Fragments of the Ark: A Novel (Young Palmetto Books)

Fragments of the Ark follows the exploits of runaway slave Peter Mango, his family, and a band of fellow escaped slaves as they commandeer a Confederate gunboat out of Charleston harbor and deliver it to the Union navy. Mango is made captain of this liberated vessel and commands its crew through the duration of the war. He also travels to Washington to meet President Lincoln, adding his voice to others trying to persuade the president to allow black men to enlist in the armed forces. After the war Mango bought a home from his former master and became a political organizer for voting rights. Eventually he was elected a delegate to South Carolina's state convention to rewrite its constitution. Based on the inspirational life of Robert Smalls, Fragments of the Ark explores the American Civil War through the eyes of its most deeply wounded souls. Against this chaotic backdrop, the novel sweeps readers into Mango's heroic quest for the most basic of human rights—a safe haven to nurture a family bound by love and not fear, and the freedom to be the master of his own life. In the tradition of Alex Haley's Roots, Fragments of the Ark tells the heroic story of Peter Mango, a South Carolina slave whose daring Civil War escape from Confederate Charleston to the Union Navy brings him face-to-face with his freedom--and still closer to his own soul. From the author of Daddy Was a Number Runner. "Incredibly moving."--Maya Angelou. Louise Meriwhether's stunning first novel, Daddy Was a Number Runner, was celebrated by The New York Times Book Review as a work of "power and authenticity.... a most important novel," and is recognized as a classic American coming-of-age story. Ms. Meriwether's rich and deeply moving new novel - in the tradition of Alex Haley's Roots and Toni Morrison's Beloved - recounts the story of a South Carolina slave whose daring Civil War escape from Confederate Charleston to the Union Navy brings him face to face with his freedom, and closer still to his own soul.... The strong Gullah voices of the slaves of the South Carolina Sea Islands sang out, blending with the far-off sound of Union Navy vessels shelling the forts protecting rebel Charleston. Miraculously, from the shores of their verdant prison they knew that the promise of freedom lay at anchor just beyond the city harbor. And in the maelstrom that was the siege of Charleston, Peter Mango - ship pilot, husband, slave - spied a chance to slip from the shackles that both bound and sundered his family. A group of resolute runaways buoyed by hope but silent with fear assembled under the cover of night to attempt the preposterous: steal and deliver the gunboat Swanee to the Union Navy, running the gauntlet of massive Confederate forts that choked the route out of Charleston harbor. They were united in their flight by love and by painful histories: Peter with his daughter, Glory, and troubled wife, Rain, who grieved for lost loved ones not yet buried; July, who shaped his hopes into haunting wooden carvings; Brother Man and Sister, determined to return to the Master's land, but on their own terms; and Turno, Stretch, and Bite, for whom the long road to freedom was paved with difficult - and tragic - choices. "We is contrabands," Peter said. "We ain't slaves no more." Rising to the rank of Captain in the Union Navy, he was nonetheless surrounded by the ramparts of white prerogative, and haunted by the ever-present spectre of facing his former masters. And as Peter and his brothers-in-arms fought on behalf of family still kept behind Confederate lines, they were forced to navigate not only the treacherous waters of the South Carolina Sea Islands, but also the terrain of their inhuman experience - the legacy of children born of waking nightmares, and the bargains that their women were forced to strike with God. Vivid and unforgettable, FRAGMENTS OF THE ARK re-creates a conflict in our country's history through the eyes of its most deeply wounded souls. Against this chaotic backdrop, FRAGMENTS OF THE ARK sweeps us into Peter Mango's heroic quest for the most basic of human rights - a safe haven to shape a family bound by love and not fear, and the freedom to claim his own life.

Fragments of the Ark follows the exploits of runaway slave Peter Mango, his family, and a band of fellow escaped slaves as they commandeer a Confederate gunboat out of Charleston harbor and deliver it to the Union navy. Mango is made captain of this liberated vessel and commands its crew through the duration of the war. He also travels to Washington to meet President Lincoln, adding his voice to others trying to persuade the president to allow black men to enlist in the armed forces. After the war Mango bought a home from his former master and became a political organizer for voting rights. Eventually he was elected a delegate to South Carolina's state convention to rewrite its constitution.

Based on the inspirational life of Robert Smalls, Fragments of the Ark explores the American Civil War through the eyes of its most deeply wounded souls. Against this chaotic backdrop, the novel sweeps readers into Mango's heroic quest for the most basic of human rights—a safe haven to nurture a family bound by love and not fear, and the freedom to be the master of his own life.

Fragments of the Ark follows the exploits of runaway slave Peter Mango, his family, and a band of fellow escaped slaves as they commandeer a Confederate gunboat out of Charleston harbor and deliver it to the Union navy. Mango is made captain of this liberated vessel and commands its crew through the duration of the war. He also travels to Washington to meet President Lincoln, adding his voice to others trying to persuade the president to allow black men to enlist in the armed forces. After the war Mango bought a home from his former master and became a political organizer for voting rights. Eventually he was elected a delegate to South Carolina's state convention to rewrite its constitution. Based on the inspirational life of Robert Smalls, Fragments of the Ark explores the American Civil War through the eyes of its most deeply wounded souls. Against this chaotic backdrop, the novel sweeps readers into Mango's heroic quest for the most basic of human rights, a safe haven to nurture a family bound by love and not fear, and the freedom to be the master of his own life

Peter Mango - ship pilot, husband, slave - accomplished the impossible; he stole and delivered the gunboat Swanee to the Union Navy, bringing with a group of resolute runaways united in their flight by love, and by painful histories. Set in Charleston, South Carolina from 1861 to 1868, Louise Meriwether's rich and deeply moving novel recounts the story of Peter Mango, a slave whose daring Civil War escape from Charleston to the Union Navy brings him face-to-face with his freedom, and closer still to his own soul.

Publishers Weekly

This novel from the author of Daddy Was a Numbers Runner portrays a slave's escape from Charleston, S.C., during the Civil War.

"Based on the inspirational life of Robert Smalls, Fragments of the ark follows the exploits of runaway slave Peter Mango, his family and a band of fellow escaped slaves as they commandeer a Confederate gunboat out of Charleston Harbor and deliver it to the Union navy ... after the war Mango buys a home from his former master and becomes a political organizer for voting rights. Eventually he is elected delegate to South Carolina's state convention to rewrite its constitution"--Back cover A slave's bid for freedom during the Civil War based on a real-life black hero. Peter Mango hijacks a Confederate gunboat and delivers it to Union forces. Having gained his freedom, he becomes a river boat captain Peter Mango, his family, and other runaway slaves attempt to steal the Confederate gunboat Swanee and deliver it to the Union Navy