ten minutes restored it to its former condition." The Confederate gunners fired slightly more effectively than before. Although one of their cannons burst, the men kept on a steady barrage. Five shells struck one of the mortar schooners, forcing her out of action. The commander of the Confederate ram BALTIC wrote to a friend about the engagement:

"I saw some beautiful line shots made...during the bombardment, and am satisfied at least one of the mortar schooners would have sunk if sailors had been handling it [Fort Powell cannon], but unfortunately those who were working it knew not how to sight a gun." Finally, at sunset Farragut ordered his ships to break off the engagement. The fort's flag remained flying as the Federal vessels sailed westward.

The bombardment of February 29 convinced Farragut that further attacks on Fort Powell would yield no better results. He also realized that he could do nothing that would result in the capture of the forts guarding the entrances of Mobile Bay. High winds and low tides had prevented the Federal vessels from getting any closer than two miles to the fort. Several ships ran aground during the two-week demonstration and had to be towed off. The low water had made it almost impossible for small boats to land an assault force near the fort. Buchanan's [namesake for Buchanan Drive] small squadron of gunboats had assumed a position in the rear of Fort Powell where they could take the garrison off or reinforce it. The ironclad TENNESSEE could not get over the Dog River bar, but Farragut mistook the BALTIC or another vessel for the TENNESSEE. Thinking the iron clad ready for action, Farragut did not feel he could run into the bay without monitors or ironclads of his own. Lacking troops to cut off the land approaches to the Confederate forts, the Union admiral decided he could not attack Mobile Bay successfully and chose to end his demonstration.

PAGE 505 of HISTORY OF IOWA REGIMENTS IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION(concerning the landing of the 34th IOWA INFANTRY on the west point of D.I.  the night of Tuesday, August 2, 1864) :

The operations of Rear-Admiral Farragut and General Granger against Forts Powell, Gaines and Morgan were brief and brilliant; and the troops who joined in these operations may well feel proud of their achievements. On the 2nd of August, 1864, General Granger effected a landing on Dauphin Island, and within twenty-one days from that time, each one of these forts was in the possession of our forces. The 34th Iowa was the first regiment to disembark on the west point of Dauphin Island. It was soon joined by the 96th Ohio, and a colored regiment; when the entire force, under command of Colonel Clark, with skirmishers well advanced and extending from shore to shore, marched forward in the direction of Fort Gaines. The night was dark and stormy, and an east wind beat a drenching rain directly in the faces of the troops. To any but soldiers, the occasion would have been dismal; but these brave fellows,trudging on through the mud and rain, were jocose and merry. Colonel Clark advanced about six miles, and to within two miles of the fort, when he halted and rested his command in line of battle. At day-light he was joined by the 67th Indiana, the 77th Illinois and the 3rd Maryland; when, after slight demonstrations, the fort surrendered.

The novel DEVIL MAKE A THIRD is composed of 13 sections which cover a period of approximately 28 years from 1887 to 1915. Each section is made up of multiple chapters and an interlude which the author uses to advance his timeline. No dates are used in the novel but Chapter 1 to Chapter 15 which make up the first seven sections of the novel cover the period from 1887 until the early 1890s. INTERLUDE 7 advances the action ten years with the fictional town of Aven going from a frontier boom town into a small urban area with paved streets, a water works, power plant, telephone company and all the other innovations of a turn-of-the-century urban area. All of the 33 chapters show us the world from the perspective of the protagonist, Buck Bannon and the 11 interludes describe Buck Bannon from the perspective of two railroad brakemen, Jake and Bascom.

 The Mobile Chamber of Commerce's NOMENCLATURE COMMITTEE which named all of Dauphin Island's streets did a great job but they did make a few mistakes. One of those mistakes is GENERAL ANDERSON STREET. This west to east dead end street begins on its western end at its intersection with General Gorgas Drive. The problem is that it is named after Confederate COLONEL Charles DeWitt Anderson, commander of Fort Gaines during the Battle of Mobile Bay. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82935638/charles-dewitt-anderson

(clipping from the August 25, 1864 WEEKLY NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER [Washington, D.C.])