Book Review: Israel on the Appomatox
Israel on the Appomatox: A Southern Experiment in Black Freedom from the 1790s Through the Civil War by Melvin Patrick Ely. Alfred A. Knopf. 640 pages. $35.00
Beware of geeks bearing gifts. On the face of it, this book promises insight into the lives of Afro-Virginians living on the Appomatox 200 years ago. They faced feuds, prejudice and legal disputes from the time they were given a stretch of land called Israel Hill by Richard Randolph in the 1790s.
Randolph was a visionary aristocrat who had plenty of land to give, but it's what his liberated slaves (nicknamed Israelites) did with the land that's inspiring. They made good use of Randolph's legacy, following the laws of a land that was never fair to them, creating a strong community that weathered decades of hardship.
Ely has pored over thousands of documents to authentically reproduce everyday life on Israel Hill. It’s a shame, then, that the resulting book has a by-the-numbers style, heavy on facts (the notes alone take up 40 pages), light on analysis. The result is a book that’s duller than an overcast Sunday, with so much repetition that the author might as well have named it twice.
Community members like Isham Smith fell in love, bought and sold property, had legal battles, chased their dreams and caught a few of them. It’s no great revelation that ex-slaves owned land – or even that they owned slaves. The book explodes some myths and the lives of the time are depicted with literary aplomb. But if the author intends to teach his readers how to live better lives and co-exist with all creeds, putting them to sleep by page 50 ain't a good way of doing it. Even Ely describes some of his reference materials as "dry annals" when he refers to the heady subject of highway maintenance.
In keeping with the usual formula of this kind of book, we're introduced to various folk who played a part in the existence of Israel Hill. In Chapter 1 it’s Sam White, the owner of a small farm and a free black man. Chapter 2’s protagonist is Richard Randolph. We're told what they did and how they lived, but we never find out who they really were – what made them tick, or why they made their sometimes unorthodox decisions. The main exception is Randolph, whose reluctance to own slaves doesn't stop him from keeping them until his death.
The best thing about this book isn't its teeming cast of characters or inspirational themes. The context gives a great depth, the backdrop to the Afro-Virginians' lives. Through them, Ely covers the changing attitudes to slavery, the 1830s Depression, the arrival of the railroads, and every other conceivable aspect of their world from boating to banjo playing.
This attention to detail hinders the progress of the narrative, but it gives the reader glimpses of important historical developments in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ely mentions the Nat Turner Revolt, where a group of slaves marched through Virginia, killing over 50 whites. As a result, the Israelites' guns were confiscated and they were treated with increased suspicion, although in the main they continued to be treated with civility. It made economic sense for their white neighbors to trade with them as free men and women.
The author also points out the irony that the boatmen from Israel Hill, who relied on transporting goods along the river to make their living, were partially responsible for their industry’s decline; the railroad needed bridges, and they carried the materials upstream for the vital Appomatox High Bridge.
While history unfolds and affects the Israelites, Ely continually emphasizes that once they had a plot of land to own, the Afro-Virginians gained autonomy, co-existing with their white neighbors and living in a similar way. He tells us that, "they lived in a society where alcohol was the staple of local hospitality," and that they had the same sense of Southern honor and "sue thy neighbor" attitude, with disputes often leading to litigation.
He cites the case of Thomas Bowman, who didn’t receive the payment he was due from his white employer, John Childress, for farm labor. A white jury found for Bowman, and Childress paid up. There are other cases mentioned where justice wasn't so blind, yet being free meant having many opportunities unavailable to slaves.
The book’s real flaw is the way that it presents information. Instead of taking a theme and developing it, Ely packs each chapter with minutiae that threaten to drown the characters and obscure the most important information. The readers are treated like archaeologists, required to dig for essential details in a book that's part textbook, part dramatic narrative, and all compromise. The Israelites deserve better.
Beware of geeks bearing gifts. On the face of it, this book promises insight into the lives of Afro-Virginians living on the Appomatox 200 years ago. They faced feuds, prejudice and legal disputes from the time they were given a stretch of land called Israel Hill by Richard Randolph in the 1790s.
Randolph was a visionary aristocrat who had plenty of land to give, but it's what his liberated slaves (nicknamed Israelites) did with the land that's inspiring. They made good use of Randolph's legacy, following the laws of a land that was never fair to them, creating a strong community that weathered decades of hardship.
Ely has pored over thousands of documents to authentically reproduce everyday life on Israel Hill. It’s a shame, then, that the resulting book has a by-the-numbers style, heavy on facts (the notes alone take up 40 pages), light on analysis. The result is a book that’s duller than an overcast Sunday, with so much repetition that the author might as well have named it twice.
Community members like Isham Smith fell in love, bought and sold property, had legal battles, chased their dreams and caught a few of them. It’s no great revelation that ex-slaves owned land – or even that they owned slaves. The book explodes some myths and the lives of the time are depicted with literary aplomb. But if the author intends to teach his readers how to live better lives and co-exist with all creeds, putting them to sleep by page 50 ain't a good way of doing it. Even Ely describes some of his reference materials as "dry annals" when he refers to the heady subject of highway maintenance.
In keeping with the usual formula of this kind of book, we're introduced to various folk who played a part in the existence of Israel Hill. In Chapter 1 it’s Sam White, the owner of a small farm and a free black man. Chapter 2’s protagonist is Richard Randolph. We're told what they did and how they lived, but we never find out who they really were – what made them tick, or why they made their sometimes unorthodox decisions. The main exception is Randolph, whose reluctance to own slaves doesn't stop him from keeping them until his death.
The best thing about this book isn't its teeming cast of characters or inspirational themes. The context gives a great depth, the backdrop to the Afro-Virginians' lives. Through them, Ely covers the changing attitudes to slavery, the 1830s Depression, the arrival of the railroads, and every other conceivable aspect of their world from boating to banjo playing.
This attention to detail hinders the progress of the narrative, but it gives the reader glimpses of important historical developments in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ely mentions the Nat Turner Revolt, where a group of slaves marched through Virginia, killing over 50 whites. As a result, the Israelites' guns were confiscated and they were treated with increased suspicion, although in the main they continued to be treated with civility. It made economic sense for their white neighbors to trade with them as free men and women.
The author also points out the irony that the boatmen from Israel Hill, who relied on transporting goods along the river to make their living, were partially responsible for their industry’s decline; the railroad needed bridges, and they carried the materials upstream for the vital Appomatox High Bridge.
While history unfolds and affects the Israelites, Ely continually emphasizes that once they had a plot of land to own, the Afro-Virginians gained autonomy, co-existing with their white neighbors and living in a similar way. He tells us that, "they lived in a society where alcohol was the staple of local hospitality," and that they had the same sense of Southern honor and "sue thy neighbor" attitude, with disputes often leading to litigation.
He cites the case of Thomas Bowman, who didn’t receive the payment he was due from his white employer, John Childress, for farm labor. A white jury found for Bowman, and Childress paid up. There are other cases mentioned where justice wasn't so blind, yet being free meant having many opportunities unavailable to slaves.
The book’s real flaw is the way that it presents information. Instead of taking a theme and developing it, Ely packs each chapter with minutiae that threaten to drown the characters and obscure the most important information. The readers are treated like archaeologists, required to dig for essential details in a book that's part textbook, part dramatic narrative, and all compromise. The Israelites deserve better.
posted by Nick Smith at
8:57 AM
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