Review of "Black Comanche Boy," by Alex Bontemps

 Review of

Black Comanche Boy, by Alex Bontemps ISBN 0394020154

Five out of five stars

Accurate historical fiction

 It is the fifth and last year of the American Civil War and Union troops have marched into Louisiana and are destroying plantations and taking all food that they can find. When the Union troops entered the plantation where Jamie and his grandfather lived as slaves, they took all the food and chased them away. Not willing to trust the Union soldiers and terrified that the Confederates will return and consider them runaway slaves, they are hiding in the swamp with no shelter, little clothing and no food. The only thing they have is a fire to warm them and keep the night away.

 They manage to survive and encounter a large group of blacks on the move. From them, they learn that the Civil War is over, and the Union was victorious, making them free. Jamie and his Grandpa join this group on the move to what they have heard is forty acres of choice land and a mule to work it. When the night riders attack, Jamie and his Grandpa are separated. Lost and afraid, Jamie flees blindly, losing all contact with his Grandpa and fellow blacks.

In his terror-filled flight, Jamie runs all the way into Texas where he encounters a small party of Comanches. He is taken into their tribe and undergoes the tests that Comanche boys undertake. At the end, there is a tragedy that solidifies Jamie as a member of the Comanche tribe.

 The last days of the American Civil War were tumultuous, and especially dangerous for the newly freed blacks. Most of the white Southern men hated them and could not accept that former slaves were now free to move about. When Union soldiers were not present, the Southern men did not hesitate to act on their hatreds in the most vicious of ways. While this book may not describe the life of a specific person, it remains a true story.