"The 1856 summer season was like so many that had come before--uneventful, ifyllic. The South's newest and most popular watering spot was a microcosm of Louisiana's antebellum econimic and social structure. More than four hundred vacationers--wealthy sugar planters, powerful politicians, their families, friends and servants--had come to the island to escape the hot August sun. The waters of the Gulf were cool, its breezes fresh. Life was good. On the horizon, however a massive cloud formation was about to tell a much different story. On that fateful day, August 10th 1856, a devastating Category Four hurricane destroyed Last Island. The chaos and confusion that initially reigned gave way in time to a generation of Civil War and Reconstruction. After more than one hundred and fifty years--and the devastation of Katrina--the story remains layered with myths. "Last Days of Last Island" removes that shroud and presents the first comprehensive account of the hurricane of 1856, "Louisiana's first great storm."--Back cover.

"The great storm of August 1856 was a pivotal event that disrupted lives throughout the Gulf Coast . . . . Bill Dixon's engrossing narrative will captivate anyone who has ever experienced a major storm." -Carl A. Brasseaux