As promised last week, we are diving into a little more history of our state. This week we are traveling across the bay to see the history of our Eastern Shore. Let's take a look!
Revolutionary Chestertown: Loyalists and Rebels on Maryland's Eastern Shore by Theodore Corbett - Calls for independence shook the wealthy gentry with their grand mansions in Chestertown and their patchwork of prosperous Kent County plantations and farms. It was in the interest of the upper echelons of Kent County society to remain loyal to the Crown. Yet the Revolutionary spirit did ignite, as Chestertown protested parliament's duty on tea and sent flour to aid the poor in the closed port of Boston. While militia was raised, Kent County's true value to Washington was as a key breadbasket for his Continental army. Still, the revolutionaries found it difficult to gain a firm foothold. Religious and social tensions created a charged atmosphere as Loyalists burned rebel mills to the ground only to be in turn attacked by rebel mobs. Author Theodore Corbett unravels the complexities of a community thrust into war.
This Was Chesapeake Bay by Robert Burgess - Burgess wrote several books on the Chesapeake Bay. This book was based on his newspaper and other articles. His particular area of expertise focuses on the boats and the people of the sailing and fishing boats, also the shipping trade. This is a heavily illustrated book with information about the broader Chesapeake Bay environment.
Maryland's Eastern Shore: A Journey in Time and Place by John Wennersten - "A hundred years ain't such a very long time on the Eastern Shore," local farmers and watermen used to say, and that is a telling refrain. Past and present mix easily on the Shore, and, in this respect, as well as in certain local customs and habits of language, the region is very much still an old-fashioned English society. Until fairly recently, the peninsula was one of the most geographically isolated regions on the Atlantic coast. In this isolated society, the most important factors have been agriculture, seafaring, and race--a blend of soil, sea, and soul. In his attempt to convey the special character of the region--before accelerating change affects its transformation--John Wennersten has used these themes as a framework for an absorbing narrative. His insights into how these elements affected the development of the area and its current character take the story of the Eastern Shore beyond mere facts and into the realm of socio-cultural history. This is a fascinating overview of an unusual--and perhaps vanishing--lifestyle.
