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The Works of Matthew Blue
Montgomery's First Historian
Mary Ann Neeley

NewSouth Books
978-1-58838-031-9
$45.00 hardcover
7.625 x 9.25 
480 pages, 100 black-and-white photographs
Published in 2010
Historical

The 1878 city directory of Montgomery, Alabama, included "A Brief History of Montgomery," consisting of a "narrative" and a series of events arranged by the months. Compiled by Matthew Powers Blue, this was the earliest history of a place that had already served as the center of Deep South cotton culture and as the first capital of the Confederacy.

Contemporary historian Mary Ann Neeley has annotated Blue's history to correct errors and clear up inconsistencies. She has also added other material on early churches, a genealogy of the colorful Blue family, and a Civil War diary of by Blue's sister, Ellen. The books also includes many 19th-century photographs, maps, and an index.