The Broken Harmonica is the compelling saga of Cornelius Wright as told in his own words: from his earliest coming of age on a plantation in the old South to his journey to freedom. Through nearly one hundred years of his life Cornelius tells the dramatic tale of his time spent as a soldier in the Civil War, forging a path toward the freedom he holds so deeply in his heart. Cornelius's personal struggles transform him, even after the freedom comes and he must continue the fight to find a way for himself and his family in the complex and divided world of the late nineteenth, early twentieth century America. In the midst of it all is a harmonica, an instrument that becomes symbolic of his life, his trials and legacy.