Rebekah Colburn
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FOR THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM (My Brother's Flag, Book 2)

4/24/2017

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There were many families on Maryland’s Eastern Shore who were divided in their loyalties during this critical time in our nation’s history. This particular story is inspired by such accounts, but is purely the product of this author’s imagination.
Bloomingdale, as pictured on the cover, is located in Queenstown, MD on Bloomingdale Road, which connects Routes 50 and 301. It was originally patented as “Mount Mill” in 1665 by Captain Robert Morris, who sold it nineteen years later to Jacob Seth. It passed down through his family until it was sold in 1820 to Edward Harris, who willed it to his daughters, Sallie and Mary. It was these women who changed its name to “Bloomingdale.” Lively and flirtatious, the sisters were considered the reigning belles of their time, but neither married. They instead retreated into the old wing of the house, a more austere and simple structure.
They in turn left the estate to their cousin, Severn Teackle Wallis, who was a member of the General Assembly imprisoned at Fort McHenry in 1861 to prevent the vote for Maryland to secede from the Union. Refusing to take an oath of allegiance, he was held for months until being unconditionally released.
There are several buildings on the property, each representing a different part of Bloomingdale’s past. A rustic cabin, an “old wing,” and a “new wing,” allow you to visualize the development of the plantation, which eventually expanded to include over two thousand acres. The building referred to as the “new wing” was built in 1792.
An impressive and graceful tribute to Georgian architecture, Bloomingdale was rented as a wedding location in recent years until its current owners developed health issues which prohibited its continued use. They were gracious and kind enough to allow me to use pictures of their home for the cover of my novel, and to write my story as if it were being lived out on their property. They have my sincerest gratitude for their generosity.
As a writer of Historical Fiction, I have the liberty of adding other members into the Harris family tree, and to bring to life the recorded facts and details as I imagine them.  In this story, Abigail Sterret is presented at the great-niece of Sallie and Mary Harris.
The inspiration for her family connection was a ghost story. There is an account of a supernatural visitor coming to the door in 1879 who appeared to be William Sterret, the nephew of the Harris Sisters who had drowned in a race at the old mill. I conjectured that in order for Sallie and Mary to have a nephew, they must have had a sister who married a gentleman with the last name of Sterret. And so I chose to connect Abigail to the family by making her William’s granddaughter.

​By giving her father the position of manager for the estate, Abigail was able to reside at the plantation and discover the injured rebel soldier, Charlie Turner, whom she nurses back to health and ultimately falls in love with.

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ON GROUNDS OF HONOR (My Brother's Flag, Book 1)

4/19/2017

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MY BROTHER'S FLAG is a two book series about brothers who enlisted on opposing sides in the Civil War. There were a great many families on the Eastern Shore of Maryland who were divided in their loyalties during the War Between the States. Although the Turner family is a product of my imagination, they represent a historical reality.

Maryland was a border state, and a slave state which might have seceded from the Union to join the Confederacy had twenty-seven state legislators not been imprisoned at Fort McHenry to prevent such a vote. Some stood on the side of State's Rights, while others adhered to the belief in Union At All Costs.

The first book, ON GROUNDS OF HONOR, is the story of the older brother, Jeremiah, and his wife, Clara, as they evaluate the elements at play in the political struggle after the fall of Fort Sumter, when the war began in earnest.


Despite the elements of fiction woven into this story, I have strived to keep it as historically accurate as possible. For example, when Jeremiah enlisted in the Union Army, he would have been assigned to the Eastern Shore Regiment, which served as Home Guard on the southern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula until they were called to reinforce the troops already engaged in the battle of Gettysburg.

Charlie, the younger of the two brothers, would have joined the First Maryland Infantry of the CSA, which later mustered out and reformed as the Second Maryland Infantry. He would have participated in many major engagements, and fought under “Stonewall” Jackson at the First Battle of Bull Run, where the infamous general earned this nickname.

These two Eastern Shore units did face one another on Culp’s Hill at the Battle of Gettysburg, as portrayed in this story, and monuments have been erected there to commemorate them both. It is highly probable that the Turner brothers would have faced one another at this tragic and memorable location. Woven into the fictional story are several actual historical figures, including Jennie Wade, Sister Camilla O’Keefe, Nurse Cornelia Hancock, and the Slyder family.

Additionally, the courthouse at Centreville, Maryland was occupied by Union troops to maintain Federal control as there continued to be strong southern sympathy throughout the area. The account of Mrs. Newman hiding her rebel brother from the Provost Marshall at the Chesterfield Plantation is recorded as having occurred, and is another example of a family with members enlisted on both sides of the war.

The location, “Laurel Hill” is a fictionalized version of “Locust Hill,” which was purchased by the Turpins in 1812 and remains in the family to this day. It is pictured on the front cover with the gracious permission of the current owners. ​
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From Fields of Promise

4/10/2017

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As a writer of historical fiction, I have the unique opportunity to bring the past to life through my imagination. In this particular novel, I have created the location of “Oak Hall,” and have used general research to conjecture what might have happened to the widowed Mrs. Wright after the death of her husband.

​While information abounds on the Reconstruction Era in the Deep South, such information is not readily available about the Border State of Maryland, which was never actually part of the Confederacy (despite a strong desire by many for her to secede). As a slave state within the Union, Maryland was occupied by Union forces, but was not abused in the same way as such states as South Carolina and Georgia. However, many of the same problems existed in Maryland after the emancipation of the slaves.

It is interesting to note that President Abraham Lincoln was not responsible for freeing the slaves in Maryland, as his Emancipation Proclamation only included slaves that were held within the states of the rebellion. Slaves in Maryland were freed by the State Constitution of 1864 which predated the Thirteenth Amendment.

Still, for those whose livelihood depended on slave labor, their release created an immediate void in the labor force. Some tried to keep slavery alive through the “apprenticeship” system, which is mentioned in the beginning of this novel. Others turned to sharecropping as a solution, which gave the former slaves a measure of independence while also allowing the farmers to continue to cultivate their land. Despite these attempts, many of the original plantation and farm owners throughout Maryland and the South were not able to hold onto the land which had been in their families for generations.

“The Civil War,” as The War Between the States is usually referred, is a misnomer as this was not a contest over the same seat of government. The Confederacy did not wish to take control of the United States, but rather to separate from it and create its own sovereign nation. This, as interpreted by Lincoln, was not permissible on the basis of implied language within the Constitution, that “the Union of these states is perpetual.”

The echoes of this war, which resulted in the loss of over six hundred thousand lives, can still be heard today. The generation which survived this tragedy often suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which was not understood at the time and often led to either alcoholism or institutionalization. The fabric of society was altered as families were dissolved and divorce became more prevalent. It was the beginning of the bane commonly known as the “income tax,” and it minimized the rights of the individual states while giving more power and authority to the Federal Government.

Furthermore, the stage was set for longstanding division between political parties and races. It is the hope of this author that through this fictional story, the reader can be reminded how essential it is to understand the way these divisions developed, and how crucial it is that we strive for unity, forgiveness, and love. Life is a precious gift. Let’s not waste it with hatred, revenge, or prejudice. Instead, let us choose to be instruments of change, making the world a better place for future generations.​
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    Rebekah Colburn

                   Novelist
    Historical Fiction/ Romance 

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