Rebekah Colburn
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June 16th, 2024

6/16/2024

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Attention Reading Junkies!

3/2/2024

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If you're always looking for your next book to read, I have great news! My murder mystery is now available on Amazon, and I will be providing information on local book signing events in the near future.

And, if you haven't read the series that launched my career as a historical fiction novelist, OF WIND AND SKY, now is the perfect time! While I was busy on Photoshop creating a cover for my murder mystery, I was inspired to re-release my first series with new covers. 

Yes, I have ADHD. Haha! But I put it to good use. I also paint furniture and plaques, and I'm still working on researching and writing the next book in the AMERICAN HERITAGE SERIES. As they say, no moss grows under my feet! 

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PURCHASE ON KINDLE
PURCHASE PAPERBACK
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1 - THROUGH EVERY VALLEY
2 - THE WHISPER OF DAWN
3 - AS EAGLES SOAR
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SO I WROTE A MURDER MYSTERY

2/3/2024

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If you’re familiar with my work, you know this isn’t my usual genre of fiction.

Over the winter, while recovering from flu, sinus infection, and bronchitis, I decided to take a little break from serious historical fiction to write a short, fun little project. So, I wrote a murder mystery based on a real-life murder.

The original article which sparked my interest was posted by Project Flashback-Centreville’s Facebook Page, and was a special dispatch sent to the Baltimore Sun on August 26, 1911. I was intrigued by the details of a cold case which was never solved. My writer’s mind began asking questions and the next thing I knew, I realized I had the makings of a murder mystery. 

It will be available on Amazon in March of 2024. 
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​1911 – Julia Martin had hoped that a move to Centreville, Maryland, would mark the beginning of a new season for her and her family. But instead of the idyllic peace she expected to find, Julia becomes obsessed with solving a murder mystery.

She had always wanted a historic house in the country. But what seems like a dream come true quickly turns into a nightmare when skeletal remains are found buried beneath the old brick floor in the kitchen. The bones are small, belonging to a young child or a small woman, buried with hair combs and scraps of silk.

The sheriff’s department has no clues to follow and no missing persons which fit the description of the body, which might have been concealed under the floor for decades or longer. Without identification of the body, there is neither motive nor hope of finding the murderer—if he is even still alive.
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Julia is haunted by the knowledge that a woman disappeared without a trace and that her family never found closure; that someone committed a murder and got away with it. She is determined to do the impossible, to uncover the identity of the body and to find out who killed the young woman, and why.
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SAM HOUSTON: BIGGER IN TEXAS

11/27/2023

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I’m in this picture. If you look closely, very closely—you might need to zoom in—you’ll see that the tiny thing at the base of this statue is actually me. Yes, I’m a small woman; but also yes, the statue is huge.

If you know anything about history, especially Texas history, you’ve at least heard of Sam Houston. When I began researching for this novel, I didn’t know a whole lot about him. The more I studied his life, the more I discovered what an interesting and complex person he was.

He was relevant to DRIVEN BY THE PRAIRIE WIND because he was the first president of the Republic of Texas, in office at the time that Risdon and Lucy Bloodsworth learn they can have “free land” if they can simply cross the country to stake their claim, live for five years on the property, and make improvements to it.

I didn’t take a particular interest in Sam Houston until I discovered that he also had connections to my Cherokee characters, Caleb and Jane Lowe. As I researched back and forth between the details for both storylines, I kept encountering the same man: Sam Houston. I never expected him to be the common thread that weaves back and forth between these two different worlds, but his name kept popping up in Texas and in the Cherokee Nation.
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Since I found his life story to be noteworthy, I thought I would share some of the highlights, including: his adoption by the Cherokees; the odd circumstances of his resignation as governor of Tennessee after a very brief, failed marriage; and his propensity for violence and drunkenness oddly mixed with moral courage—which may have led to his military and political success. I mean, he beat the Mexican Army in eighteen minutes! All in all, he’s a fascinating character. 
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Sam Houston was born in Virginia in 1793, but his mother relocated him and his eight siblings to Tennessee after his father’s death. Both his parents were descended from Scottish and Irish immigrants who had settled in Colonial America in the 1730s. In Tennessee, his mother built a cabin, cleared a farm, and opened a store. Sam was expected to help with these responsibilities, but he preferred reading the Greek classics from his father’s library or exploring the Tennessee frontier. (Who can blame him?)

It was on such excursions that he met the Cherokee, (the farm bordered the Cherokee Nation) and when he disappeared at the age of sixteen, his brothers located him on Hiwassee Island, located at the confluence of the Tennessee and Hiwassee Rivers. He had taken up residence with the Chief, John Jolly, and informed his siblings that he preferred to remain with the Cherokee. According to Indian Agent Return J. Meigs, Jolly owned "one of the largest ... finest homes in the South."
Don’t picture them living in teepees! First of all, Cherokee lived in houses built of logs, not structures made with poles and animal skins. Secondly, like so many other Cherokee, John Jolly was mixed-race and lived as a wealthy slave-owning planter, cattle rancher, and merchant. In addition to his fields and orchards, he owned a trading post, successful because of its location on the water. Although Jolly did not speak English, he likely understood it well, in addition to other trade languages such as French.
Chief Jolly gladly welcomed Sam Houston into his home, adopting him as a son and bestowing upon him the Cherokee name Colonneh, meaning "the Raven." Despite his status, Jolly dressed in buckskin hunting shirts, leggings, and moccasins. Houston followed suit, learned the Cherokee language, dances, ball games, and how to hunt wild game. For three years, Sam Houston lived among the Cherokee.

Although he reentered the world of white men, his life would be forever changed by this experience, and he would return to his adopted father in his hour of greatest need.

At the age of nineteen, Sam already had a reputation for drinking too much. Since he had run up debt in Haiwassee, Houston briefly took a job clerking at a store in Kingston before returning to Maryville to open a one-room schoolhouse.
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Perhaps it wasn’t exciting enough, and a year later, he enlisted in the United States Army and was immediately appointed a sergeant. He fought under Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814, alongside several Cherokees whose names also appear in my novel: John and Lewis Ross, Major Ridge, and Junaluska.
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​Houston was shot in the upper thigh with an arrow and not expected to live through the night. He recovered however, and, in May of 1817 was promoted to first lieutenant. The same year, after a treaty was negotiated with the Cherokee to voluntarily resettle in Arkansas Territory, Sam Houston was appointed by President Jackson as a sub-agent to administer the treaty. Believing that relocation was inevitable, and that the Cherokee would live more peaceful lives in the west, Houston accepted. He led a detachment including his adopted father, Chief John Jolly, to their new home in the Midwest.
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The following year, 1818, Houston received a strong reprimand from Secretary of War John C. Calhoun (whose name is associated with secession and who resigned from his role as Vice President under Jackson to represent South Carolina as a senator). Sam Houston arrived in Native American dress to a meeting with the Cherokee leaders and Calhoun. His intention was to demonstrate respect to the Cherokee, but Secretary of War Calhoun was not impressed. He felt it was unbecoming behavior for an officer and held the faux pas against Houston for the rest of his life.
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Sam’s next adventure was to move to Nashville, TN, and apprentice under a judge. He was soon admitted to the state bar and opened his own legal practice in Lebanon. He went on to become district attorney for Nashville, while also being appointed as a major general of the Tennessee militia. In 1823, he won a seat in the House of Representatives, and in 1827 he was elected as the governor of Tennessee. He was aided in his political career by his mentor, Andrew Jackson (no one’s perfect). 

Everything was on track for a successful political career. Then, in January of 1829, he married the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner. Eliza Allen was only nineteen years old; he was thirty-five.

Eleven weeks later, he resigned from the governorship. So, what happened? Wouldn’t we all like to know!
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Some say that she married him only to please her father and was in love with another man. Others believe she was repulsed when his wound from the Battle at Horseshoe Bend was exposed, that it was a festering sore involving his intestines which gave off an offensive odor. It is said they spent their wedding night apart. (If this is true, can you blame her?)
Eliza told her friend, Balie Peyton, that although she was optimistic going into the marriage, she had sound reasons for not remaining with him. She confessed that he was jealous and often suspicious, even locking her in their room so that she had no food until late at night. He didn’t want her to speak to others even at her aunt's house, where he wanted her to remain in her room when Houston was not around. She told Peyton that she left him because he "evinced no confidence in my integrity and had no respect for my intelligence, or trust in my discretion."

Houston seemed clueless as to what had happened in his relationship (typical man?). He wrote to his new father-in-law in April, expressing his confusion over his wife’s seeming indifference toward him and asked for advice on how to restore their relationship. Two days later, when Houston traveled to Cockrill Springs for an election debate, Eliza returned to her family on horseback.

When Houston was asked to make an official statement about the separation, he said "I can make no explanation. I exonerate this lady fully, and do not justify myself."

On the 15th of April, he went to Eliza and knelt on his knees before her, begging with “dramatic force” to take him back and return to Nashville with him. She was unmoved.

The following day Sam Houston resigned as governor of Tennessee.

According to reports, on April 23 he wore a disguise and boarded a steamboat out of Nashville. He went to Arkansas Territory and returned to the place where he was most comfortable: with the Cherokee Nation and his adoptive father, John Jolly. En route, however, Houston was intercepted by Eliza’s brothers who explained that there were a number of rumors surrounding his separation from their sister.

Houston told the brothers to "go back and publish in the Nashville papers that if any wretch ever dares to utter a word against the purity of Mrs. Houston I will come back and write the libel in his heart's blood."

Such an interesting break-up!
Once in the home of John Jolly, Sam Houston “Raven” is reputed to have said: "When I lay myself down to sleep that night I felt like a weary wanderer returned at last to his father's house." He fully assimilated into Cherokee culture, adopting their clothing, customs, and language. He was adopted into the tribe and became a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. I wish I could say that at this time he found peace.
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Although prior to this heartbreak, he may have had a drinking problem, now he earned a new name among the Cherokee people: "Big Drunk." He also lost the approval of Andrew Jackson, who had helped him become a congressman and the governor of Tennessee. (No big loss.)
​In the summer of 1830, Sam Houston took a second wife. She was a Cherokee woman and they were wed in a native ceremony. Her name was Tiana, sometimes called Diana Rogers; she was the daughter of Chief John "Hellfire" Rogers. Her grave is marked Talahina Rogers.
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It was a second marriage for both of them. She was widowed from her first marriage, with two children. They settled near Fort Gibson and managed a trading post. 

​During this time, because of his political experience and his connection with President Jackson, Houston was asked to go to Washington to mediate disputes for the Native American Indians. 
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Now, if you think current politics are nasty, just listen to this story!

There was an Ohio Congressman named William Stanbery who was not a fan of Jackson (can’t blame him), and who accused Houston of colluding with the government to defraud the Cherokee while he was Governor of Tennessee. As you can imagine, Sam didn’t respond too well to this accusation. He wanted either an apology or a duel. Stanbery refused to give him either.

On April 13, 1832, Sam Houston and two members of the U.S. Senate were walking along Pennsylvania Avenue on their way to the theater. Unfortunately for Stanbery, he chose this exact time to leave Mrs. Queen's boarding house and go for a walk.
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Mr. Stanbery has been described as “a vile toad of a man” with “black ink drops for eyes that sat too close together on his melon-like head. Long creases on his face emphasized his thin, broad, perpetually downturned mouth.” I’m sure after reading that, you’re as curious as I was to what this man really looked like. So, here he is…
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A rather recognizable silhouette even on a lamplit street, Houston immediately saw the rotund figure and approached him with blazing eyes. Carrying a hickory cane, Houston wasted no time in planting it atop the large man’s head. It was not his finest moment, to be sure. While shouting, “You damned rascal!” Houston liberally applied his cane to the congressman.

Stanbery, understandably shaken, drew his gun and fired directly at Sam’s chest. It wasn’t Houston’s time to meet his maker, apparently, as the gun misfired. Houston continued to strike his enemy with infuriated gusto. The incident ended when Houston felt he had sufficiently expressed his feelings and continued to the theater, leaving Mr. Stanbery to stagger back to the boarding house to nurse his wounds.
Needless to say, that sort of behavior is generally frowned upon on Capitol Hill. Congress ordered that Houston be arrested and tried. He lawyered up with a fellow whose name should be familiar to all Americans: Francis Scott Key. Between the advocacy of his attorney and the help of friends like James K. Polk, Sam Houston was essentially slapped on the wrist. He was given a verbal reprimand and ordered to pay $500 in damages. 

Obviously, although there were no serious consequences for his loss of temper, the incident badly damaged his reputation. Luckily, there was a place he could go to start over and reinvent himself: TEXAS.

His Cherokee wife, Tiana, (Diana or Talahina or whatever her name was), opted to remain in Indian Territory when he departed in December of 1832. The marriage was peacefully absolved; she retained the titles to their residence and land. 
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Texas was at that time not a part of the United States, but of Mexico. Nevertheless, the Mexican government had invited Americans to settle on their land. Houston took the opportunity and was able to obtain property in this new frontier. Additionally, President Jackson invited him to negotiate with the Comanche and other Native Americans to try to maintain peace as the government continued to push the Cherokee farther west into territories previously held by other tribes. Houston was always eager to negotiate for the best interest of the Cherokee people and gladly accepted the mission.
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He settled in the town of Nacogdoches, Texas and opened a law practice. He also pursued a divorce from his first wife, Eliza Allen, (apparently, they had been legally married throughout his relationship with Tiana). The divorce was granted in 1837 and Eliza remarried in 1840. Houston reentered politics, serving as a delegate for Nacogdoches in 1833, proposing to the Mexican Congress that Texas be separated from Coahuila and granted statehood. No such agreement was made, and in 1834, Antonio López de Santa Anna assumed the presidency.
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Houston was in the right place at the right time, so to speak, for a man with military background and repressed anger issues. By October of 1835, Houston agreed with those who believed Texas needed to be separated from Mexico and became commander in chief of troops to begin the “work of liberty” in Nacogdoches.

In February 1836, Houston helped to negotiate a peace treaty with the Cherokee Indians in East Texas, and in March, he served as a delegate to a convention where the assembly adopted the Texas Declaration of Independence. Almost immediately, Houston received the appointment of major general of the army from the convention and began to organize the republic's military forces.

His volunteer force of rebels were not disciplined soldiers, and the Mexican Army was empowered after their recent defeat of the Americans at the Alamo. Houston needed time to train his men and acquire equipment and provisions before they would be ready to face Santa Anna. 
​He maneuvered a series of strategic retreats to buy time. In April of 1836, on the banks of the San Jacinto River, the two armies finally clashed. Channeling all their fury from the massacre of the Americans at the Alamo, Houston’s men defeated a force twice its size in just 18 minutes.
Sam Houston’s horse, Saracen, was shot beneath him and Houston suffered a severe wound above his ankle. Nevertheless, they had achieved victory and Santa Anna surrendered. An armistice was signed granting Texas independence from Mexico. Houston was a hero, and when elections for president were held in the newly established Republic of Texas, it’s no surprise that he was chosen to lead the new government.
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During that time, he negotiated for his old friends, the Cherokee, to peacefully live within the borders of the Republic of Texas. His successor, Mirabeau Larimore, had very different ideas about the Native Americans.
​​In 1840, the same year that his first ex-wife remarried, Sam Houston tied the knot for the third time. And, as unlikely as it may seem, the third time was the charm for him even though his new bride was only twenty-one years old (he was 47) and she was a devout Baptist. She must have been one brave woman!

​They remained married until his death, having eight children together. She influenced him to curb his drinking habits, which had plagued him throughout his life, but the most remarkable achievement was in 1854, when he chose Believer’s Baptism. After fourteen years of praying for her husband and trying to convert him, Margaret Moffette Lea watched as the old cuss was immersed in the waters of Little Rocky Creek. 
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​In 1841, Houston was elected as the third president of the Republic of Texas.

When Texas joined the union in 1845, Houston became one of its two United States senators. He ran for governor in 1857 but was defeated. He ran again in 1859 and was elected Governor of Texas.
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Although he was a slaveowner, Houston had always voted against the spread of slavery into new territories. He furthermore was a Unionist and opposed to any ideas of sectionalism or secession. Because of this unique Southern position, the National Union party convention in Baltimore almost nominated him as a Presidential candidate in 1860, but he narrowly lost to John Bell. 
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As you know, Abraham Lincoln was elected, and the nation split down the middle. Houston tried to advocate for peace within Texas, but they would have no part of it. He was booted out of office and even though Lincoln offered Houston the use of federal troops to keep him in office and Texas in the Union, he declined. Out of love for Texas and not wanting to be a source of bloodshed, Houston quietly took his wife and children and moved to Huntsville.
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In 1863, at the age of seventy, Sam Houston died of pneumonia. But his name will forever be synonymous with Texas. 
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THE TRAIL OF TEARS

10/22/2023

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In the face of national threats, it’s not always clear which course of action is the best way forward. How to mitigate the unavoidable losses and ensure there is a foundation left upon which the nation can rebuild.

This was the situation the Cherokee Nation found itself in during the 1830s. President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law; its goal was to relocate native tribes from their respective lands (regardless of any prior treaties) and push them onto the newly created “Indian Territory” west of the Mississippi River. This was still a vast frontier, largely undeveloped, and seemed like a good place to put an unwanted people group.  

Treaties were negotiated with the “Indians” to exchange their ancestral lands for designated tribal territories in the west. The word negotiate is used loosely here. They weren’t given much choice. Even the Five Civilized Tribes, despite efforts to assimilate, were still viewed by their white counterparts as both inferior and as a threat to their own development and resources. In 1830, it was the Choctaw; in 1832, the Chickasaws and Muscogee (also known as Creeks); in 1832 and 33, the Seminole were pushed out of Florida.

The Cherokee in North Carolina and Georgia were the last hold-out tribe. They didn’t want to give up. They didn’t want to give in. Well, at least some of them. And that’s where it starts to get interesting.
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There was no unified opinion as to whether they should stay or go. It wasn’t just “Andrew Jackson v. the Cherokees,” there were different ideas within the Cherokee Nation about what was best for their future, and a lot of inner conflicts within the Nation resulted. 
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These pictures are from the Museum of the Cherokee, in North Carolina. It is titled the “Chamber of Dissenting Voices” and the inscription reads:

This statue represents three factions of the Cherokees and the different paths they took because of Removal.

Oconaluftee Citizen Party
These Citizen Indians form the core of the present-day Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. They had applied to become U.S. citizens, taking advantage of a treaty clause which allowed them to separate from the Cherokee Nation and occupy private reservations and ceded lands.

The Treaty Party
The Treaty Party was led by Major Ridge, his son, John Ridge, and his nephew, Elias Boudinot. Originally opposed to removal, they came to believe that it was the best policy, and in December 1835, they signed the Treaty of New Echota which ceded their eastern homeland for five million dollars and western land. Looked upon as traitors by the majority of the Cherokee Nation, the Treaty Party leaders, including the Ridges and Boudinot, were later executed for “selling their birthrights.”

John Ross and the Cherokee Nation
The majority of the Cherokee Nation wanted to stay on their homeland and fought with every legal means available. Some lobbied in Washington, others fought legal battles, such as Worcester v. Georgia. But in the end, all their efforts failed and they were forcibly removed to Indian Territory.

Their tragic journey west became known as the “Trail of Tears.”

Having read multiple books delving into the motives and specific actions of all three parties, I find this explanation to be an oversimplification. For now, I will only say that the Treaty of New Echota was the means by which Andrew Jackson achieved his goal of removing the final, protesting tribe to Indian Territory. The majority of the Cherokee Nation did not consent to it. It was not approved by either the Council or the Principal Chief. It should never have been regarded as a legal and binding contract.

Members of the Treaty Party signed as representatives of the Cherokee Nation, although they were not recognized by it as legitimate delegates. Legally, they were just a rogue faction assuming authority they didn’t possess. President Andrew Jackson knew it. Indian Commissioner John F. Schermerhorn knew it. Federal Indian Agent Ben Currey knew it. They accepted it anyway because it suited their purposes.

In my novel, DRIVEN BY THE PRAIRIE WIND, I have tried to bring to life this complicated story and present the different Cherokee factions as they fight for survival in a world that didn’t have room for them.
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American Heritage

9/24/2023

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Did you know that the Chesapeake Bay was teeming with pirates during the Revolutionary War? One in particular made the perfect nemesis for the first novel in this series, ADRIFT ON WINDS OF CHANGE.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE SERIES follows the fictional Bloodsworth family from the 1770s through the 1860s, highlighting the history of the United States through three of its most formative eras.

BOOK 1, ADRIFT ON WINDS OF CHANGE documents the founding of our nation through the eyes of Elias Bloodsworth and his wife, Charlotte. They had created their own paradise on Bloodsworth Island in the Chesapeake Bay just prior to the American War of Independence, only to find themselves under attack by the infamous pirate and personal rival of Elias, Joseph Wheland, Jr.

During this dangerous time of intrigue, despite accusations of being a traitor, Elias Bloodsworth steps forward as a voice to the public through his letters to the editor, outlining the reasons why they must take the daring step of breaking away from Britain and forging their own nation. This novel chronicles the formation of the Republic, and the chaos, fear, and violence which erupt during this period of uncertainty. Under the flag of the Crown, men like Wheland could privateer without ramifications, legally continuing their ways of piracy and destruction.

If you haven’t read Book 1 yet, you can view it on Amazon: Adrift on Winds of Change: Colburn, Rebekah: 9798432175373: Amazon.com: Books

Book 2, DRIVEN BY THE PRAIRIE WIND, is told through the eyes of their great-grandchildren. Weaving two storylines together, I wanted to share the broader picture of Westward Expansion and its impact on the developing nation as well as those who originally inhabited the continent. While Risdon and Lucy share the excitement of new opportunities and the perils of the wagon trains, his cousin Jane and her Cherokee husband live the consequences of the ideology of Manifest Destiny as they are removed from their established home and forced to walk the Trail of Tears.

In the next book—yes, I am already writing Book 3!—I want to bring to life the more complex stories of the Civil War that have been lost to history. Although we like everything to be neat and simple and to fit into tidy boxes, real life isn't quite that way! In this novel, I wish to share the intricacies of the time period from the perspective of a Southern Maryland family. 

Watch for BOOK 3, WOOED BY THE DIXIE WIND.

Through these fictional novels, I hope to share a new perspective on the history of our nation. 
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MANIFEST DESTINY

9/18/2023

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​I was raised when “Little House on the Prairie” and the 1970’s series “The Oregon Trail” were showing on the TV. I loved Laura Ingalls! Nowadays, little girls dress like princesses; I dressed like a pioneer girl. I read all the Little House books and as I grew older, I remember reading historical romance novels involving wagon trains and wild Indians.

One tendency of human nature is to compartmentalize. To forget that while the westward expansion was an exciting time of opportunity for some, it was a time of tragic loss and hardship for others. The overtaking of the continent by European-Americans was only possible because of the defeat of the Native Americans. From our country’s earliest inhabitation by white men, the tribes which had first resided on the land were pushed out. This was to become the legacy of the United States of America. All the native peoples were herded from their homes and confined to designated areas, whether reservations or Indian Territory.

As much as I enjoyed Little House on the Prairie, I was also raised with the oral tradition that my maternal grandfather was half-Cherokee. I find the wagon trains exciting: I still wish I could experience the adventure of traveling across the country to conquer the frontier. And yet, I lament that it came at the cost of the people who were here first, who (for the most part) were willing to live peaceably with their invaders.

It was my goal in writing this novel to convey both sides of the story. To weave them together in a way that would break down the compartments in the mind and reveal the truth of history. Few events are simple or clearcut once we give them proper study.

For my characters Risdon and Lucy Bloodsworth, the offer of free land in Texas is an opportunity to develop a larger farm and legacy than they ever could otherwise on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. They are young and adventurous, full of hope and curiosity. They are eager to take control of their lives and build something new, not just for themselves, but for their country.
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I can’t blame them. In their place, I might be tempted to do the exact same thing! I never once thought that Pa and Ma Ingalls were threatening or villainous in any way. They were just ordinary folks who were trying to live their lives and provide for their families the best they could. They had no prejudice against Indians. I don’t think it really occurred to them that they were moving into lands previously lived on by Indians, and if it did, they just took it as the way of the times. We are all a product of our time and culture. 
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​For them, this was just the way things worked at that time and place. The Indians were being moved west; the land was available to them.

It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I became sensitive to the plight of the Indians and the injustice of their removal from ancestral lands. When I learned that I had a family connection with Native Americans, my sympathy for their situation was deepened. But I still love Laura Ingalls and have a desire to explore new frontiers.

As in any other historical era, it is the government which makes decisions and the citizens who live with the consequences. There was a prevailing idea among the lawmakers of that day that God had given this land to white Americans.

This concept almost became its own religion. The phrase “Manifest Destiny” was first coined on December 27, 1845 by John O’Sullivan, editor of the New York Morning News. Although he was addressing the boundary dispute with Britain over the state of Oregon, the phrase encapsulates a decades old ideology.

His argument was that it was “the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federated self-government entrusted to us.”
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Not everyone agreed. A year later, on January 3, 1846, Representative Robert Winthrop ridiculed the concept in Congress, saying, "I suppose the right of a manifest destiny to spread will not be admitted to exist in any nation except the universal Yankee nation."

Although he was the first critic of the concept, he was not the last. The argument for “Divine Providence” as justification for actions motivated by bigotry and greed was met with disdain and embarrassment by those who had a more humble and compassionate perspective. Nevertheless, expansionists embraced the phrase and touted the success of their efforts as God’s blessing.

In 1996, historian William E. Weeks noted that three key themes were usually expressed by advocates of Manifest Destiny:

1.)    the virtue of the American people and their institutions;

2.)    the mission to spread these institutions, thereby redeeming and remaking the world in the image of the United States;

3.)    the destiny under God to do this work.

Long before the term “Manifest Destiny” existed, the principal was alive and motiving such men as President Andrew Jackson when he signed the Indian Removal Act.

Now please understand, I am an American patriot, and I would rather live in the United States than any other place in the world. But I am not naïve to the sins of our forefathers. The Trail of Tears was a travesty of justice and a preventable crime.

I also love the Ingalls Family. Life is messy. 

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AM I CHEROKEE?

9/10/2023

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According to oral tradition, my grandfather was half Cherokee. My mother was raised with this belief and recalls her mother watching the old TV series about the Oregon Trail and saying she would have liked to have lived during that era--if it hadn’t been for “the damned Indians and their fire water.” This was a personal jab aimed at my grandfather, who had a drinking problem.
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His heritage was not important to him, nor was it a matter of interest in the 1950s when my mother was growing up. My grandfather’s family lived in Georgia, and my mom has a vague memory of visiting an aunt there. That’s all I know.
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My grandmother was of Irish descent, and as you can see in this picture of them together, he looks very swarthy compared to her. In the picture of him wearing his military uniform, you can see his high cheekbones and broad nose, both of which are features of the Cherokee people. 
I have put many hours into researching my genealogy and trying to unearth some evidence to support the Cherokee story. Unfortunately, I found next to nothing. Although there is a reminiscence written by a relative of migration from a Cherokee area in North Carolina to another primarily Cherokee area in Georgia—with the use of such words as “band,” “clan,” and “traditions”—all of my family members registered as white on the census records.

Were they Cherokee? Was there an intermarriage somewhere that wasn’t recorded? Did they identify as white to avoid mistreatment and relocation? Did they accept citizenship in Georgia to secure their land and safety?

Or were they whites who settled on Cherokee lands?

These are questions to which I may never know the answer. But the idea of being descended from the Cherokee has influenced me and shaped my interest in Native peoples and their stories.

While writing DRIVEN BY THE PRAIRIE WIND, I visited Sequoyah’s cabin in Oklahoma, and it was recommended to me that I join the Cherokee Nation and market my book as “Cherokee Made.” This would have been a dream come true for me, as my interest in and identification with the Cherokee dates back to my early years.

However, in order to join the Western Band of Cherokee, I would need to provide the name of an ancestor who was listed on the Dawes Roll and who traveled west to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).

​My family remained in Georgia, but to join the Eastern Band of Cherokee I would need to provide the name of an ancestor on the Baker Roll from 1924 and meet blood quantum qualifications. Unfortunately, I cannot even find someone who indicated on their census record that they were Cherokee.

So, the question remains: am I descended from Cherokee stock?
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I don’t know why my grandfather would have perpetuated the belief in my grandmother and mother if it didn’t have some basis in fact. Unfortunately, if it is true, it’s a story which has been lost to time. 
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COMING NOVEMBER 2023

8/19/2023

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This summer was a very productive season for my writing! The release date for DRIVEN BY THE PRAIRIE WIND is currently set for November 1st, 2023.

While my husband (a teacher) was on summer vacation, I had the opportunity to take a road trip with him and explore many of the locations my characters visit in this novel and to perform comprehensive on-site research. This has been, to date, the most challenging novel I’ve ever written! So many periods in history are more complicated than we realize until we start digging deeper into the details.

I am excited to share some of the places I visited in future blogs, but today I wanted to reveal my new book cover and synopsis! Watch for more information to come on the brave pioneers who helped to settle America, as well as the Native Americans who were forcefully relocated from their homelands to Indian Territory. 
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​DRIVEN BY THE PRAIRIE WIND
BOOK 2, AMERICAN HERITAGE SERIES
A WESTWARD EXPANSION NOVEL

1838 -- Two women journey west, for two very different reasons.

Lucy was raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. When her husband, Risdon Bloodsworth, Jr., discovers that the Republic of Texas is giving land away, he is eager to leave the familiar behind and travel west for new opportunities. Lured by the call of adventure, and cramped in a small farmhouse with her in-laws, Lucy agrees to take their young son and trek well over a thousand miles by covered wagon in search of a place to call their own.

Jane Bloodsworth knew when she married a Cherokee man that life with him would not be easy. The Indian Removal Act had been passed years prior, but the Cherokee Nation continued negotiations to stay on their tribal lands. Like many others, her husband’s family had built a flourishing plantation, and he was educated to read and write in English. Even so, they are forced to leave everything behind in Georgia and be marched across the country to Indian Territory.
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As Lucy and Jane set out to build their new lives, their physical strength and emotional endurance will be tested by adversity and doubt. Their stories of the westward movement and the Trail of Tears intersect in a deeply personal way and shed new light on the era of Manifest Destiny. 


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NEW RELEASE: ADRIFT ON WINDS OF CHANGE

6/13/2022

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FINALLY! The first book in the American Heritage Series is available on Amazon, in both kindle and paperback formats!

An historical drama set on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland, ADRIFT ON WINDS OF CHANGE brings a unique perspective to the Revolutionary War in the Chesapeake Bay.

1774 - Charlotte Beauchamp has settled into the life of a widow, determined to make it on her own. Then her cousin arrives on her doorstep with an illegitimate pregnancy and Charlotte’s quiet, secure world tilts yet again. When the mother disappears, the last thing Charlotte expects to find is a man willing to love her and to raise the abandoned child as if she were their own.

Elias Bloodsworth had made a successful living as a merchant for many years, but as the British begin to impose more taxes on the colonies, he is forced to resort to smuggling. The greatest obstacle in the way of achieving his goals is a Loyalist pirate who roams the Chesapeake Bay named Joseph Wheland, Jr.
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As the War for Independence rages, Charlotte and Elias must find a way to protect the sanctuary they have created on Bloodsworth Island and prevent Wheland from destroying their livelihood to further his own interests in the name of the Crown.
AMAZON
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    Rebekah Colburn

                   Novelist
    Historical Fiction/ Romance 

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