The life of Ethan Aaron Douglas is chronicled as the ten-year-old joins his grandfather for a life on the Chesapeake Bay. With his grandfather as captain of a steamboat traveling between Norfolk, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, the boy learns quickly about life on the water. From hurricanes to blue crabs life on the Bay changes quickly. Learning Shakespeare and witnessing a hanging are just part of the life along the river. Ethan Douglas' life brushes past major events in the United States from slavery to the underground railroad and the days leading up to the civil war. How did those who lived along the Potomac deal with active warfare during the War Between the States? Life was always a war on the water with pirates shooting at each other as well as Maryland and Virginia oyster police. Ethan's younger brothers and sisters soon join him as they grow older and become entrepreneurs as the nation's capital city grows and changes. From buyboats to newspapers the lives of the Douglas family become part of the history of the young nation. Oysters were the "white gold" of the east while railroads and shipping competed for freight. This book is the first in the series that will tell the story of life in the tidewater Chesapeake Bay region from 1850 to 1950.
About the Author: Follow the saga of the Douglas family as the ships of the Chesapeake sail through the beginning decades of the industrial revolution and the next century unfolds. As a maritime history speaker, Rossignol enjoys meeting audiences around the world and discussing the original news stories of the sinking of the RMS Titanic and other maritime history topics. In recent years Rossignol has appeared on dozens of ships in the Pacific, Panama Canal, Atlantic, Mediterranean and Caribbean discussing the stories of the heroes of the Titanic, the explorations of the new world voyagers, the Bermuda Triangle, the history of piracy and other maritime history topics. Rossignol regularly appears at the Titanic Museum Attractions in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and Branson, Missouri for book signings and to talk with visitors about the RMS Titanic. He has appeared on Good Morning America, ABC 20/20; ABC World News Tonight and in a currently running production of Discovery Channel Investigation Motives & Murders Series, A Body in the Bay. News coverage of Rossignol's landmark civil rights case, represented by Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz re: United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Rossignol v Voorhaar, 2003, included articles in most major news outlets, as well as a column by syndicated columnists James J. Kilpatrick. A strong highway safety advocate, Rossignol also publishes the DWIHitParade.com which focuses on impaired driving and the monthly publication, The Chesapeake. News coverage of Rossignol's DWIHitParade won an Emmy in 2012 for WJLA reporter Jay Korff and coverage of the St. Mary's Today newspaper by WUSA reporter Bruce Leshan was awarded an Emmy in 2000. Information on booking Rossignol to speak about the Titanic is available at TitanicSpeakersBureau.com.