O’er the Land of the Free (Ohio River Valley Series Book 1)

In the rural community of Big Springs, Indiana, thirteen-year-old Virginia believes she understands the quiet rhythms of her family’s life—their farm, the general store they own, and the neighbors who depend on both. Then she is entrusted with a secret that changes everything. For years, her family has been using their farm and store as part of the Underground Railroad, secretly helping enslaved men, women, and children on their dangerous journey toward freedom. Now Virginia is old enough to become part of that hidden work. 

She quickly learns that courage is often found in ordinary acts: carrying food without asking questions, watching the road for strangers, keeping silent when silence might save a life, and helping frightened travelers disappear before anyone realizes they were there. But in 1861, the nation erupts into Civil War, changing the work of the Underground Railroad and bringing the conflict Virginia has only heard about directly into her own family. Her oldest brother leaves home to join the Union Army, and the family waits anxiously for every scrap of news from the battlefields. 

Each Friday, the general store becomes the heart of Big Springs when the mail and newspaper arrive. Farmers and townsmen crowd inside while Virginia’s father reads aloud the latest reports of battles, victories, defeats, casualties, and political developments. The war that once seemed far away becomes increasingly personal as familiar names disappear from the community and casualty lists grow longer. 

As months stretch into years, Virginia grows from a sheltered girl into a young woman shaped by secrecy, sacrifice, and uncertainty. Then her other brother turns eighteen, placing him squarely in the path of the war. He must decide whether to enlist voluntarily or risk being conscripted. Virginia’s sweetheart, Angus faces the same decision, forcing her to confront the possibility that the two young men she loves may soon follow her oldest brother into battle. 

Against the backdrop of a divided nation, Virginia watches childhood give way to adulthood and discovers that war is fought not only by soldiers on distant fields but also by the families who remain behind—waiting, working, hoping, and fearing the arrival of each Friday’s news. Set amid the farms, general store, secret journeys, and close-knit communities of southern Indiana, the novel is a coming-of-age story about courage, family, first love, and the price ordinary people pay when history reaches their doorstep.