Americans in Egypt, 1770–1915

The voices of Americans have long been absent from studies of modern Egypt. Most scholars assume that Americans were either not in Egypt in significant numbers during the nineteenth century or had little of importance to say. This volume shows that neither was the case by introducing and relating the experiences and attitudes of 15 American personalities who worked, lived, or traveled in Egypt from the 1770s to the commencement of World War I. Often in their own words, explorers, consuls, tourists, soldiers, missionaries, artists, scientists, and scholars offer a rare American perspective on everyday Egyptian life and provide a new perspective on many historically significant events. The stories of these individuals and their sojourns not only recount the culture and history of Egypt but also convey the domination of the country by European powers and the support for Egypt by a young American nation.

The late Cassandra Vivian, a writer, photographer, historian, and world traveler, was the author of several books, including a definitive guide to the vast western desert of Egypt. She earned awards from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and Pennsylvania Humanities and the Arts.

Cassandra Vivian
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 282
Bibliographic Info: 21 photos, 8 maps, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6304-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9116-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments ix
Preface 1
Introduction 5
1. John Antes: A Forgotten American Voice (Missionary, 1770) 9
2. John Ledyard: The Man Who Walked the World (Explorer, 1788) 24
3. William Eaton: To the Shores of Tripoli (Soldier, 1804–1805) 39
4. Francis Barthow: American Dragoman in Egypt (Explorer, c. 1804–1840) 56
5. George Bethune English and the Egyptian Army Expedition of 1820–1821 (Explorer) 73
6. The Gliddons and the Beginning of American-Egyptian Relations (Consular Service, 1832–1840) 95
7. Sarah Rogers Haight Steamin’ to Egypt: The American Traveler Is Born (Traveler, 1836) 112
8. Bayard Taylor’s Twice-Told Tale (Traveler, 1851–1852 and 1874) 125
9. Charles Hale: An Enigma (Consular Service, 1864–1868) 140
10. Charles Chaillé-Long: The Man Who Fought an Empire (Soldier, 1869–1882) 155
11. Ulysses S. Grant: The King of America’s Progress through Egypt (Traveler, 1877) 168
12. Fanny Stone: Diary of an American Girl in Cairo (Soldiers, 1877) 180
13. Anna Young Thompson: Diary of a Trip on the Ibis (Missionary, 1887) 194
14. Walter Granger and the American Museum of Natural History’s Expedition to the Fayoum (Scientist, 1907) 207
15. Theodore M. Davis: America’s Man in the Valley of the Kings (Scientist, 1889–1915) 221
Notes 235
Works Cited 253
Index 263

“A meticulously researched and written account”—KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt