Where I'm Bound — Allen B. Ballard

When Joe Duckett flees his life as a slave to join the Northern Army as a cavalry scout, he becomes more than a free man -- he becomes a hero. Duckett and his regiment of black soldiers roam Mississippi, freeing slaves and keeping vital waterways open for the Union. But as the war draws to an end, Duckett embarks on his most dangerous mission yet: to return to the plantation from which he escaped to find his wife and daughter. Inspired by the true story of the 3rd U.S. Colored Calvary, Where I'm Bound fictionalizes, for the first time ever, the experiences of an African-American regiment in the Union Army. Serving in more than 160 regiments, 180,000 men have dissolved into history uncelebrated. Now, renowned African-American historian Allen Ballard weaves history and imagination together to bring back to life one forgotten regiment and its fight for freedom in our nation's most tragic war.