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!—the Bloodsworth family will bring to life the less commonly told stories of the Civil War. While antebellum plantations and slaveholders often take center stage in the history books, it was mostly fought in the South by yeoman farmers who were not fighting to protect the institution of slavery, (they were too poor to own slaves) but to protect the Republic from the overreach of an expanding Federal Government. And to be precise, the War Between the States was not a true Civil War, as the North and South were not fighting for the same seat of government; the Confederacy wished to be recognized as a separate and sovereign nation.

Even less commonly known is that the War Between the States shook the Cherokee Nation after it was just beginning to rebuild from the ravages of the Trail of Tears. The same divisions which occurred in other states also occurred in Indian Territory as the lines were drawn between the Union and the Confederacy. Many Cherokees enlisted to fight for the South under the leadership of famed General Stand Watie. Their reasons were similar to and different from the reasons of other Confederate soldiers, and their story deserves closer study.

The Bloodsworths in North Carolina and those within the Cherokee Nation bring to life these untold stories of the Civil War in BOOK 3, WOOED BY THE DIXIE WIND.

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

​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. 

​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. 

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.