The Waterman's Song

“This is not a run-of-the-mill, parochial, local study. . . . Cecelski necessarily frames his study in ways that extend far beyond the North Carolina coastline. That Cecelski does so admirably makes this a fine book, refreshing in its scope even as it attends wonderfully to the details of local life. . . . [A] careful, persuasive study, one that will be immensely helpful to those seeking to understand both the diversity of southern slavery and the ways in which slaves embraced, shaped, and used a militant political culture.”—Journal of American History

“Highly original and well-written. . . . The Waterman’s Song is an exciting and important study that enriches the historiography of North American slave labor as well as the scholarship of nineteenth-century African American politics. Beautifully illustrated and impressively researched, it will appeal to general readers and academic specialists alike.”—Journal of Southern History

“[A] remarkable achievement . . . [that] links race and the environment in creative ways. [Cecelski’s] account revises static models of slavery and emphasizes the fluid, dynamic nature of the slave economy. At the same time, his love of coastal North Carolina makes this a compelling study of an early American environment. The sights, sounds, and smells of the land and water are evident on every page. Cecelski has written a classic study that will be read widely.”—Journal of Social History

“To make the infrastructure and complexity of a subculture such as maritime culture come alive within the context of a given dominant culture is a gift. It is a gift that David Cecelski possesses and shares with readers in The Waterman’s Song. . . . Cecelski is to be commended for tackling a topic that is complex, difficult to discern and easily distorted. His easy style of writing, combined with his passion for the topic, shines through the entire book, making it a wonderful read. . . . All readers of The Waterman’s Song, the casual as well as the devoté, cannot escape the expanded understanding of the maritime world that David Cecelski has given us.”—International Journal of Maritime History

“A richly textured and detailed description of slavery as practiced in maritime North Carolina. . . . Cecelski’s work is a model for the kind of deeper exploration cited as one of the next steps in slavery studies. The Waterman’s Song not only enriches out understanding of the slave experience but also demonstrates a critical link in the Atlantic network of communication and escape.”—Journal of the Early Republic

“Far more than a provincial study. . . . As a result of The Waterman’s Song, our sense of coastal Carolina is changed, changed utterly. . . . [T]hanks to David Cecelski’s eloquent study, we can see more clearly that we still live our lives in a vast palimpsest inscribed by African American maritime laborers.”—Southern Cultures

“The Waterman’s Song is not only important because it breaks new ground. it is exceptional in its feeling for time and place, its discussions of the great variety of work performed by slave fishermen and boatmen, its descriptions of the many boats used by slaves . . . and, as the title implies, its suggestion that the water seemed to symbolize freedom. . . . [G]roundbreaking, absorbing, and a model for historians.”—Journal of Interdisciplinary History

“[Cecelski’s] work has relevance in time and space for the entire coastline from eighteenth-century New England to 1850s Texas. . . . [M]aritime North Carolina fostered an uncommon world of life and labor. Cecelski has done much to reveal that experience and its significance—for the early national years, the antebellum period, the war years, and Reconstruction.”—Civil War History

“A fine book, refreshing in its scope even as it attends wonderfully to the details of local life. . . . A careful, persuasive study, one that will be immensely helpful to those seeking to understand both the diversity of southern slavery and the ways in which slaves embraced, shaped, and used a militant political culture.” — Journal of American History

“Celebrating North Carolina maritime slaves' insurgent, democratic ethos, Cecelski illustrates the variety of experiences under slavery with power and precision. His book ranks among the best of the new slavery studies.” — CHOICE