David Mason
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COL (Ret.) David J. Mason, U.S. Army, is the Owner and Founder of HMG ePublishing, LLC, an online entrepreneur, and the great‑grandson of Parson Sykes—the historical figure at the heart of his acclaimed trilogy. A veteran senior executive with experience across government, academia, private industry, and scientific and technological operations, Mason brings rigorous research discipline and cultural stewardship to his writing.
Mason’s lifelong interest in his family’s history began at reunions where elders shared stories of their ancestors from Southampton County, Virginia. His lineage traces back to Louisa Williams Sykes, an enslaved matriarch who lived on Jacob Williams’ farm—one of the sites attacked during Nat Turner’s 1831 Southampton Insurrection. During the Civil War, Parson Sykes and his brothers, Joseph and Henry, made a daring escape from bondage and reached Fort Monroe in December 1864. After enlisting, they served honorably in the XXV Army Corps, United States Colored Troops (USCT). These true events form the foundation of Mason’s documentary‑style trilogy, The Self-Liberation of Parson Sykes, which blends family chronicles, archival research, and historical records. The series traces Parson’s evolution from enslavement to emancipation, his military service with the First Cavalry Regiment USCT, and his return to a Reconstruction‑era South defined by systemic racism and political betrayal. Mason’s work is noted for its historical accuracy, emotional depth, and its illumination of African American resilience. Mason’s contributions to preserving African American history have been recognized by the Afro‑American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), where he has received multiple awards honoring his research, storytelling, and commitment to cultural memory. He holds a Master of Science degree from Hampton University, a Bachelor of Science degree from Norfolk State University, and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. |
The Self-Liberation of Parson Sykes -
The Escape from Enslavement in Southampton County, Virginia
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Historical Fiction
The Self-Liberation of Parson Sykes is a documentary novel based on a true story and actual events and was drawn from a variety of sources, including published materials and family chronicles. The novel is the story of Parson Sykes’ a curiously enslaved teenager in Virginia, historic self-liberation followed by his enlistment in the Union Army. The story takes place in Southampton County, near the end of the American Civil War on the slave-holding Jacob Williams’ farm. During the 1831 Southampton Insurrection, the farm came under attack by Nat Turner and his insurgents, which still haunts Jacob. In the book, Parson and Jacob Williams are faced at opposite ends of the disputed points over the moral issue of slavery and secession, a political decision that led directly to war. The Self-Liberation of Parson Sykes also functions to draw attention to the important role Black soldiers played during the Civil War as members of United States Colored Troops (USCT). Though less heralded, the USCT regiments were the precursors to Black army units famously nicknamed as the Buffalo Soldiers, Smoked Yankees, the Harlem Hell Fighters, Tuskegee Airmen, and the Red Ball Express. 
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The Self-Liberation of Parson Sykes: Book Two - Enlistment in the Union Army
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Historical Fiction
During the latter half of the American Civil War, over 180,000 African Americans served in the Union Army, United States Colored Troops (USCT) branch. The Self-Liberation of Parson Sykes: Enlistment in the Union Army Parson’s ordeal from “contraband of war” status to a USCT soldier to gain freedom at age seventeen. Parson served in the Union Army of the James, which comprised two racially segregated army corps units. The white infantry regiments formed the XXIV Army Corps field army. The Black regiments formed the XXV Army Corps, commanded by Major General Godfrey Weitzel. It was the only all-Black army corps in United States military history. By the end of 1864, Black troops had earned the grudging respect of their white comrade-in-arms. Parson felt called to challenge the institution of slavery and the negative stereotypical beliefs about Black people that preceded his enlistment. In the refugee settlement near Fort Monroe, the USCT soldiers, like Parson, helped the refugees gain the strength, stability, and independence they needed to build better lives. Many were in weakened states caused by the harsh conditions of their enslavement and in need of essential humanitarian support. On December 5, Parson began his basic individual and collected training in marching and fighting drills, which were part of the Civil War soldier's daily routine. After training, being stationed at Fort Burnham near General Ulysses S. Grant’s field headquarters in City Point, VA, made it possible for Parson to continue his journey toward human and civil rights in the war zone. During his military service, Parson met several mentors and advisers who helped him enhance his resourcefulness in solving social, political, and economic problems by creating novel solutions to overcoming disenfranchisement. His helpers advised him to challenge the notion that Black people were an inferior race. Parson took it upon himself to fight for and attain the human rights he deserved. On April 3, General Grant ordered the XXV Army Corps to attack the rebels' fortified lines. While General Weitzel considered it a suicide mission, Parson saw and embraced it as a challenge for freedom and self-liberation. Grant ordered the XXIV Army Corps and a division from the XXV Army Corps to renew his assault on the rebels in Petersburg. On April 3, 1865, the 36th USCT infantry regiment entered Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America. At Appomattox, regiments of the XXV Army Corps cut off the rebels’ last avenue of escape, prompting Robert E. Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865. Five days after Lee’s surrender, on the evening of April 14, 1865, Parson grieved the assassination of President Lincoln. It was particularly devastating and frustrating for Parson. After fighting a civil war for freedom, he suddenly lost his commander-in-chief. His hope is probably low in this part of the story, and his journey towards human and civil rights feels like an impossible mission. Chapter Sample PDF |
The Self-Liberation of Parson Sykes: Return to Southampton County
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Historical Fiction
With a victorious end to the Civil War, Parson Sykes fulfilled the goal of self-liberation, but he grew frustrated with the Reconstruction programs. At the suspension of open hostility, he recognized the need for complete emancipation. Following the defeat of the Confederacy, he must advance civil and human rights to gain real freedom. As post-war planning emerged, new challenges arose. Parson grew frustrated with the conniving practices of racial superiority and inferiority that hindered everyday freedom. Parson experienced the chaotic end of the Civil War while serving in the Union Army. Grappling with military-civil affairs duty, political uncertainty, and the unfulfilled promises of emancipation, Parson realized the Emancipation Proclamation did not go far enough. Following the defeat of the Confederacy, vicious racial violence characterized the resistance to integrating Black people. Parson joyously learned that the Federal government created the Freedmen’s Bureau to help formerly enslaved people transition to freedom with humanitarian aid. Parson relentlessly advocated and pursued education, political participation, and full citizenship. With the creation of the Bureau, he felt less pressure. Parson witnesses the final year of the Civil War and the chaotic dawn of Reconstruction, learning about the complex political struggle for civil rights through mentors and firsthand observation. Parson’s insights taught him that in war, the victory is just the blossom, and nothing is more frustrating than a bloom that refuses to morph into some fruit. Parson returns to Virginia, where he confronts the defeated confederates, including the rise of hate groups and violent insurgents. In Southampton County, the Bureau mediated sharecropping agreements between white landowners and Black families after the constitutional end of enslavement. Despite granting freedom, the federal government took little action to help Black families acquire the promised land. Through his interactions with mentors, Parson becomes a fierce advocate for the human and civil rights of Black Americans, focusing on education, land ownership, and political participation. He navigated the legal and social struggles surrounding the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, revealing both the hope they inspired and the violent backlash they provoked. With the passage of these amendments, they guaranteed equal rights to all citizens and prohibited states from denying the right to vote based on race or color. Simply put, Parson’s efforts to gain freedom, citizenship, and equality required long-term commitment, resilience, and perseverance. Having secured his right to vote and purchase land, Parson married, started a family, and established himself as an independent community leader in Southampton County, achieving a hard-won personal liberation despite the systemic failures of the Reconstruction era. As revealed by Parson’s genealogy, Reconstruction has ongoing effects, especially in the importance of addressing root causes and the need for ongoing human and civil rights enhancements. Racism is an inescapable reality in the American society. Still, the complexities of social problems, with their cultural subtleties and interconnectedness, demand a deeper understanding and more nuanced approaches than those used in managing a political solution. Chapter Sample PDF |
