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Marching Through Culpeper: A Novel of Culpeper, Virginia Crossroads of the Civil War
From 1861 to 1865, Culpeper County - located between Washington, D.C. and Richmond - changed hands numerous times and witnessed the movement of more troops than any locale in the nation. The book's characters, based on real soldiers and citizens, relate an authentic day-to-day feel of how it all happened, and the bloodshed and inconceivable privations that they endured. Through this unique Southern vantage point, we gain a perspective of the war rarely seen in traditional history books. At the heart of the story are spiritied eighteen-year-old Constance Armstrong and her childhood friend, Frank Stringfellow. Constance, strong and intelligent, supports her family by running a bookstore. Two Rebels and a Yankee vie for her affection amidst the chaos of war. Frank, an irrepressible daredevil, becomes a scout and spy for J.E.B. Stuart and undertakes countless hair-raising adventures. On and off the battlefield, Marching Through Culpeper exposes the human side of such heroes as John Pelham, J.E.B. Stuart, A.P. Hill, and George Armstrong Custer. This rich tapestry of life in a war-torn community is a story of the human spirit and the power of love.
542 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 5, 2026
Listen, I don't write reviews because I simply don't care to. Especially when it comes to things, like books, which are, by nature, incredibly subjective. Everyone is very different and is entitled to their opinion. By my Lord, this is by far the worst book I've ever read. It is the most disturbing piece of work I've read in 2026 when that, I'm fairly certain, wasn't the author's intention.
I saved this book among others from a Yard Sale that was destined for the dump if it didn't sell. I love a good historical fiction with a spot of romance on occasion. Especially about the Civil War. And considering that many of the battles depicted happened in my own "backyard" so to speak, of Virginia, it seemed to have the potential of an incredibly interesting read! Plus, I'm saving the trees one book at a time! But so help me God, I should have left the book there. Because this is disgraceful to put it lightly. Quite frankly, I will be throwing this book away.
While I do understand that this is ultimately a work of fiction and by fiction standards, liberties in the text, regardless if it is based on or in historical circumstances, should be expected to be taken. But, even with that grace being said and given, its potential is completely wasted. I have never seen such an appalling, stereotypical, downright disgusting portrayal of black characters and the lives black people lived during this time, in my life.
The way slavery is depicted, especially the whole "happy slave" thing with Sadie is ridiculous. I don't care how good the family treated her or if she herself considered the family "her family". If there was a time in her life, while she was "employed" (for want of a better phrase) by this family, where she did not receive any payment for her work or had the freedom to leave, then she was a SLAVE. Being "nice" to her doesn't change that history. Letting her "go" now doesn't change that history either.
While there are some genuine historical accounts of black people that wished to stay with their former white owners for many of the reasons depicted in this novel and thus, contributed to the ideal of the "happy slave", instances like these were a RARITY. Not a standard. And this book heavily suggests and downright admits at times, the exact opposite.
But apart from any of that, this does not change the fact that this is a disgraceful bastardization of the very real, horrifying circumstances that this work of fiction is based on. The heroine of the book, Constance, tells the reader that her grandfather freed his slaves, upon his death, in his will (i.e. they are not of any use to him anymore, but I digress) but she then goes onto say (referring to the slaves reactions), "none of them wanted to leave. All cried and begged to stay." (Pg 191). Are... Are we serious?
As a fellow reviewer said far more eloquently than myself, The author genuinely seemed to have taken 19th century myths, that black people of this time, were lazy and or to afraid to leave their white owners because they couldn't take care of themselves, to heart. These are the very, VERY harmful, dangerous ideals that allowed the Civil War to go on as long as it did. Ideals that have further warped the American mind in so many communities in the South. I'd like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that slavery is WRONG and that the South LOST THE WAR because they were in the WRONG. Having "confederate pride" is gross considering what it stands for and the history it comes from.
While the major conflict/ start of the war was State vs. Federal rights as well as property rights and many other things, those issues cannot be meaningfully separated from slavery. The preservation of slavery and the "livelihoods" it sustained was a central motivator for secession and the "fire in the engine" so to speak of the war. HUMAN LIVES at this time were considered PROPERTY and the Confederacy sought to preserve that institution. The Confederacy, The South, are the "bad guys" in this scenario if you boil it down to its basics which you can. The South was remarkably explicit about what they wanted.
Of course many farmers (a very noble, honorable professional) who didn't own slaves were greatly affected by the decisions of the North and their livelihoods were threatened. Of course, not everyone in the South was the problem. Of course there were people in the wrong in the North. All of this can be true. Common sense should dictate that. But that does NOT change the objective truth of history. History is not something I would say is being properly portrayed or even suggested in this book.
This idea that HUMAN BEINGS were better off in bondage is so genuinely gross. Quite frankly, I question the woman who wrote this from one human being to another. Perhaps that is unfair, I cannot speak to her character nor should I. But, when you write a novel depicted as personally as this one, I think to a certain degree, such genuine criticisms can be levied. Because how do you write a novel that is supposed to be an intimate look, in many ways, into the lives of people in this time period and draw THESE conclusions and suggest these realities? Because, in my reading, it seems to validate them.
I don't honestly want to give this author any praise at all because of how she handled this. I found myself over and over again, TRYING to give Morton the benefit of the doubt when it came to her novel. She seems to be a very eloquent speaker, witty at times, and truly, the writing itself wasn't even bad. But even with that, the "benefit of the doubt" never came because Morton consistently doubles down on the wrong things. I CANNOT objectively give her the "benefit of the doubt" because I cannot ignore how things are depicted.
Slavery was an act of violence and aggression against enslaved black people. And this book does very, very little to condemn it. It fails to properly represent just how horrid the conditions of slavery were and what many slaves were coming out of when given their freedom. It fails to present President Lincoln in any positive light, which regardless of your personal feelings on him as a man or a politician, does not change his enormous role in the destruction of American slavery and emancipation. This book fails to speak of the roughly 180,000- 200,000 Colored soldiers that made up 10% of the union army in the way they should be remembered.
Instead, Morton relegates the lives of these brave black men to "joining the Yankees because they were starving to death" (pg. 488). A means to an end, by all intents and purposes. Not a choice.
A simple Google search can show you just how imperative black people were to the war effort and general morale to win the fight. Those searches will tell you just how many lives, even if they didn't know how to support themselves, left their former masters and went out on their own anyway. These searches will tell you that to many of these lives, even if they couldn't support themselves, they would CHOOSE death (if it so came to that) over bondage. Because death to many was considered BETTER than bondage. But all of that is scrubbed away, minimized, and deeply invalidated in this book. Done so with shameful dialog and deplorable "exposition" that feels like personal opinion rather than objective fact.
About the ONLY decent thing in this work was the depiction of the various battles. Those contained quite a bit of fascinating detail and were genuinely interesting to read about. It even prompted me to do more of my own research to sate my curiosity. For that, Morton can have her flowers. But then the romance? I couldn't get into it at all. It felt super campy a lot of the time and rarely did it feel like I was seeing adults have these discussions, disagreements, and maturely navigate the things that come with falling in love. I get the characters are young, I myself am a young woman (26) but my goodness. I've never been this... frankly? Stupid. Even WHEN I was this young. The FMC is rather irritating, unremarkable, unmemorable, and honestly? It very much feels like a self-insert sort of character. Now this is me operating off of pure feeling in this regard. Truly, I can't necessarily point you to any one moment in the story where this felt most egregious. And honestly, I genuinely think there is nothing wrong with a self-insert when it comes to novels, I think we all do it in some capacity anyway, but it was something I personally picked up on. The male leads are also unremarkable and unmemorable. Really, I have nothing more to say about any of them beyond that. That's how flat the characters felt. I just didn't care about them. I tried, I really did. But I just didn't care.
Really, for me, nothing about this book can make up for the disgusting stance that was taken on the horrors of the world around them. The soft view is deplorable and I cannot stress enough how genuinely repulsed I feel. Especially considering that this is a book that is well praised. A "sleeper hit". Inspiring. Rave reviews here on Amazon and in many Civil War communities. But, how? I stand to question which communities praised this. Because it cannot be ones of proper merit. This is shameful. Truly. I cannot believe it has received any of the accolades it has. It's astounding that no one has honestly spoken out in protest beyond a few reviews I've seen here and there.
Listen, with all of this being said, and I know I've written an essay, I don't know the author so I can't speak to her intentions. At one point, I believe she had speaking/ book/ guide tours in neighboring communities near my own, but I've never personally been on one. While I can greatly dislike her writing, she herself may be lovely. I have no doubt her book was a passion project and a lot of love was poured into it. I have no doubt she made something that she is proud of. And again, if you enjoy this, then great, you are more than allowed to. Perhaps, this book reads very differently for you than myself. I also understand that ultimately, this is a work of fiction and maybe I shouldn't take it so seriously. I get it. I really do.
But literature encourages thought. Fiction or not. And you can only give so much grace. You can only excuse so many things as "isolated incidents" before they become a pattern. And objectively, the patterns are quite clear here. This book is revolting. I do not see how Morton thought that this was, in any way, appropriate to publish knowing what it contained. I do not see how she could present a soft, sepia toned view of so many years of objective wrongs and be proud of it.
I do not see how this has received any of the acclaim it has. So much so that it's now being turned into a movie? I'd like to hope that the movie will do a much better job depicting the horrors of this time in history and properly represent black characters, but I'm not holding my breath. Especially with the way the movie industry is today and if the author has any involvement.
I cannot in good faith recommend this book to anyone. Especially as a woman of color. Frankly, I cannot believe that it exists. If you seek to read something of a similar nature, I would suggest "Gone With The Wind" or even "Uncle Tom's Cabin". "Gone With The Wind" objectively, is considered a racist piece of work for many of the reasons I've stated here in many communities today. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" I believe, technically falls under the category of "banned books" in some communities but tackles a lot of the same things and faces some of the same criticisms. But both books do what they should and promote proper conversation between these subjects and how reality was colored VERY differently depending on which side you were standing on. These books are reflections of the times in which they were written and have always been filtered through those lenses. They are discussed and criticized today at length for the good, the bad, and the ugly of all that they are. But most importantly, they invite hard discussions on why literature is important even if it tries to sterilize history. Because if one book will do that, there will always be another to speak to the opposite.
Perhaps, this was Morton's intention. To become a part of these conversations and stimulate proper thinking on topics and issues that should be remembered and discussed. History forgotten is history doomed to repeat. But quite frankly, Morton's book lacks the historical intelligence and moral complexity to have such conversations and present them in a proper light. I've said before, this book feels as though its "history" is filtered through a personal lens rather than an objective one. It's 2026. The Civil War shouldn't be colored softly to make it palatable. No historical book, fiction or not, should soften the horrors of the history they are founded on. I would implore you to look elsewhere to find novels that properly stimulate the mind and challenge you to face harsh realities. As for me, this book will not have a place on my shelves. It will most definitely be tossed or torched. If I could give it zero stars, I would.
I saved this book among others from a Yard Sale that was destined for the dump if it didn't sell. I love a good historical fiction with a spot of romance on occasion. Especially about the Civil War. And considering that many of the battles depicted happened in my own "backyard" so to speak, of Virginia, it seemed to have the potential of an incredibly interesting read! Plus, I'm saving the trees one book at a time! But so help me God, I should have left the book there. Because this is disgraceful to put it lightly. Quite frankly, I will be throwing this book away.
While I do understand that this is ultimately a work of fiction and by fiction standards, liberties in the text, regardless if it is based on or in historical circumstances, should be expected to be taken. But, even with that grace being said and given, its potential is completely wasted. I have never seen such an appalling, stereotypical, downright disgusting portrayal of black characters and the lives black people lived during this time, in my life.
The way slavery is depicted, especially the whole "happy slave" thing with Sadie is ridiculous. I don't care how good the family treated her or if she herself considered the family "her family". If there was a time in her life, while she was "employed" (for want of a better phrase) by this family, where she did not receive any payment for her work or had the freedom to leave, then she was a SLAVE. Being "nice" to her doesn't change that history. Letting her "go" now doesn't change that history either.
While there are some genuine historical accounts of black people that wished to stay with their former white owners for many of the reasons depicted in this novel and thus, contributed to the ideal of the "happy slave", instances like these were a RARITY. Not a standard. And this book heavily suggests and downright admits at times, the exact opposite.
But apart from any of that, this does not change the fact that this is a disgraceful bastardization of the very real, horrifying circumstances that this work of fiction is based on. The heroine of the book, Constance, tells the reader that her grandfather freed his slaves, upon his death, in his will (i.e. they are not of any use to him anymore, but I digress) but she then goes onto say (referring to the slaves reactions), "none of them wanted to leave. All cried and begged to stay." (Pg 191). Are... Are we serious?
As a fellow reviewer said far more eloquently than myself, The author genuinely seemed to have taken 19th century myths, that black people of this time, were lazy and or to afraid to leave their white owners because they couldn't take care of themselves, to heart. These are the very, VERY harmful, dangerous ideals that allowed the Civil War to go on as long as it did. Ideals that have further warped the American mind in so many communities in the South. I'd like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that slavery is WRONG and that the South LOST THE WAR because they were in the WRONG. Having "confederate pride" is gross considering what it stands for and the history it comes from.
While the major conflict/ start of the war was State vs. Federal rights as well as property rights and many other things, those issues cannot be meaningfully separated from slavery. The preservation of slavery and the "livelihoods" it sustained was a central motivator for secession and the "fire in the engine" so to speak of the war. HUMAN LIVES at this time were considered PROPERTY and the Confederacy sought to preserve that institution. The Confederacy, The South, are the "bad guys" in this scenario if you boil it down to its basics which you can. The South was remarkably explicit about what they wanted.
Of course many farmers (a very noble, honorable professional) who didn't own slaves were greatly affected by the decisions of the North and their livelihoods were threatened. Of course, not everyone in the South was the problem. Of course there were people in the wrong in the North. All of this can be true. Common sense should dictate that. But that does NOT change the objective truth of history. History is not something I would say is being properly portrayed or even suggested in this book.
This idea that HUMAN BEINGS were better off in bondage is so genuinely gross. Quite frankly, I question the woman who wrote this from one human being to another. Perhaps that is unfair, I cannot speak to her character nor should I. But, when you write a novel depicted as personally as this one, I think to a certain degree, such genuine criticisms can be levied. Because how do you write a novel that is supposed to be an intimate look, in many ways, into the lives of people in this time period and draw THESE conclusions and suggest these realities? Because, in my reading, it seems to validate them.
I don't honestly want to give this author any praise at all because of how she handled this. I found myself over and over again, TRYING to give Morton the benefit of the doubt when it came to her novel. She seems to be a very eloquent speaker, witty at times, and truly, the writing itself wasn't even bad. But even with that, the "benefit of the doubt" never came because Morton consistently doubles down on the wrong things. I CANNOT objectively give her the "benefit of the doubt" because I cannot ignore how things are depicted.
Slavery was an act of violence and aggression against enslaved black people. And this book does very, very little to condemn it. It fails to properly represent just how horrid the conditions of slavery were and what many slaves were coming out of when given their freedom. It fails to present President Lincoln in any positive light, which regardless of your personal feelings on him as a man or a politician, does not change his enormous role in the destruction of American slavery and emancipation. This book fails to speak of the roughly 180,000- 200,000 Colored soldiers that made up 10% of the union army in the way they should be remembered.
Instead, Morton relegates the lives of these brave black men to "joining the Yankees because they were starving to death" (pg. 488). A means to an end, by all intents and purposes. Not a choice.
A simple Google search can show you just how imperative black people were to the war effort and general morale to win the fight. Those searches will tell you just how many lives, even if they didn't know how to support themselves, left their former masters and went out on their own anyway. These searches will tell you that to many of these lives, even if they couldn't support themselves, they would CHOOSE death (if it so came to that) over bondage. Because death to many was considered BETTER than bondage. But all of that is scrubbed away, minimized, and deeply invalidated in this book. Done so with shameful dialog and deplorable "exposition" that feels like personal opinion rather than objective fact.
About the ONLY decent thing in this work was the depiction of the various battles. Those contained quite a bit of fascinating detail and were genuinely interesting to read about. It even prompted me to do more of my own research to sate my curiosity. For that, Morton can have her flowers. But then the romance? I couldn't get into it at all. It felt super campy a lot of the time and rarely did it feel like I was seeing adults have these discussions, disagreements, and maturely navigate the things that come with falling in love. I get the characters are young, I myself am a young woman (26) but my goodness. I've never been this... frankly? Stupid. Even WHEN I was this young. The FMC is rather irritating, unremarkable, unmemorable, and honestly? It very much feels like a self-insert sort of character. Now this is me operating off of pure feeling in this regard. Truly, I can't necessarily point you to any one moment in the story where this felt most egregious. And honestly, I genuinely think there is nothing wrong with a self-insert when it comes to novels, I think we all do it in some capacity anyway, but it was something I personally picked up on. The male leads are also unremarkable and unmemorable. Really, I have nothing more to say about any of them beyond that. That's how flat the characters felt. I just didn't care about them. I tried, I really did. But I just didn't care.
Really, for me, nothing about this book can make up for the disgusting stance that was taken on the horrors of the world around them. The soft view is deplorable and I cannot stress enough how genuinely repulsed I feel. Especially considering that this is a book that is well praised. A "sleeper hit". Inspiring. Rave reviews here on Amazon and in many Civil War communities. But, how? I stand to question which communities praised this. Because it cannot be ones of proper merit. This is shameful. Truly. I cannot believe it has received any of the accolades it has. It's astounding that no one has honestly spoken out in protest beyond a few reviews I've seen here and there.
Listen, with all of this being said, and I know I've written an essay, I don't know the author so I can't speak to her intentions. At one point, I believe she had speaking/ book/ guide tours in neighboring communities near my own, but I've never personally been on one. While I can greatly dislike her writing, she herself may be lovely. I have no doubt her book was a passion project and a lot of love was poured into it. I have no doubt she made something that she is proud of. And again, if you enjoy this, then great, you are more than allowed to. Perhaps, this book reads very differently for you than myself. I also understand that ultimately, this is a work of fiction and maybe I shouldn't take it so seriously. I get it. I really do.
But literature encourages thought. Fiction or not. And you can only give so much grace. You can only excuse so many things as "isolated incidents" before they become a pattern. And objectively, the patterns are quite clear here. This book is revolting. I do not see how Morton thought that this was, in any way, appropriate to publish knowing what it contained. I do not see how she could present a soft, sepia toned view of so many years of objective wrongs and be proud of it.
I do not see how this has received any of the acclaim it has. So much so that it's now being turned into a movie? I'd like to hope that the movie will do a much better job depicting the horrors of this time in history and properly represent black characters, but I'm not holding my breath. Especially with the way the movie industry is today and if the author has any involvement.
I cannot in good faith recommend this book to anyone. Especially as a woman of color. Frankly, I cannot believe that it exists. If you seek to read something of a similar nature, I would suggest "Gone With The Wind" or even "Uncle Tom's Cabin". "Gone With The Wind" objectively, is considered a racist piece of work for many of the reasons I've stated here in many communities today. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" I believe, technically falls under the category of "banned books" in some communities but tackles a lot of the same things and faces some of the same criticisms. But both books do what they should and promote proper conversation between these subjects and how reality was colored VERY differently depending on which side you were standing on. These books are reflections of the times in which they were written and have always been filtered through those lenses. They are discussed and criticized today at length for the good, the bad, and the ugly of all that they are. But most importantly, they invite hard discussions on why literature is important even if it tries to sterilize history. Because if one book will do that, there will always be another to speak to the opposite.
Perhaps, this was Morton's intention. To become a part of these conversations and stimulate proper thinking on topics and issues that should be remembered and discussed. History forgotten is history doomed to repeat. But quite frankly, Morton's book lacks the historical intelligence and moral complexity to have such conversations and present them in a proper light. I've said before, this book feels as though its "history" is filtered through a personal lens rather than an objective one. It's 2026. The Civil War shouldn't be colored softly to make it palatable. No historical book, fiction or not, should soften the horrors of the history they are founded on. I would implore you to look elsewhere to find novels that properly stimulate the mind and challenge you to face harsh realities. As for me, this book will not have a place on my shelves. It will most definitely be tossed or torched. If I could give it zero stars, I would.
August 3, 2026
While I enjoyed reading about the history and battles around Culpeper, learning much about the strategies and many of the men who fought, I could've done without most of the romance and reading about "damn Yankees", "vah-gin-yah", "marse robert" and all the Confederate propaganda. This book was definitely one sided and had nothing good to say about President Lincoln and nothing bad to say about slavery which was very difficult to stomach. All the feminist claptrap was very unrealistic for the time and the exchanges between Aaron and Constance with the "yank and reb" debates got to be annoying as well. I am thankful to learn more about the different homes and landmarks in the area and will be doing more research and visiting the different battlefields because of this book but that's the only positive thing I can say about it.
May 30, 2025
had to keep reminding myself that this is a work of fiction although it referenced real people, places, and events. the civil war was an act of aggression by the north and not because of slavery: FICTION. the slaves were actually "servants", well-treated, longed to stay in the south, and the rare owners who mistreated their slaves were ostracized by the community: FICTION. a lot of detail on the various battles which was interesting and has motivated me to further research but this was basically the civil war as if retold by Fox news.
July 22, 2020
I purchased this book in Culpeper 18 years ago. I remember liking the details about the battles, but not enjoying much else.
I started to read it again as I was cleaning out my books and had to skim in order to finish. Again, the details of the battles that took place in Culpeper were interesting, but the soft view on the horrors of slavery and the southern position repulsed me. Will be tossing this one.
I started to read it again as I was cleaning out my books and had to skim in order to finish. Again, the details of the battles that took place in Culpeper were interesting, but the soft view on the horrors of slavery and the southern position repulsed me. Will be tossing this one.
November 4, 2008
Great Read. Met the author, took the tour, great history!
October 12, 2009
Fabulous book, learned much
December 17, 2009
Of special interest to me because I'm a descendant of the Rixeys or Rixeyville, VA. A new understanding of the southern view of the Civil War.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews