Neptune's Honor: A Story of Loyalty and Love

by Pamela Bauer Mueller

Born into slavery in 1831 on Retreat Plantation, St. Simons Island, Neptune became the childhood friend and servant of plantation heir Henry Lord King.  Their devoted friendship, which finally evolved into a shared struggle to survive on the Civil War battlefields, is an inspiring example of how two men from completely different backgrounds can stand united as brothers in times of sacrifice and tragedy.  This historical account of courage, honor, compassion and loyalty accurately chronicles family records of the man they called Neptune. Award winning author Pamela Bauer Mueller has dreamed of introducing her readers to the history of Georgia’s Golden Isles ever since she became a resident of coastal Georgia.  In Neptune’s Honor, she offers the unforgettable story of a noble servant named Neptune Small. 

Genres: School, Historical Fiction, Civil War

195 pages, Paperback & Hard cover

First published January 3, 2005

About the author

Pamela Bauer Mueller was raised in Oregon. She has worked as a flight attendant, commercial model and actress, English and Spanish teacher and a U.S. Customs Inspector. She now lives on Jekyll Island Georgia with her husband Michael and their cat Morgan Maurice.

Pamela's children and young adult books have awarded her numerous awards, including the 2006/2008 and the 2009 Georgia Author of the Year titles, three Mom's Choice and Children’s Choice gold medals, the Independent Publisher Gold Book awards and other national awards with Writer's Digest and ForeWord magazines. In her seventh historical novel, she recounts the life story of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, an unintended and inadvertent participant in the Lincoln assassination story.

Reviews

[Sharon]

If you've ever visited St. Simon's Island, you'll recognize some of the landmarks in this biographical novel. This is a fictional account of the true story of two men, Nathan and his master, "Lordy". As children, these two boys were raised together and grew to be almost as close as brothers. Later, Lordy goes to New York for his law degree. Finally, as young men, they go off to war on the Confederate side as officer and manservant.
This story’s overriding theme centers on loyalty and duty to a person who is good to you. However, the author, while touching on some issues of slavery, glosses over most of the reality of being owned by another person and the lack of freedom. After the Civil War, the King family did honor Neptune by giving him a tract of land on their plantation.

[Pascale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came upon this book while visiting St. Simon's Island.
The area is just beautiful and we had the opportunity to visit Neptune Park. At the time, we did not realize who Neptune Small was.
Ms. Mueller does a beautiful job with his amazing story.
I look forward to reading more of her books. I also would like to go back to St. Simon's Island and visit many of the places that were mentioned in the story.

[Missy vail · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very much touched by the dedication of friendship and loyalty between a slave and his plantation owner’s son. Plus, learning some of the history of the beautiful island I am lucky to live on!! Thank you, Pamela B. Mueller, for your time and the research that had to be done in order to bring Neptune Small’s touching story to your readers!!!!

[Barbara Finazzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Amazing Story

This was well researched and beautifully written. The story of one man's devotion to the family that owned him that endured his entire life . I love the sea islands of GA and now can appreciate the amazing history of the area even more. This is a story that will stay with you long after turning the last page.

[Judy Gresham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story of life from the slave’s point of view. Neptune grew up with the young master and was well cared for by the family. Lovely story.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Neptune, you know that people in other parts of this country don't have slaves, nor do they condone slavery. I explain to them that we need slaves because of our crops, and they tell me that y'all should be freed and paid for what you do. The more I listen to that, I'm wondering if they aren't right." He paused, and asked, "Would you want to be free?"

Previously, I read and enjoyed Pamela Mueller's books "Hello, Goodbye, I Love You" and "Aloha's Crossing." Now, in "Neptune's Honor," the author proves tremendous versatility as a writer with this historical account of wonderful people grappling with both beautiful (loyalty, love, weddings, etc.) and ugly (slavery, disease, politics, etc.) events leading up to the time of the Civil War. Loyalty of the sort that Neptune bestows upon Lordy and his family is practically unheard of in this day and age. It is humbling to think of the sacrifices that people like Neptune made for their "masters" during the days of slavery. In this story, the plantation owners, the Kings, treated slaves like Neptune with a great deal more respect than most plantation owners of the time likely treated their "servants." As the story illustrates, slavery came to be – and persisted - more out of necessity (for agricultural labor) than rationale (for taking into consideration that slaves were just as human as the people they served).

I highly recommend “Neptune’s Honor” for lovers of history and for readers who appreciate the intricacies of family and a special kind of “Master-Servant” brotherhood.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Neptune"s Honor" is a novel, rather than non-fiction, I believe, because the author assigned dialogue to real historical figures. Nevertheless, the author, obviously did considerable research and was able to talk with descendants of Neptune and the King family.
The story is rather unusual in that the slave Neptune is for all practical purposes treated as a son of the King family and brother of Mas' Lordy, the eldest son of the slave holding family. The story is about Neptune and his loyalty to Mas Lordy even following him into the Civil War. However, the author does not shy away from passages which recount the horrors of slavery and the yearning of slaves for freedom. The author's use of the slave dialect, is easily understood and adds to the flavor of the narrative. The author also does a wonderful job of describing St. Simons island, the location of the King plantation. Also of interest is the financial difficulties of the King family even before the disaster of the Civil War, which to me points to the basic economic fallacy on which slavery was based.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story I have been wanting to learn more about for years..since I took my first trolley ride on St. Simons Isl., GA years ago hearing snippets of the history of the Island. It is the true story of a privileged (for those times) slave, Neptune, devoted to his master and companion out of a true love for the man and family. What he does will touch the reader. This small piece of history is also a look into the civil war and how it changed the culture in the South. I really enjoyed this book and thank the author for giving Neptune Small the place in history he deserves.

[Graceann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, written for young people, is the story of Neptune Smalls, who was a slave on the Retreat Plantation at St. Simons Island, Georgia and who, when he could have taken his freedom, returned South with his dead master's body after he was killed in battle. Neptune is remembered fondly on St. Simons Island and the prettiest beach-front park is named for him.

[Jane R Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very touching story. Excellent for young readers.

[Vivian Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.