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When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-12

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When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-12From Jay Feldmen comes an enlightening work about how the most powerful earthquakes in the history of America united the Indians in one last desperate rebellion, reversed the Mississippi River, revealed a seamy murder in the Jefferson family, and altered the course of the War of 1812. On December 15, 1811, two of Thomas Jefferson's nephews murdered a slave in cold blood and put his body parts into a roaring fire. The evidence would have been destroyed

From Jay Feldmen comes an enlightening work about how the most powerful earthquakes in the history of America united the Indians in one last desperate rebellion, reversed the Mississippi River, revealed a seamy murder in the Jefferson family, and altered the course of the War of 1812.

On December 15, 1811, two of Thomas Jefferson's nephews murdered a slave in cold blood and put his body parts into a roaring fire. The evidence would have been destroyed but for a rare act of God--or, as some believed, of the Indian chief Tecumseh.

That same day, the Mississippi River's first steamboat, piloted by Nicholas Roosevelt, powered itself toward New Orleans on its maiden voyage. The sky grew hazy and red, and jolts of electricity flashed in the air. A prophecy by Tecumseh was about to be fulfilled.

He had warned reluctant warrior-tribes that he would stamp his feet and bring down their houses. Sure enough, between December 16, 1811, and late April 1812, a catastrophic series of earthquakes shook the Mississippi River Valley. Of the more than 2,000 tremors that rumbled across the land during this time, three would have measured nearly or greater than 8.0 on the not-yet-devised Richter Scale. Centered in what is now the bootheel region of Missouri, the New Madrid earthquakes were felt as far away as Canada; New York; New Orleans; Washington, DC; and the western part of the Missouri River. A million and a half square miles were affected as the earth's surface remained in a state of constant motion for nearly four months. Towns were destroyed, an eighteen-mile-long by five-mile-wide lake was created, and even the Mississippi River temporarily ran backwards.

The quakes uncovered Jefferson's nephews' cruelty and changed the course of the War of 1812 as well as the future of the new republic. In When the Mississippi Ran Backwards, Jay Feldman expertly weaves together the story of the slave murder, the steamboat, Tecumseh, and the war, and brings a forgotten period back to vivid life. Tecumseh's widely believed prophecy, seemingly fulfilled, hastened an unprecedented alliance among southern and northern tribes, who joined the British in a disastrous fight against the U.S. government. By the end of the war, the continental United States was secure against Britain, France, and Spain; the Indians had lost many lives and much land; and Jefferson's nephews were exposed as murderers. The steamboat, which survived the earthquake, was sunk.

When the Mississippi Ran Backwards sheds light on this now-obscure yet pivotal period between the Revolutionary and Civil wars, uncovering the era's dramatic geophysical, political, and military upheavals. Feldman paints a vivid picture of how these powerful earthquakes made an impact on every aspect of frontier life--and why similar catastrophic quakes are guaranteed to recur. When the Mississippi Ran Backwards is popular history at its best.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Free Press
Published: 04/07/2012
ISBN: 9780743242790
Pages: 320
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.80d
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SKU: 77915590741

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San Leandro, US
★★★★★ 4
Nice tactile feel
Style: 2024 Model
Works right out of the box. Installation was simple. Probably should have gotten the next small size, as it is larger than I expected. But I like the key response and the feel of the mouse, so I'm keeping it. Nice, inexpensive keyboard and mouse.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2025
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K. Gallagher
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 5
HIGHLY RECOMMEND
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LOVE LOGITECH PRODUCTS. BEEN USING THEIR KEYBOARD AND MOUSE FOR 30 YEARS. A BIT PRICEY BUT WELL WORTH IT. OVER 30 YEARS I HAVE ONLY NEEDED TO REPLACE THE SET 2 TIMES BUT IM A FAST TOUCH TYPER
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K Williams
Bozeman, US
★★★★★ 1
Well, Logi (Logitech)'s normally great record has been broken...
Style: 2024 Model
Gotta vent. I've had my Logitech K800 forever and a day and LOVED it. Never any performance problems, smooth, comfortable, easy to use, and took a beating daily for years. Got it through work, so it was more expensive than your usual, but it couldn't last forever. It started being unable to take a charge, so I knew I would have to retire it. (They stopped making these (WHY???) and they're selling after-market for a fortune.) I have Logi all things keyboard, mouse, etc., so went with them again. Bought a K650, but out of the gate, it started doing weird stuff, like repeating keys when you weren't even touching the keyboard, jamming up, or just stopping functioning. Did all the usual troubleshooting, but nothing worked. Just to save time, I sent it back here and replaced it with an MK540. Son of a gun if it didn't start immediately doing the same things. NOW I was cranky, so I did my online research and learned these are well known problems for others, who also couldn't solve them. I then went to Logi tech support. Got a level 1 person who walked me through the standard steps I'd already done multiple times (Did you turn it off and on again? :-D), gave me long lists of things to try, then at the end, when nothing worked said, "Well, it's within 30 days so just return it to the seller, and here's a link to our other keyboards." "Ummm," I said, "this is the exact same circumstance with two DIFFERENT keyboards in a row. As I had no trouble with my previous Logi keyboard, and nothing else has changed on my end, it seems logical that the problem is with the new software, hardware or some QA problem with producing these models. Why would I go buy another one when we don't know WHY it's doing this, suggesting I could go through this all over again?" (BTW, a MAJOR inconvenience for days). Her answer (twice): "Don't worry, it'll be fine, just go get another one." OMG. Stubborn, so I gave it a third shot (MX Mechanical) now for 3x the money hoping better quality would help, but guess what? I've now received my 3rd notice from Amazon saying delivery will be delayed, this time with no date estimate known. I tried, Logi, but even I am done. Buying a highly rated other keyboard that has all the features I need. Logi, not sure what you're doing with these membrane ones (vs. mechanical), but it's not working. If you could ship me a K800, I'd so appreciate it. :-D K
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Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2024
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John R
Lake Worth, US
★★★★★ 5
Perfect keyboard with wireless Unifying Receiver
Style: 2024 Model
I've tried and had to return multiple $100+ keyboards due to irregular F1-F12 or arrow key layouts, dreaded Fn key in the lower-left, mushy key travel feel, etc. I've been using exclusively Logitech keyboards & mice since the 90's, but gave up and tried venturing to other brands like Keychron (had issue with inadvertent key presses when pausing fingers over keys). But this simple keyboard just gets it right. I didn't even need the bundled mouse since I use Logitech MX Master 2S, but like that I can use the same Logi Unifying Receiver and Options+ software (optional). There are dedicated keys: * power on/off colored slider * play/rewind/ff * volume mute/down/up * calculator * battery level * 2 user-configurable buttons * Fn+ F1-F8 are also configurable The are 3 height levels, built-in mini palm rest (I still use a big keyboard mat beneath), slot for Unifying Receiver and 2 AA under the battery cover. Minor issue is the batteries clack when using the F5-F12 keys (just below where the batteries are), but I taped a little strip of foam on the inner side of the battery cover to resolve it. Also great is Logitech MK270, which is more compact, light, and perfect for the road. Both have amazing battery life.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2025
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Matthew T
Houston, US
★★★★★ 5
solid keyboard and mouse, quiet keys
Style: 2024 Model
solid keyboard and mouse, quiet keys
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Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2026

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