Hurd - After the fact: the surprising fates of American historys heroes, villains, and supporting characters

Dont read this book alone. Make sure theres someone seated next to you at all times, because youre going to want to stop every three or four minutes and say, No way! Did you know? This book is filled with surprisesand also with meticulous research, crisp writing, and biting humor. After the Fact reminds us that history can and should be fun. Its so good youll have to share it.

Jonathan Eig, New York Times bestselling author of Get Capone, Opening Day, and Luckiest Man

Christopher Columbus in chains? Pocahontas in London? Who knew? Owen Hurd brings history to life in this wonderfully readable book that will engage everybody who cares about this countrys history. Youll laugh when you read that Jackie Robinson took a job at Chock Full o Nuts, youll cry when you find out what happened to freedom fighter Harriet Tubman, and youll never look at history the same again.

Richard Cahan, author of Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows and The Lost Panoramas

A FTER THE F ACT

The Surprising Fates of American Historys
Heroes, Villains, and Supporting Characters

OWEN J. HURD

A PERIGEE BOOK

A PERIGEE BOOK

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

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Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright 2012 by Owen J. Hurd

Text design by Kristin del Rosario

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

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First edition: August 2012

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hurd, Owen.

After the fact : the surprising fates of American historys heroes, villains, and supporting characters / Owen J. Hurd.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN: 978-1-101-61072-5

1. United StatesHistoryAnecdotes. 2. United StatesBiographyAnecdotes. I. Title.

E178.6.H88 2012

973dc23 2012009639

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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ALWAYS LEARNING

PEARSON

To Geralyn,

Who walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies

Many people lent their ears and opinions in the early stages of this books genesis, especially my sibling editorial team of Clare Abbene, Cheri Carpenter, and Bill Hurd. I also routinely drew on the love and support of my other brother, John, and sister, Ellen, as well as my mother, Mary Lee Hurd.

My clear-eyed and levelheaded agent, David Fugate, took a chance on what he instinctively knew was a good idea and helped shape it into a viable book proposal. Perigee senior editor Meg Leder was a big fan from the start and helped make the final product immeasurably better.

Fellow Chicago author Jonathan Eig was kind enough to review a portion of the manuscript. Dave Leitch read every page of the manuscript, providing useful and encouraging feedback all the way. He unfailingly responded to each chapter before the next one was delivered to him. My attempts to keep pace with him kept me on schedule.

Finally, I would be unable to write any book-length work without the love and support of my family, including my incredibly understanding wife, Geralyn, whose keen editorial instincts helped shape the book in its earliest stages, and my son, Patrick, who surprises and delights me almost every day on his way to becoming a very impressive young man. I love you both so very much.

Were all familiar with the momentous events in our nations history: Columbuss journey to the Americas, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Abraham Lincolns assassination, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. But what about the lives lived after the fact?

What happened, for example, to Paul Revere after his famous midnight ride? A better messenger than soldier, Revere was later kicked out of the militia for his role in the Penobscot Expedition, the most disastrous naval blunder of the Revolutionary War.

What became of Lewis and Clark in the years after their exploration of the American interior? Meriwether Lewis suffered a precipitous downfall, committing suicide just three years after the duos triumphant return from the wilderness. William Clark, on the other hand, lived a successful and fulfilling life, marred only by his governments shameful treatment of the American Indians he had befriended.

What became of the men who dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Or the scientists who developed the bomb? Or the survivors of those horrific attacks? And why did it take sixty years to publish the first eyewitness account written by a Western reporter to enter Nagasaki?

Instead of rehashing the well-known events in American history, this book picks up where traditional histories leave off, kind of like History 101 meets Where Are They Now? See what became of our nations heroes and villains as well as the supporting characters who played key roles in major historical events. After all, famous people dont stop living after theyve achieved their greatest triumphs or committed their most notorious crimes.

Some of the stories provide tales of scandal and degradationof people who once breathed rarefied air, only to lose their status, their wealth, or their sanity long after the nations attention veered elsewherelike Mary Lincoln, who spent the rest of her life in grief and poverty (sometimes actual, other times perceived), suffering bouts of despair and madness.

Other stories show how the human spirit can overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges and crushing grief. Elizabeth Custer, for example, after her husbands foolhardy last stand, became a successful author and champion of her late husbands legacy.