The New Madrid earthquakes and aftershocks, from December 1811 to April 1812, have been the most powerful in American history. Thanks to sparse settlement in the Mississippi valley frontier, the devastation was limited. But Feldman expands the earthquakes influence to three stories: Indian relations and the War of 1812, the first western steamboat, and the downfall of a prominent family.
Strike Slip and Thrust Faults
The title of the book comes from the effect the first earthquake had on a section of the river. A large piece of land thrusted up on the Mississippi, forcing the water back. Other phenomena Feldman frighteningly presents: riverbanks crashing into the river, "sulphurious vapors" choking the air, flooding caused by groundwater bursting through frissures, cacophonous thunder, flashes of lightning, and islands and lakes disappearing.
Feldman also discusses the strange phenomena prior to the earthquakes. He labels 1811 a year of turmoil. The Great Comet blazed through the skies, a portent of disaster to some people. Unusual weather plagued America- heavy flooding in the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys, and hurricanes and tornadoes battered the eastern U.S.. Just before the earthquakes, the weather in the Mississippi Valley was abnormally warm and hazy for December. For good measure, there was a near total eclipse of the sun in September. Feldman certainly sets the mood for impending disaster.
But the author takes the time to explain the science behind the New Madrid earthquakes. The Mississippi river lies in a rift valley that inexplicably stopped pulling apart long ago. Underlying this rift valley is a complex network of faults. There are two strike slip faults in which two sides move horizontally to each other and a trust fault in which two sides press against each other.
Tecumseh, Nicholas Roosevelt, and the Lewis Family
The Lewis family settled in western Kentucky after financial hardship plagued them in Virginia. Money problems continued to hound Lilburne Lewis when he snapped and severed the head of his slave George. Lilburne and his brother Isham, nephews of Thomas Jefferson, hid the body in a fireplace. The first earthquake came a few hours later, toppling the chimney and extinguishing the fire, thus preserving the remains for discovery. Inclusion of this little known event by Feldman introduces the reader to slavery and the law in 1812 Kentucky.
Another little known event Feldman showcases the first steamboat to travel the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The ship New Orleans was designed by Nicholas Roosevelt, the great grand-uncle of Theodore Roosevelt and the top mechanic in America. On the Ohio during the first earthquake, the New Orleans proceeded to the Mississippi, its passengers witnessing incredible destruction. But the steamship navigated the western waters successfully and that would help key the development of the west, according to Feldman.
The earthquakes influenced better known events. Tension between the U.S. and the indians were rising in 1811. Tecumseh was campaigning for a pan-tribal confederation to oppose the Americans when he visited the Creeks in September. When they rejected Tecumseh, he said, "I will stamp my foot on the ground and shake every house in Tuckhatchabee." Once the earthquakes commenced, Tecumseh's prophecy seemed real. Feldman concludes that this partially hastened the indians to battle in the War of 1812.
Putting the New Madrid earthquakes into greater context, like the War of 1812, is the strength of this book. As fascinating as the earthquake's physical destruction was, weaving the first western steamboat trip and the Lewis murder into the book gives it more importance.
When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes
Published by Free Press, 2005, ISBN 0-7432-4278-5
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