All those interested in [the] Civil War . . . should put it on their “must-read” lists.
CIVIL WAR NEWS
“Joseph Kelly has written a provocative and multilayered analysis of the siege mentality in Charleston and the South prior to the Civil War. Kelly, a professor of literature and American studies, brings a literary sensibility to the craft of history writing, and the result is a joy to read. In addition to the military aspects of siege during the years of civil war, America’s Longest Siege addresses the siege of Africans and the siege of rhetoric, especially the ideological arguments of economic self-interest versus enlightened human rights. Original and illuminating, this book tackles profound questions of power and manipulation. This thoughtful and rewarding study should be taken seriously by scholars and enjoyed by general readers. It is an essential contribution to American history.”
—Orville Vernon Burton, author of The Age of Lincoln
Kirkus Reviews A tenacious chronicle of the pernicious construction of South Carolina’s slave-driven political orthodoxy. . . . The Denmark Vesey Rebellion of 1822 “burned all liberal sentiment” from the hearts of South Carolina whites, Kelly eloquently writes, making room for arguments for “perpetual slavery” as a necessary evil (and even, as a civilizing force on Africans, a “positive good”), encouraging politicians like Charleston Mayor James Hamilton Jr. to expel free blacks and instigate police-state measures…. An elucidating study.
Library Journal Kelly . . . brings a literary sensibility to this vivid and engrossing study of slavery in and around one of its trading hubs, Charleston, SC, site of the first and longest Civil War siege and a hotbed of political, economic, religious, and moral debates about importing, owning, and trading slaves.
History.Net South Carolina was the heart of the secessionist movement, and Charleston was the heart of South Carolina, which makes Joseph Kelly’s America’s Longest Siege one of the most important books on the war published in a long time. . .
Publishers Weekly This localized history successfully avoids the pitfalls of regionalism, and is a valuable and lucid addition to the Civil War literature.
Joseph Kelly 