The Color of Lightning by Paulette Jiles

This book wasn't what I was expecting. I guess I need to be better about reading the entire jacket blurb instead of the first few sentences.
This book takes place just after the Civil War and is about a black man, Britt Johnson, and his family. They leave Kentucky and head west to Texas to start their lives as free people. Texas in the 1860s and 70s was rough. Right in the beginning of the book there is an Indian raid while Britt and several other men from the community were out of town. Britt's family- Mary, his wife and his 3 kids- is taken by the Indians. The book becomes alot about his drive to get his family back.
There is a side story about a man who is working with the Office of Indian Affairs. His name is Samuel Hammond and his life has taken a bad turn and he ends up working with the Indians and on the reservation.
The book had lots of historically accurate information and I learned alot about that time period in Texas. Britt Johnson was a real person and the book is loosely based on information about him. It was neat to read about Texas towns and people. I ended up enjoying the book, but felt like it had a lot of drama in the beginning and then I kept waiting for more to happen and it never really did till the end.