My great great grandfather enlisted in the 7th Virginia Infantry at Culpeper Court House in April, 1861 at the age of 18. His family farm was in Culpeper County. So, this is kind of a personal account of what the war would have been like for my ancestors there. Although they are not mentioned in the book, and I do not know where in the county they lived, it is still fascinating to imagine that they must have personally known at least some of the individuals whose stories are told in this book.

Sutherland does an excellent job of conveying what the war was like for the civilians, as well as for soldiers of both armies. His descriptions of camp life as well as battles such as Cedar Mountain and Brandy Station are powerful. He uses the present tense (with a tip of the hat to historian Albert Castel, who did the same in his classic account of the Atlanta Campaign) which does lend a "you are there" intensity to the narrative. Many of the characters of the county come alive over the seasons as Sutherland deftly weaves their tales with the overall history of the county during the war.

An excellent book, offering a compelling account of the trials and tribulations of a war torn section of Virginia during the Civil War. ( )

I grew up in Culpeper County but this book.....
Did not like the present tense....
And it just never grabbed me. ( )

Instead of the usual political or military objective histories, Seasons of War uses journals, letters, and newspapers to try to recreate the "feel" of the Civil War in Culpeper County VA, and largely succeeds. The present tense (which could have been distracting) works to give some immediacy to the events and emotions of those who lived in and/or fought in Culpeper.

For those of us who live in the County, it helps reveal the history around us and underfoot in a way that makes it all too human. ( )