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by Jeffrey C. Benton (Editor)
Through Others' Eyes is a collection of twenty-seven published accounts of Montgomery, Alabama, covering the thirty-six years between April 1825 and May 1861. With two exceptions, the stays in Montgomery were quite short. Each account is preceded by biographical information about the author. The accounts were written by both famous and obscure travelers--American and European political and military personages, ministers, gentlemen scientists, authors and periodical correspondents, lecturers, entertainers, and even by what were professional travelers. In general, they wrote for commercial reasons; travel books were popular in the nineteenth century. Besides the inevitable comments on the horrible state of accommodations and food, and the trials of travel by stagecoach, steamboat, and railway, they commented on slavery, of course, but also on natural history, agriculture, gambling and drinking, Montgomery's hinterland, and Alabamians. The comments on the latter were both complimentary and not. Europeans and Americans tended to have differing opinions. Although the travelers' assessments were made hurriedly and tended to focus on differences rather than similarities--probably to promote sales--they do provide a captivating insight into antebellum Montgomery. Through Others' Eyes is a companion volume to The Very Worst Road: Travellers' Accounts of Crossing Alabama's Old Creek Indian Territory, 1820-1848.
Author Biography
JEFFREY C. BENTON, a retired Air Force colonel, has taught history and English at the University of Maryland Far East Division, The Citadel, the Air War College, Auburn University Montgomery, Troy University Montgomery, and The Montgomery Academy. His research interests are currently focused on local history. He has written extensively on Montgomery and its environs, including more than two hundred newspaper articles. His books on local history are A Sense of Place: Montgomery's Architectural Heritage, 1821-1951; The Very Worst Road: Travellers' Accounts of Crossing Alabama's Old Creek Indian Territory, 1820-1847; and They Served Here: Thirty-three Maxwell Men. He received his BA from The Citadel, as well as master's degrees in English, political science, and history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Auburn University Montgomery, and Auburn University. He and his wife, Karen, have two daughters, Carolina and Catherine.
