Author showcases hidden reality of Mary Patton’s life

Author Martin Mongieola recently published his latest book: “Terrorist Psychotic: Mary Patton,” in which he said he works to help uncover the previously hidden details of the historical woman’s life.

“This is what she went through,” Mongiello said.

The book’s title, he said, immediately turns some people away, but he said showcasing how the British truly treated people during the colonial and Revolutionary era is important.

Patton was a young woman in Pennsylvania who owned a black powder factory but moved to what is now East Tennessee to better locate the materials she needed, including better access to the type of trees she needed (pine), and sulfur.

Her craft became vital when the Revolutionary war broke out, as Patton’s craft became a significant source of black powder soldiers used against the British.

Despite this contribution, however, Mongiello said many accounts of her life tend to report inaccuracies or misconceptions.

“We know she was in love with her husband,” he said. “Her black powder was used in multiple battles, not just King’s Mountain, including Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse.”

He also said the book helps showcase what it was like to be a woman entrepreneur, and how common law back then differed from modern day.

“In British Common Law, when a woman married, they had to surrender their entire portfolio to the husband,” he said. “He owned everything.”

This reality, he said, made the business much more difficult for women, a reality he said translated well to modern day realities of women in business.

Her black powder business, he said, was crucial to winning the war. He described entire battles that America won by using her higher-quality ammunition compared to the soggy, harder to use powder the British had to use.

“A lot of these tactical advantages were never explained,” he said of some newspapers that report on Patton’s achievements. “People read the same two paragraphs of information, and that gets a little boring.”

Mongiello’s book is available in print and in the Amazon online store, though it does have an MA rating for some of the content, describing the “fire and brimstone in war and killing.”

“It is not a children’s book,” he said. “It is nowhere near Game of Thrones, but it has shocked people.”

SportsPlus

Local news

Council workshop to focus on Christmas parade route, Tetrick Community Center

Local news

Boozy Creek plans Thanksgiving meal Nov. 2

Local news

Elizabethton Police seek public’s help in identifying Walmart shoplifting suspect

Local news

JCPD to participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

Local news

Tennessee gas prices drop six cents, averaging $2.79 per gallon

Local news

ETSU presents dark comedy ‘The Moors’  

Community

American Legion Post 49 holds first Trunk or Treat

Local news

FEMA hiring in Tennessee to support Tropical Storm Helene recovery

Local news

First Baptist Elizabethton to host free food bag distribution

Local news

Frequently asked questions about FEMA disaster assistance

Arrests

Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrest reports

Local news

Dedicated website coming for Elizabethton High School fans, athletes

Local news

JCPD’s Moody promoted to sergeant

Community

Senior Center Schedule

Local news

TN expands SNAP assistance to residents post-Helene

Community

UHS Class of ’69 enjoys 55th reunion

Local news

Early voting in Carter County could break record

Local news

Main Street Elizabethton’s 2024 Scarecrow Contest transforms downtown, public voting to determine winners

Local news

Elizabethton to begin curbside leaf collection in November, continuing through January 2025

Church News

The Power of God’s Word

Community

Upcoming events in Elizabethton….

Church News

Church Briefs

Church News

Roan Street FWB will have homecoming Sunday with music by Loren Harris

Local news

Hopwood Christian Quilt Show scheduled October 25 & 26