This image is the cover for the book True Tales of Tennessee, American Chronicles

True Tales of Tennessee, American Chronicles

The Beginnings of the Volunteer State Tennessee was a remote place in 1810. By 1850, some of the most influential people in America had come from Tennessee, such as Sequoyah, David Crockett, the filibuster William Walker and the slave trader Isaac Franklin. Learn about the state's first steamboats and its initial telegraph message. Read newly discovered accounts from the Trail of Tears. Hop along the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad and relive the glory and tragedy. Author and columnist Bill Carey details these stories and more on early history in The Volunteer State.

Bill Carey

Bill Carey was a reporter in the 1990s and at various times worked for the Tennessean, Nashville Scene and nashvillepost.com, which he cofounded. He has authored, among other books, Fortunes, Fiddles, and Fried Chicken: A Nashville Business History and Runaways, Coffles and Fancy Girls: A History of Slavery in Tennessee . In 2004, Carey started Tennessee History for Kids, a nonprofit organization that helps public school teachers with Tennessee history and social studies. Somehow, he also finds time to write a monthly history column for Tennessee Magazine and a weekly history column that is published in about forty-five Tennessee newspapers. Bill has two grown children and lives in Williamson County with his wife, teenage son and cattle dog Riley, with whom he jogs every day.

The History Press