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.
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.
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