Bøker av Christopher Slavens

Originally published by order of the Delaware General Assembly in 1863, Military Interference With the Election in Delaware, November 4, 1862 contains testimonies from nearly one hundred and thirty citizens about Republicans' use of federal troops to disarm volunteer militia companies and harass, assault, arrest, imprison, and disenfranchise Democratic voters. There are also dissenting voices who maintain that Southern-sympathizing Democrats planned to suppress the Republican or Union vote, and had to be restrained by force. The joint committee appointed by the General Assembly to investigate the controversy concluded that Republican politicians orchestrated a military invasion of Delaware "to defeat the fair expression of the popular will at the polls by the potent influence of Federal bayonets." The first edition of the committee's report and journal was never reprinted, and is one of the rarest books about Delaware history. This new edition, transcribed and edited by Christopher Slavens, will enable readers to read the hundreds of pages of testimonies about the events of 1862 for themselves, and make up their own minds about what happened, and why.

Peninsula Roots is a loosely organized collection of articles published on the blog of the same name between 2014 and 2020. From the early history of Trap Pond to the controversial origins of strange place-names to a deep dive into Nanticoke Indian genealogy to whether Delaware truly was the First State (spoiler alert: it wasn't), author Christopher Slavens explores a variety of topics relating to the history and folklore of the Delmarva Peninsula.

Between the 1930s and 1970s, a handful of writers mentioned old, mysterious, roof-like grave covers in cemeteries in Sussex and Wicomico counties on the Delmarva Peninsula. Their origins were unknown, but they were believed to be one to two hundred years old. Most marked graves without headstones. Since then, the roofed graves of Delmarva have been all but forgotten.Chris Slavens presents all of the available information about roofed graves, including newspaper articles, book excerpts, and old photographs, and investigates connections to Southern grave shelters and American Indian burial customs.