Book Synopsis
BARRACUDA: Con man, crook, hustler, swindler. Though a notorious scoundrel in his time, French has been relegated to a minor footnote in American antebellum and Civil War history. This cunning rascal, this delightful rogue, is brought out of the shadows and into the spotlight. The crafty Machiavellian contributed more to mid-nineteenth century history than has been previously documented.
In the era of steam, sail and horse, the rapidity of French's movement and breadth of his adventures is almost mind-numbing. As a runaway kid he fought in the British Navy in the first Opium War. When he was just 22 years old, he was a commission merchant and, a year later, built the first ocean going ship on the upper Mississippi. Before he was 30, he was the leader of an infamous gold rush expedition.; implicated in an irregular invasion of Cuba; jailed bandit and then military hero in Mexico; lawyer, district attorney, legislator, journalist, and political enforcer in California; part of an American cabal which governed Nicaragua; and, appointed but rejected Nicaraguan ambassador to the United States. He didn’t slow down in his 30s: he was a real estate developer; lawyer; journalist; part of a conspiracy to invade Mexico; suspected seditionist agitator and Confederate agent; jailed as a political prisoner; and, lawyer and purveyor for Union troops. His final days were spent in obscurity but the period was still peppered with the occasional swindle that garnered both regional and national attention. First and foremost, he was a barracuda.
Table of contents
Preface
1: The Barracuda
2: Early Life: A Good Kentucky Boy
3: Alton, Illinois: Into A Young Man
4: St. Louis: Young Entrepreneur
5: California Gold Rush: French’s Express Passenger Train
6: California Gold Rush: Across Texas to El Paso
7: Adventures in Mexico
8: California: Lawyer, Legislator, Journalist
9: Conquest of Nicaragua: Parker French the Filibuster
10: Ambassador to the United States
11: He “Turns Up” Again,,,, and Again
12: Knights of the Golden Circle
13: Secession and Civil War: Subversive and Swindler
14: Civil War: Conning Boston Elites
15: Civil War: A Rebel Comes to Connecticut
16: Civil War: Jailed in Fort Warren
17: Civil War: Lawyer and Purveyor
18: Small Time Scams- Bite Size Chunks
19: Deathbed and Funeral
Epilogue
In the era of steam, sail and horse, the rapidity of French's movement and breadth of his adventures is almost mind-numbing. As a runaway kid he fought in the British Navy in the first Opium War. When he was just 22 years old, he was a commission merchant and, a year later, built the first ocean going ship on the upper Mississippi. Before he was 30, he was the leader of an infamous gold rush expedition.; implicated in an irregular invasion of Cuba; jailed bandit and then military hero in Mexico; lawyer, district attorney, legislator, journalist, and political enforcer in California; part of an American cabal which governed Nicaragua; and, appointed but rejected Nicaraguan ambassador to the United States. He didn’t slow down in his 30s: he was a real estate developer; lawyer; journalist; part of a conspiracy to invade Mexico; suspected seditionist agitator and Confederate agent; jailed as a political prisoner; and, lawyer and purveyor for Union troops. His final days were spent in obscurity but the period was still peppered with the occasional swindle that garnered both regional and national attention. First and foremost, he was a barracuda.
Table of contents
Preface
1: The Barracuda
2: Early Life: A Good Kentucky Boy
3: Alton, Illinois: Into A Young Man
4: St. Louis: Young Entrepreneur
5: California Gold Rush: French’s Express Passenger Train
6: California Gold Rush: Across Texas to El Paso
7: Adventures in Mexico
8: California: Lawyer, Legislator, Journalist
9: Conquest of Nicaragua: Parker French the Filibuster
10: Ambassador to the United States
11: He “Turns Up” Again,,,, and Again
12: Knights of the Golden Circle
13: Secession and Civil War: Subversive and Swindler
14: Civil War: Conning Boston Elites
15: Civil War: A Rebel Comes to Connecticut
16: Civil War: Jailed in Fort Warren
17: Civil War: Lawyer and Purveyor
18: Small Time Scams- Bite Size Chunks
19: Deathbed and Funeral
Epilogue
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