Littlestown, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/26/2013 -- The American Civil War was a fraught period for everyone on home soil. However, among the bloodshed and tragedy, characters emerged to promote peace, acceptance and equality. In his powerful new novel, C. James Gilbert presents an historical lesson that has much pertinence to present-day society.

‘A Deeper Sense of Loyalty’ provides not only an enthralling read, but evidence that history is laced with people who believe in humanity’s inherent good.

Synopsis:

In 1860, James Langdon, a southern boy from Macon, Georgia, is all set to celebrate his eighteenth birthday after graduating from school in New York. He has been groomed to handle the business end of his father's large cotton plantation. A deeply religious lad with an uncharacteristic aversion to slavery, James's father raised him to believe that unlike other negroes, the workers on Langdon Plantation were sharecroppers and not slaves. When James finds out that his father has deceived him, it sets up a conflict between the two men that takes a war to settle.

When hostilities break out in 1861, he leaves home, ostensibly to serve the Southern cause. Instead, he embarks on his own mission to help slaves escape to Canada. Now considered to be a traitor and an outlaw by the South, danger is his constant companion; certain death awaits him should he be caught. Although he is powerless to go against his conscience, he is equally ridden with guilt for turning his back on his heritage. James knows that when the war ends, there will still be one last confrontation left for him: facing his father.

As the author explains, his book carries a series message for the present day.

“I believe that this story is important because, besides being very entertaining, it sends a strong message about the evils of racism. It serves as an example of what is most important in the world and that is for people to treat each other with respect regardless of their race, or religion,” says Gilbert.

Continuing, “It is a story of someone who could have had everything in life but chose to acknowledge the fact that there are more important things than material belongings.”

Since its release, the book has garnered a consistent string of rave reviews.

For example, Lisa M. Alwine said, “A Deeper Sense of Loyalty grabbed me at the first chapter and I found myself whipping through the pages in anticipation of the conclusion. This is a well written novel containing something for every reader. The story takes place during the civil war so you have your slices of U.S. history combined with human compassion and the belief in doing what's right in a country so torn.”

With the book’s popularity increasing, interested readers are urged to purchase their copies as soon as possible.

‘A Deeper Sense of Loyalty’, published by Sunbury Press, is available now: http://amzn.to/13rm4Ie

About C. James Gilbert
C. James Gilbert has been a Civil War enthusiast for forty years. Aside from being an avid reader on the subject, he has made an extensive tour of Civil War battlefields all over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. In the past, he has also been a collector of Civil War relics. C. James Gilbert was inspired to write this, his first novel, by a deep rooted aversion to the plight of the Afro-American race in the antebellum south and a passion for the Civil War.

A native of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, C. James Gilbert now lives in Littlestown, Pennsylvania with his wife. He is employed as a residential electrician and enjoys spending time with his children and granddaughters.