Buy used:

$49.95

$3.99 delivery May 13 - 17. Details

Or fastest delivery Tuesday, May 7. Order within 21 hrs 49 mins. Details

Select delivery location

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by *Top Shelf Books*

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Other sellers on Amazon

Used (10) from $27.00 + $3.99 shipping

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

A Paradise of Blood: The Creek War of 1813–14 Hardcover – December 15, 2015

by Howard T. Weir III (Author)

4.7 37 ratings

See all formats and editions

The War for an Idyllic Wilderness That Brought Andrew Jackson to National Prominence, Transformed the South, and Changed America Forever
In 1811, a portion of the Creek Indians who inhabited a vast area across Georgia, Alabama, and parts of Florida and Mississippi, interpreted an earth tremor as a sign that they had to return to their traditional way of life. What was an internal Indian dispute soon became engulfed in the greater War of 1812 to become perhaps the most consequential campaign of that conflict. At immediate stake in what became known as the Creek War of 1813–14 was whether the Creeks and their inconstant British and Spanish allies or the young United States would control millions of acres of highly fertile Native American land. The conflict’s larger issue was whether the Indian nations of the lower American South—the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw—would be able to remain in their ancestral homes.
Beginning with conquistador Ferdinand DeSoto’s fateful encounter with Indians of the southeast in the 1500s, A Paradise of Blood: The Creek War of 1813–14 by Howard T. Weir, III, narrates the complete story of the cultural clash and centuries-long struggle for this landscape of stunning beauty. Using contemporary letters, military reports, and other primary sources, the author places the Creek War in the context of Tecumseh’s fight for Native American independence and the ongoing war between the United States and European powers for control of North America. The Creek War was marked by savagery, such as the murder of hundreds of settlers at Fort Mims, Alabama—the largest massacre of its kind in United States history—and fierce battles, including Horseshoe Bend, where more Indian warriors were confirmed killed than in any other single engagement in the long wars against the Indians. Many notable personalities fought during the conflict, including Andrew Jackson, who gained national prominence for his service, Sam Houston, War Chief William Weatherford, and Davy Crockett. When the war was over, more than twenty million acres had been added to the United States, thousands of Indians were dead or homeless, and Jackson was on his way to the presidency. The war also eliminated the last effective Native American resistance to westward expansion east of the Mississippi, and by giving the United States land that was ideal for large-scale cotton planting, it laid the foundation for the Civil War a generation later. A Paradise of Blood is a comprehensive and masterful history of one of America’s most important and influential early wars.

Print length

560 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Westholme Publishing
Publication date

December 15, 2015
Dimensions

6 x 1.8 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1594161933
ISBN-13

978-1594161933
See all details

H. S. Halbert
17
Paperback
1 offer from $13.50
Peter Cozzens
91
Hardcover
69 offers from $13.15

Editorial Reviews

Review

“In this first comprehensive history of the Creek War of 1813–1814Weir offers readers a lively, engaging, and factually reliable narrative on a fascinating time in early America.”—Gregory A. Waselkov, author of A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813–1814
“A model operational analysis of irregular warfare.. . . Weir confidently shows that Creek capitulation ended effective Native American resistance east of the Mississippi, and their surrender of 21 million acres of land opened the region to cotton and slaves—thus ‘a new, peculiarly American, hell was born.’”—Publishers Weekly
“[A]meticulously researched and masterly work.”—A. J. Mergenthaler
“Weir has written the definitive account of the conflict.”—Historians Manifesto
“For most Americans, the Creek Indian War is at best a footnote to the War of 1812. Weir has shown that the war was something greater than that, a contest to determine the fate of nations. This book glows with Weir’s love of his subject and his evocation of the place.”—Stephen Goodwin, co-founder of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation
“A remarkable addition to Alabama history. . . . beyond impressive.”—Edwin G. Bridges, Director Emeritus of the Alabama Department of Archives
and History

About the Author

HOWARD T. WEIR, III has a BA in history from the University of California at Berkeley, an MFA from Hollins University, and a JD from the University of Alabama School of Law. He studied creative writing under James Dickey, George Garrett, and Lillian Hellman. He lives with his family in Washington, DC.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Westholme Publishing; 1st edition (December 15, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 560 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1594161933
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1594161933
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.98 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.8 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,607,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #342 in Canoeing
- #5,438 in Native American History (Books)
- #13,998 in American Military History

Customer Reviews:
4.7 37 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

37 global ratings

2 star

0%

1 star

0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all photos

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Charles J Platt

an excellent multi-layered book

Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2018

Verified Purchase

There is something different about this book. It is good history and well researched, but in reading it one gets an eerie sensation that the setting of the book is more important than the participants. Weir starts out with the de Soto expedition into the area. The de Soto expedition does harm but the native Americans of the region rebound and develop a thriving population and culture. The land remains pristine. By the time Americans begin to enter the area, it has a society of sedentary Native Americans living in towns, along beautiful rivers practicing both hunting and gathering and agriculture. Many of the inhabitants are products of cross cultural unions between European adventurers, traders, and soldiers and Native American women. In a matrilineal society, many of these cross cultural individuals become leaders of the Native American Society. Some speak European languages, some wear European clothes, some have highly refined European customs. Some have plantations replete with slaves. They are strangely unlike the opponents fighting Disney's Davy Crockett.

The conflict is about land, but it is more complex in that the fight is sparked by a religious revival amongst the Native Americans. The major theme of the revival is a conscious choice to fight against the culture of the American settlers. It is not just about who controls land but also what type of culture will be dominant. Add to this that the religious revivalism is an import from tribes north of the Ohio in the person of Tecumseh who is also advocating for a united Native American front against the Americans. All this played out on a setting that Weir brings life through his descriptions of the landscape the participants move through. A setting that sometimes seems to be working to protect the inhabitants from the press of the Americans. A setting that does not wish to become the hotbed of production of cotton for the market, but wanted to remain in its natural state. All the while the spirits of those ancient peoples who suffered and survived de Soto watch to see if their descendants will be as fortunate.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Eighth Streeter

Buy it for your library. Read it for your pleasure.

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2016

Verified Purchase

Mr. Weir has given us an eloquent and elegant account of the events of a critical period of US history. This densely researched and substantiated book, will almost certainly become the definitive historical work on the events and personalities of the time. But more than that, it is a thoroughly enjoyable recounting of the predations of both the Natives and the expansionist settlers in what was then the Southwestern US. It skillfully recounts the Messianic leadership, courage and cowardice, guile and idiocy, mercy and barbarity that characterized this, and other wars.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Alan P. Dye

A great read.

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2016

Verified Purchase

An eloquent account of a largely ignored series of crucial political events that opened up the land occupied by the Creeks to cotton production, thereby helping to create the South's slave economy and ultimately leading to the Civil War. A great read.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

John D. Gleissner

Good History

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2018

Verified Purchase

This detailed history tells the story of the Creek War from all perspectives, in all its intricate developments and personalities.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

M. T. James

Well written

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2018

Verified Purchase

A deep-dive into this Indian war. Very detailed and well written - a compelling read.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Avid Reader

Good book on this period of our history

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2017

Verified Purchase

Excellent book on this little known war in early American frontier history.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

This book has a nice cover so I bought it

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2018

Verified Purchase

I am a student of Creek Indian history and have read many books on the subject. This book has a nice cover so I bought it. I will decline making an in depth review but do have some issues that need pointing out. One thing I noticed was an odd, relentless character assassination of one particular Creek chef, Big Warrior. I do know that Big Warrior had a reputation of being greedy and self-serving, but was true of many other chefs,
and many of the white actors as well. Big Warrior was mentioned throughout the book but his Indian name, nor his American name, was never given by the author. This is true for some of the other major Indian participants as well. Lastly, although Big Warrior was mentioned dozens of times throughout the book, he is nowhere to be found in the index. Was this an oversight or done on purpose?

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

MRH

Great read

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2016

Verified Purchase

Best ever on this most interesting and formative period in American history

2 people found this helpful

Helpful