New Book, "My Confederate Cousin" tells story of a Black Confederate Soldier

King George, Virginia – Writer Robert Broome, Jr. announces the release of My Confederate Cousin, a fictional narrative based on a true account of his ancestor, a Black soldier who fought for the South during the War Between the States. This compelling novel charts the course of a family lineage with origins of English nobility interwoven with slavery on a plantation in Poolesville, Maryland.

Through a tapestry which involves military battles of the eighteenth century, Broome introduces the reader to Basil Dawson, the son of a white slave owner and a Black slave mother. Although Basil was a slave, he was not treated like one. He was educated, learning to speak both Latin and French, and was  inducted into the Confederate Army where he fought alongside his father and half brother.

The author hopes his work will encourage others to have a new perspective of Black soldiers who had allegiances on both sides of the war which ultimately ended slavery in the United States. “Enlisting Black soldiers both slave and free in the militia from 1861 through 1865 played a significant role in the Civil War,” notes Broome. “It redefined our legacy and cultural history.” Broome received inspiration to pen this depiction of events after hearing many stories from family members of his cousin’s heroic efforts.

 Many of Basil Dawson’s descendants continue to live in Poolesville, Maryland. Others have migrated to Gaithersburg, Maryland; Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, D.C.; Florida; Wisconsin; and California.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert Broome, Jr. is a published author and speaker who served in the United States Marine Corp, January 1976 through January 1980. His historical research unveils the often misunderstood details of military battles that helped shape the social, political, and economic landscape of America today.

With a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Strayer University, Washington, D.C., Broome is employed by the federal government. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., he resides in King George, Virginia with his wife and daughter.

Broome is available for speaking engagements, book club presentations, and interviews. He can be reached at broome50@peoplepc.com or 540.663.2232. Learn more about his book, My Confederate Cousin, or order online through the publishers’ website at http://sbpra.com/robertbroome/. The book can also be purchased at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnobel.com.

Publisher: Strategic Book Group

ISBN: 978-1-60976-390-9
Cost: $23.50 USD
Hardcover, 151 pages

Everything you were taught about the Civil War is Wrong.

Tens of thousands of books have been written about the War Between the States, and I have read more of them than I can count - mostly written from a Northern point of view. When I discovered this volume, “Everything you were taught about the Civil War is wrong, ask a Southerner,” by Lochlainn Seabrook, it immediately went to the top of my list of favorites. Being an author myself, with six published books to my credit, I must admit that I envy the ability of Seabrook to express himself on the printed page in a way that is easy to understand, yet powerful and thought provoking. I had a very hard time putting it down, and I’ve found myself going back to read many passages again and again.

Actually, if your reading schedule demands that you put this book down before you finish reading it cover to cover, that’s okay too. Each of the chapters can stand alone, making it an excellent book for either browsing or for reading straight through.

In the introduction, historian and author Lochlainn Seabrook, makes this bold assertion: “… slavery started in the North, abolition began in the South, Abraham Lincoln was a rabid white racist, Jefferson Davis adopted a black child, 95 percent of Southern blacks supported the Confederacy, and the Yanks started the war, a conflict that was illegal from start to finish.” Then, in the next 22 chapters he makes his case in a manner which no intellectually honest person can easily refute. Seabrook states much more than just his personal opinions. He backs up every page with extensive notes and bibliography, quoting primary sources instead of just rehashing the words and prejudices of court historians and mythologists.

The introduction to the book is written by the distinguished black educator from Memphis, Tennessee, Nelson W. Winbush, who said, “”I’m proud to be a real grandson, having in my possession the Confederate Battle Flag that draped my grandfather’s coffin, a reunion jacket and cap, numerous newspaper articles and reunion pictures. I was five when he passed and I still remember war stories as told me by my grandfather.” Another thing I liked about the book is that it closes with a very practical list, including contacts, entitled “How you can help preserve the South.” I found this very helpful.

I must admit that this book made me angry. Having been born in the Midwest, reared mostly in the South, and living much of my adult life in the North, I was taught, from elementary school through college, only a very one-sided version of the “Civil War.” I wish I had discovered this book and others like it much earlier.

The last three words of the title, “Ask a Southerner,” is not always the best advice. The sad fact is that the majority of Southerners learn their own history from textbooks written by Northern authors, taught by politically correct teachers and professors – blindly passing down the same misconceptions and prejudices from one generation to another. All Americans would benefit from reading “Everything you were taught about the Civil War is wrong…” Prepare to be challenged – enlightened – and maybe even made angry that you weren’t taught these truths before.

The Real Lincoln

If you enjoy reading books which are politically incorrect but historically accurate you will love The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda and an Unnecessary War, by noted author and professor Thomas J. Dilorenzo.  This wildly popular book also has a foreword by Walter E. Williams, nationally syndicated columnist and professor at George Mason University.

Turn the pages of "The Real Lincoln" with an open mind and it may forever change your view of American history. The book is meticulously researched, well written and devastatingly honest. It is not the first book to come along that views Dishonest Abe in an honest light, and it won't be the last. But no other book about America's 16th president is more thought provoking and scholarly, yet so easy to read.


This is not a biased witch hunt or unjust attack on Abraham Lincoln. It simply dares to bring to light irrefutable facts about this American Icon without the blindfold of "political correctness." To many readers, people, if not most, it could lead to an epiphany that will have you wondering how you could have been so undiscerning to the obvious truth about the man who did more than any other person in history to destroy these United States, as envisioned by our founding fathers, and trample the Constitution which they gave us.

Ex-Slaves tell their own story in the amazing Georgia Slave Narratives

This is an astonishing book and it just might change everything you thought you knew about slavery in the antebellum South. It contains the interviews of 43 former slaves in Georgia from the Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration.  Actually, it is one of a series of Slave Narratives from 15 different states.

I read the Georgia Slave Narratives not just once, but went back over the book a second and third time with pen and paper in hand, taking copious notes. Here are just a few of the things I found.

In the 43 interviews there are at least 21 references by the former slaves to how good they were treated by their masters. By contrast, only 5 former slaves said they were treated poorly, and three of those said that although their master was mean, their mistress was kind to them. One said her master was cruel, but he still took good care of the physical needs of his slaves. Another, who said she had a bad slave master, also mentioned that after she gained her freedom and moved away, she didn't move too far, so she could come back and visit her old master and family from time to time.

Overseers were different, and one slave said, “The overseers warn’t quality white folkses like our marster and mistress.” Four of the interviewees, less than 10 percent of the whole, said they had cruel overseers.  Another four said they had no overseer, and a couple said that their overseer was another slave just like themselves.

As a minister who was very active in integrating churches during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and early 1970s, I took special notice that ten of the slaves spoke of attending the same church with their master and family. Not only did they attend, but some were also baptized and joined the white folks church. Even before reading this book my studies had made me aware that it was common for Southern churches to be integrated before the War Between the States.  Segregation initially came about by the choice of the blacks themselves, and also because of the abuses of so called “reconstruction” following the War.

This review would be much too long if I detailed all the former slaves who fondly recalled how they were well fed, well clothed and were given the best health care available at that time. Some talked of being allowed to make money on the side during their free time.  One made enough money to purchase his own freedom.  Others said their masters gave them spending money. Many talked of having time off from work on the weekends, holidays, and for special occasions.

Of the dozen or more interviewees who mentioned encountering invading Northern soldiers, not one of them had a kind word to say. Instead, they told of the Yankees looting, slaughtering livestock, burning houses, and destroying goods and provisions which they could not steal. One slave, Della, said the first white person to ever slap her in the face was a Yankee soldier. A black man told of being captured and imprisoned by the Union soldiers for three months although he was not a Confederate soldier and was not charged with any crime.

Three black Confederate soldiers do appear in the interviews. Two of the men interviewed said they fought with the Confederate army, one for six months and the other for four years. A female slave said that after the War she married a black Confederate veteran.

Perhaps the most amazing quotes in the Slave Narratives from Georgia are those from a full dozen former slaves who spoke nostalgically about the days before freedom, each saying they were much better off then. Jasper Battle, an old ex-slave in his 80s, put it this way, “Oh Missy, dem was good old days. Us would be lucky to have ‘em back again, ‘specially when harvest time comes ‘round. You could hear Niggers a-singin’ in de fields ‘cause dey didn’t have no worries lak day got now....”

The words of this remarkable book come directly from the mouths of men and women who spent the early years of their lives in slavery.  The Slave Narratives confirm few of the stereotypes of what people think they know about that “peculiar institution,” and they contradict most of the politically correct “history” being taught today.

The Slave Narratives are controversial in today’s world only because our understanding is so limited.  I highly recommend this book for those with inquisitive and open minds. Read the Slave Narratives.  Ponder them.  There are truths here begging to be discovered.

The Overall Best Book about the War Between the States

The War Between the States:
America's Uncivil War

If I could keep only one book out of the scores of titles in my library about America's War of 1861-1865, it would be The War Between the States - America's Uncivil War, by John J. Dwyer. Author/Editor Dwyer, along with several contributing editors, are to be commended for their monumental achievement in producing a book which gives a very fair and balanced account of the War Between the States - the good and the bad of both North and South - without the political spin which seems to be standard for most books about America's so called Civil War.

I must confess that I hesitated to buy this book at first because of the price. Now I wish I had gotten it sooner. This meticulously researched and lavishly illustrated volume is a complete account of the Confederacy and the War for Southern Independence with more information packed between its covers than any five ordinary books.

The War Between the States: America's Uncivil War is a joy to read. One could well explore it's 700 pages from front to back, cover to cover. However, the layout lends itself readily to browsing as well. The chapters and subdivisions make it possible to open the book at any point and immediately find interesting, well presented, stand alone articles.

This valuable reference work is used by many private schools and home schoolers but it definitely doesn't have the stodginess of most textbooks. I find myself referring back to time and again. It is a treasure that I will always keep and guard jealously in my personal library.