Red Tears, Volume 1

Prudence Mims flourished as the youngest daughter of a prominent planter in the wilderness of the Tensaw Delta in present-day Alabama. The American Revolution ended forty years before and a steady stream of settlers from the former British Colonies flooded into the southern frontier wilderness. Samuel Mims and his brother David, came to the Mississippi Territory as Indian Traders during the American Revolution acquiring a land grant from the governor of Spanish West Florida and for years the Mims family lived in peace in the ancestral home of Creek Indians. During the years he lived with the Creeks and Cherokees, Mims learned the Creek language and customs becoming friends with many prominent Creek Chiefs including Chief Alexander McGillivray and Chief William Weatherford. However, everything changed when the United States exerted their territorial claims to the southern region of the American frontier. In 1799, a survey between the Mississippi Territory and West Florida moved the boundary to the north putting the Mims Plantation squarely in lands claimed by the United States. Before long, the violence between the Settlers and Woodland Indian Tribes escalated from the Great Lakes, across the Ohio River Valley and the Southern Frontier. During this Era of violence, a Shawnee Prophet emerged. The Prophet Tecumseh began preaching that the unification of all Native American Tribes was the only way to stem the tide of white settlers into their ancestral homelands. Many Creeks became followers of Tecumseh, began to believe that the only way to return to protect themselves from white aggressors was through purification of the Creek Race and a return to the old ways. As tensions between Native American Tribes and Americans settlers grew more and more violent, a great divide grew between factions of the Creek Tribe. The Red Sticks became followers of the Shawnee Prophet Tecumseh who began punishing Samuel Mims' Creek neighbors who'd settled in the Tensaw and become too Americanized. In time, Mims built a fort around his home for the protection of his property from Red Stick aggressions, but soon the Mims Family would become collateral damage in a game of cat and mouse when the Mississippi Volunteer Militia set up camp at what would become known as Fort Mims. Based on family lore, Red Tears is the untold story how Prudence Mims, her mother, and brothers narrowly escaped when these worlds collided on August 30, 1813, resulting in the worst massacre by Woodland Indians in American history - forever changing the framework of a continent.
About the Author: As a child, I remember the stories my mother and grandmother used to tell about me lineage, in particular, the story of the 1813 Massacre of Fort Mims. A few years ago, I began a journey researching our family lore, discovering something surprising. Historians consistently stated that no one knew the whereabouts of my kinfolks at the time of the massacre or their fate afterward. In my debut novel, Red Tears, I attempt to reveal insights into our family lore and their harrowing escape from the bloodiest massacre in the frontier history of the United States.Earning a Bachelor's of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M Kingsville in 1983, I enjoy my work designing and building pipelines, oil production facilities, refineries and chemical plants in the Gulf Coast region. As a Project Engineer, I have over thirty years of experience in writing highly technical documents like reports, specification, and procedures, and am excited about making the transition into historical literature. I must say it is very gratifying to know that I have finally written something that is entertaining to read.There is a joke among engineers that goes: The pessimist sees the glass as half empty. The optimist sees the glass as half full. The engineer has performed calculations that determined that the volume of the vessel is approximately twice as large as required for the application.I am delighted to see the glass half full