Luther's War

About the Book

Sent to live with an aunt and uncle at four, Luther was a farm boy with little schooling and not much future. He joined the Confederate Army in 1861 at 15, and left the War in 1864 at 18. Now an old man, he tells his stories about those years.

Although he rode with the cavalry under the notorious Nathan Bedford Forrest and the daring John Stanley Morgan in their raids in Tennessee and Kentucky, he was never an eager shootin’ and fightin’ soldier. He found his place in helping with the sick, the wounded, and the dead. The reality of the War brings him to question its rightful purpose and whether he can in good faith continue to fight for the South and all that it stands for.

When his little red mare was shot from under him, he was forced to join the army of foot soldiers on the arduous march to Richmond. He was then taken mortally sick with the fevers, several hundred miles from home. He decided to quit the War, vowing that “if’n I’m goin’ to die, it’ll be on my way home.”

He continues his stories about his journey home to Stewart County in Luther’s Women (Xlibris, Philadelphia, 2005).

Dr. Morris is Professor Emeritus, the University of Iowa. His previous published works are professional and scientific. This is his first work of fiction. He is a native of Stewart County, Tennessee, and lives now in Tucson.