Ocean of Fire: The Burning of Columbia, 1865 (Horrors of History Series)

by T. Neill Anderson

Overview

Based on the actual fire that swept through Columbia, South Carolina, after the city surrendered to General Sherman’s Union troops, Ocean of Fire details life in the South at the end of the American Civil War. Supported by thorough research, narrative accounts of actual historical persons as well as fictionalized characters comprise the novel. Follow 17-year-old Emma, her family, and potential Confederate spy, Charles Davis, as a chaotic community tries to survive a blazing firestorm. The second book in the Horrors of History series, Ocean of Fire makes history accessible, questioning who could have started this controversial fire and exploring how the closing weeks of the war affected citizens and slaves alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607345411
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	02/11/2014
Series:	Horrors of History Series
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
Lexile:	890L (what's this?)
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

T. Neill Anderson is a writer and editor living in Brooklyn, New York. This is his second book for young adults and the second in the Horrors of History series.

Read an Excerpt

Emma rummaged through the cabinets and drawers of the hospital supply room for anything that might ease Carrie's cough. Bandages, droppers, towels . . . nothing useful. Slamming a drawer shut, she stepped back over to the window. The fires looked ready to devour every structure on Richardson. Anger surged within her. She knew in her heart that these fires were not accidents but a plan passed down from Sherman himself to destroy Columbia. Yes, the wind and the cotton in the streets were doing their part to spread the blazes, but what about the soldiers she'd seen running around wildly, plundering stores and houses that suspiciously caught fire just as they exited?

Table of Contents

Prologue vii; Chapter 1: Columbia Will Fall…..1; Chapter 2: Wailing and Writhing…..20; Chapter 3: Trails…..36; Chapter 4: A Horrid Sight…..52; Chapter 5: The Gates of Hell Opened…..68; Chapter 6: Night Turned to Noon…..85; Chapter 7: At the Point of a Bayonet.....98; Chapter 8: The Devil's Own.....111; Chapter 9: Every Bit Gone.....124; Chapter 10: Bones Picked Clean.....136; Chapter 11: Fossils and Ashes.....149; Epilogue 163; Author's Note 165; Photo Credits 167

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2014
Gr 6–10—Ocean of Fire presents the events of the burning of Columbia, South Carolina, in 1865 by General William T. Sherman's army, as seen by 17-year-old Emma LeConte, who is trying to protect her family from the Yankee soldiers; her uncle and father, who are taking supplies out of the city so they don't fall into enemy hands; and Reverend Porter, a local resident. Other characters include Charles Davis, a Yankee soldier who seems to be a spy, and Lieutenant McQueen, an officer in the Northern army who protects Emma's family from harm at the hands of Sherman's men. Unfortunately, the amount of historical detail compromises the novel's readability. The pace is slow and the language is dry. The foreshadowing of the tragedy is overpowering as all of the scenes in the first half of the book appear to be included simply to point out how easily the city could burn, and the alternating points of view distract from the immediacy of the events. The characters' voices are not distinct, and so many people are introduced that readers don't become fully in invested in their plight. It's a struggle to remember who they all are and what role they are playing in the unfolding story. This novel will not generate much traffic.—Tammy Turner, Centennial High School, Frisco, TX

School Library Journal

2013-12-18
Only readers with a strong knowledge of and interest in the Civil War will persist in reading this grim, stilted novel about the burning of Columbia, S.C. When Union soldiers marched into Columbia in 1865, the city was a potential tinderbox of strong winds and loose bales of cotton. After drunken Yankee soldiers started fires both accidentally and intentionally, the wind kept them going. This fictionalized third-person narrative tells of Emma LeConte, a real young woman who left a diary. She watches from her family's home as other houses burn up and the local hospital, full of injured Union and Confederate soldiers, is evacuated. The story shifts at times to Emma's father, a chemist who flees with Confederate medicines and chemicals to keep them safe, only to find danger on the road. The third main character, Rev. Anthony T. Porter, who also left an account, is shown trying to keep his family safe. Unfortunately, neither characters nor relationships are developed; readers are simply told what characters feel, especially how much Emma despises Yankees. The focus is on events, but Anderson provides too little context to explain the level of hatred between Southerners and Union soldiers after so many years of war and loss. The awkward combination of facts and fiction fails to adequately inform or engage readers, despite the dramatic topic. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews