Black Cloud Rising, David Wright Falade
Black Cloud Rising, David Wright Falade
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Black Cloud Rising

Author: David Wright Faladé

Narrator: James Shippy

Unabridged: 9 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 02/22/2022


Synopsis

By fall of 1863, Union forces had taken control of Tidewater Virginia and established a toehold in eastern North Carolina, including along the Outer Banks.

Thousands of freed slaves and runaways flooded the Union lines, but Confederate irregulars still roamed the region. In December, the newly formed African Brigade, a unit of these former slaves led by General Edward Augustus Wild—a one-armed,
impassioned abolitionist—set out from Portsmouth to hunt down the rebel guerrillas and extinguish the threat.

From this little-known historical episode comes Black Cloud Rising, a dramatic, moving account of these soldiers—men who only weeks earlier had been enslaved, but were now Union infantrymen setting out to fight their former owners. At the heart of the narrative is Sergeant Richard Etheridge, the son of a
slave and her master, raised with some privileges but constantly reminded of his place. Deeply conflicted about his past, Richard is eager to show himself to be a credit to his race. As the African Brigade conducts raids through the areas occupied by the Confederate Partisan Rangers, he and his comrades recognize
that they are fighting for more than territory. Wild’s mission is to prove that his troops can be trusted as soldiers in combat. And because many of the men have fled from the very plantations in their path, each raid is also an opportunity to free loved ones left behind. For Richard, this means the possibility of reuniting
with Fanny, the woman he hopes to marry one day.

With powerful depictions of the bonds formed between fighting men and heartrending scenes of sacrifice and courage, Black Cloud Rising offers a compelling and nuanced portrait of enslaved men and women crossing the threshold to freedom.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Angela M on February 07, 2022

I wanted to read something relevant during Black History month. This depiction of a piece of Civil War history and the portrayal of the life of a black man I had never heard of was a learning experience that touches both head and heart. Richard Etheridge was part of the African Brigade, a group of f......more

Goodreads review by Najeefa on April 13, 2022

Thanks to the publisher -RB Media for providing ARC in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley. 3/5 stars As a part of Black History month, I picked up Black Cloud Rising. In American history, this story comes up as a personally challenging experience of a black man in times of civil war and how......more

Goodreads review by Donna on February 25, 2022

Black Cloud Rising, the historical novel that’s already been excerpted in The New Yorker, is the book I’ve always wished someone would write. Author David Wright Falade tells the story of the African Brigade, a unit of former slaves tasked with rooting out pockets of Confederate guerilla fighters in......more

Goodreads review by Mark on March 12, 2022

Black Cloud Rising by David Wright Falade for me, was a mediocre experience. This was a great shame as I was interested in the premise, and the story is certainly worth telling. But it didn’t hit any high notes. It is set in the American Civil War and involves an African Unit travelling around North......more