Anna Swan Rogers is the pen name of a woman who is a Southport native, and a Lifetime Member of the Southport Historical Society since 2004. With the exception of time away at college, Anna has lived and worked in Southport all her life.

“Salubrious Breezes” and “Sophie’s Bluff” were written during a time in Anna’s life when she had to retire suddenly from working as a letter carrier, due to a diagnosis of aggressive, late-stage breast cancer. During this time of cancer treatment and surgery, and adjustment to sudden retirement, she began writing down childhood memories. From this writing came the development of a story that incorporates childhood memories and stories into this work of fiction.

The Brunswick Civil War Round Table shared the following information about Lower Cape Fear history with the Southport Historical Society:

Impressment laws were enacted in North Carolina in the summer of 1862, and lasted throughout the war. Impressment was the legislated policy of the Confederate government to seize food, fuel, slaves, and other commodities to meet the needs of the Confederate army. Importantly, slave impressment was officially enacted in the March 1863 Impressment Act, which allowed the government to force slave holders to surrender control of their slave populations in order to defend the Confederate states. Despite protests from slave owners, slave impressment proved critical in allowing the Confederate government to shore up fortifications and keep the war machine churning out arms and ammunition until the end of the war.