Carey Roberts brings to life the true story of these unlikely warriors and their heartbreaking sacrifice as they defy the odds and ultimately triumph in “Star-Spangled Sailors: A Novel of the Brave Watermen Defenders of Chesapeake Bay in the War of 1812”
Carey Roberts takes readers into the hearts and minds of this band of watermen, mostly young and more than a few free black men and boys, as they fight to defend their young country – even as formidable enemy soldiers march down Pennsylvania Avenue and burn the capitol.
While British warships plundered Chesapeake Bay in the War of 1812, America lacked a naval defense. Retired sea captain Joshua Barney left his Maryland farm to lead the Chesapeake Flotilla, a fleet of small open gunboats to battle a vastly superior British naval force. Roberts takes readers along as the watermen blow up their own barges to escape capture by the British, their valiant stand at Bladensburg and their desperate efforts to save Washington.
“This dauntless crew of oystermen and crabbers aboard Barney’s barges fought hard, only to be out-gunned and out-maneuvered by the British force in the summer of 1814. Still, these Bay warriors refused to wave the white flag in surrender. The brave men and boys of the flotilla proved to be the strongest line of American defense at the Battle of Bladensburg and in defense of Washington,” argues Roberts.
At the heart of the novel is sailing-master Jack Webster, a young flotilla captain who strives to match the heroic qualities of Joshua Barney, but who falters on the Bladensburg battlefield and then faces his own crisis of courage. Equally riveting is the story of the run-away slave, Mingo Jones, who enlisted on the flotilla purely as a means of self-survival but later must choose whether to risk his freedom to protect two young ship’s boys put in his care by Barney in the retreat to Washington. In contracts stand British Admiral Cockburn, a marauder, a plunderer and British General Robert Ross, beloved by the men he commands, but weary of war and uncertain of his mission in this rough land of the Chesapeake.
As we approach the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, Carey Roberts provides a meticulously researched account of Washington’s bravest band of defenders and their ultimate victory at Fort McHenry.
“Star-Spangled Sailors: A Novel of the Brave Watermen Defenders of the Chesapeake Bay in the War of 1812” is available for sale and online at Amazon.com and other channels.
About the Author:
Carey Roberts co-authored “Tidewater Dynasty” and is also the author of “Touch A Cold Door” and “Pray God to Die.” Her prize-winning script won the 1996 WorldFest, the Charleston International Film Festival Grand Award for Best Screenplay. Her articles have appeared in numerous national magazines and newspapers.
For more information on Carey as well as "Star-Spangled Sailors" please visit her website at:http://www.careycroberts.com/
