The Rogue Republic by William C. Davis

Once again I must come clean with some bad habits…..a messy desk…..I bought this book several months ago and lost it in the clutter that is my life…..I have been doing massive amounts of research for a couple of posts that are in the works…I decided to clean my mess and found the book I forgot I had gotten several months ago……

I live in the area that this book is written about and a period of time that I find very interesting…..the period just after the Constitution battle and just before the War of 1812……

The year is 1810 and for a short shining moment in history my area was a free and independent republic….the Republic of West Florida……Mr. Davis made the players seem personal as if you knew them intimately…..the Kempers, Callers, the Spanish authorities, the Territorial authorities and even the Burr conspiracy…..he laid out the whole array of events that lead from one revolt to another and onto the establishment of a new republic, short lived as it was………

Three days after West Florida completed the formation of its national government, the United States suddenly acted. On October 27, 1810, President James Madison issued a proclamation claiming the territory for the United States. This was done without the approval of Congress or through negotiationwith either the Republic or Spain and its legality was the subject of serious question.  (We could question the validity of such a move or if the RWF should not be given its independence…a fanciful thought)…..

Mr. Davis painted an expert re-telling of a course of events that few Americans are aware of, especially the people in the area that was known as the Republic of West Florida…..anyone that is a student of American history would find this book a wealth of information and entertainment….early American history is full of deceit, rebellion and lies….and the Republic was NO different.

I strongly recommend this book and I am kicking myself in the butt for not reading it as soon as a acquired it……good reading!