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Robert Benjamin Hicks III (January 30, 1951 – February 25, 2022) was an American author. He wrote the ''New York Times'' bestseller ''The Widow of the South'' and has played a major role in preserving the historic Carnton mansion, a focal point in the
Battle of Franklin The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, in Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate L ...
which occurred on November 30, 1864. ''Nashville Lifestyles'' Magazine named Hicks among the top 100 Reasons to Love Nashville, describing him as Nashville's "Master of Ceremonies".


Life and career

Robert Hicks was born in
West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...
, on January 30, 1951. He moved to
Williamson County, Tennessee Williamson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 247,726. The county seat is Franklin, Tennessee, Franklin, and the county is located in Middle Tenness ...
, in 1974 and lived near the Bingham Community at "Labor in Vain," his late-eighteenth-century log cabin. Hicks died from cancer near
Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020 Uni ...
, on February 25, 2022, at the age of 71.


Historic preservation

The
American Battlefield Protection Program The American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) is a United States federal government program created by the Secretary of the Interior in 1991, with the aim of preserving historic battlefields in the United States. In 1996, Congress signed into ...
has called his work to preserve the site of the
Battle of Franklin The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, in Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate L ...
"the largest battlefield reclamation in North American history." By the end of 2005, Franklin's Charge had already raised over 5 million dollars toward this goal, surpassing anything ever done within any other community in America to preserve battlefield open space. As Jim Lighthizer, President of the Civil War Preservation Trust has said, "There is no 'close second' in any community in America, to what Robert Hicks and Franklin's Charge has done in Franklin." The Governor named Hicks as a commissioner to plan out the 150th Anniversary of the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
in
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
.


Novels


''The Widow of the South''

Hicks became fascinated by the
Battle of Franklin The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, in Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate L ...
, Tennessee, a major battle which occurred in the final months of the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. During his many years working at Carnton, he began to develop a book idea, and during an accidental meeting with civil war historian and author
Shelby Foote Shelby Dade Foote Jr. (November 17, 1916 – June 27, 2005) was an American writer, historian and journalist. Although he primarily viewed himself as a novelist, he is now best known for his authorship of ''The Civil War: A Narrative'', a three- ...
, he received further encouragement to complete a historic novel about the battle. The result was Hicks' first novel, ''The Widow of the South'' (Grand Central Publishing, 2005; ''The Widow of the South'' was launched September 1, 2005 to overwhelming critical success, entering the
New York Times Bestseller List ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
after only one week out. The novel is centered around the Carnton Plantation and mansion which was commandeered by officers of the
Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...
as a hospital during the
Battle of Franklin II The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, in Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate ...
. Hicks creates a cast of characters including the Madame of the mansion,
Carrie Winder McGavock Caroline "Carrie" Winder McGavock ( Winder; September 9, 1829 – February 22, 1905) was an American slave owner and the caretaker of the McGavock Confederate Cemetery at Carnton, a historic plantation complex in Franklin, Tennessee. Her life ...
, and soldiers wounded during this monumental battle. The novel has been critically acclaimed as comparable to other literary works on the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
including ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...
'', and '' The Killer Angels''. In December 2005, Nashville's ''
The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, w ...
'' named him "Tennessean of the Year" for the impact ''The Widow of the South'' had on Tennessee, heritage tourism and preservation.


''A Separate Country''

Hicks' second novel, ''A Separate Country'' (Grand Central Publishing, 2009; ), was released on September 23, 2009.


''The Orphan Mother''

Hicks' third novel, ''The Orphan Mother'' (Grand Central Publishing, 2016, ISBN-139781455541737) was published on September 13, 2016.


Other writings and presentations

Sevewral of Hicks's essays on have been published. Hicks wrote op-eds for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' on contemporary politics in the South. He was also a regular contributor to ''
Garden & Gun ''Garden & Gun'' is a national magazine focusing on the Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is Lis ...
''. He traveled, throughout the nation, speaking on a variety of topics ranging from "Why The South Matters to The Importance of Fiction in Preserving History to Southern Material Culture" to "A Model for the Preservation of Historic Open Space for Every Community". Hicks's first book, a collaboration with French-American photographer Michel Arnaud, came out in 2000: ''Nashville: the Pilgrims of Guitar Town'' (New Line Books, 2005; ). He was co-editor (with Justin Stelter and John Bohlinger) of a collection of short stories, ''A Guitar and A Pen: Stories by Country Music's Greatest Songwriters'' (Center Street, 2008; ). He has also written the introduction to two books on historic preservation authored by photographer, Nell Dickerson: ''GONE: A Photographic Plea for Preservation'' (BelleBooks, 2011; ) and ''Porch Dogs'' (John F. Blair, 2013; ) In January 2016 Hicks was a panelist and featured speaker at the third annual Rancho Mirage Writers Festival in Rancho Mirage, CA. Along with American historian
H.W. Brands Henry William Brands Jr. (born August 7, 1953) is an American historian. He holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his PhD in history in 1985. He has authored more than thirty books o ...
, Hicks took part in the panel discussion "The War that Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Matters."


Battlefield Bourbon

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the
Battle of Franklin The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, in Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate L ...
, in 2014 Hicks released the first small batch of his bourbon whiskey Battlefield Bourbon. Each of the 1,864 bottles is numbered and signed by Hicks. About his decision to release Battlefield Bourbon he said, "My decision to only produce 1,864 bottles of Battlefield Bourbon this year makes it pretty much the smallest batch of small batch bourbon anywhere. Yet, it only seemed right as I promised myself that whatever I produced would be really good and really rare. Besides, as I am signing and numbering every bottle, I figured that I needed to protect the old signing hand and 1,864 bottles seemed like enough. Of course, 1864 is the year of the Battle of Franklin, which this sesquicentennial commemoration is all about."


References


External links


The Carnton Plantation websiteBrief Bio on Robert HicksRobert Hicks websiteFranklin's Charge websiteB. B. Kings Blues Clubs websiteReview in the ''Chattanoogan'' newspaper dated December 1, 2005 about Robert HicksThe McGavock Confederate Cemetery at Franklin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, Robert 1951 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American art collectors American historical novelists American male novelists Novelists from Florida Novelists from Tennessee People from West Palm Beach, Florida Writers from Nashville, Tennessee