A Diary From Dixie
Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut
1823-1886
A Diary from Dixie, as Written by Mary Boykin Chesnut,
Wife of James Chesnut, Jr., United States Senator From South Carolina, 1859-1861, and Afterward an Aide to Jefferson Davis and a Brigadier-General in the Confederate Army
by Mary Boykin Chesnut
ed. by Isabella D. Martin and Myrta Lockett Avary
New York D. Appleton and Company 1905
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MRS. JAMES CHESNUT, JR.
From a Portrait in Oil.
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A DIARY FROM
DIXIE, as written by
MARY BOYKIN CHESNUT, wife of James
Chesnut, Jr., United States Senator from South
Carolina, 1859-1861, and afterward an Aide
to Jefferson Davis and a Brigadier-
General in the Confederate Army
Edited by
Isabella D. Martin and
Myrta Lockett
Avary
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION: The Author And Her Book . . . . xiii
CHAPTER I. – CHARLESTON, S. C., November 8, 1860 – December 27, 1860. The news of Lincoln’s election – Raising the Palmetto flag – The author’s husband resigns as United States Senator – The Ordinance of Secession – Anderson takes possession of Fort Sumter . . . . 1
CHAPTER II. – MONTGOMERY, Ala., February 19, 1861 – March 11, 1861. Making the Confederate Constitution – Robert Toombs – Anecdote of General Scott – Lincoln’s trip through Baltimore – Howell Cobb and Benjamin H. Hill – Hoisting the Confederate flag – Mrs. Lincoln’s economy in the White House – Hopes for peace – Despondent talk with anti-secession leaders – The South unprepared – Fort Sumter . . . . 6
CHAPTER III.-CHARLESTON, S. C., March 26,1861 – April 15, 1861. A soft-hearted slave-owner – Social gaiety in the midst of war talk – Beauregard a hero and a demigod – The first shot of the war – Anderson refuses to capitulate – The bombardment of Fort Sumter as seen from the housetops – War steamers arrive in Charleston harbor – “Bull Run” Russell – Demeanor of the negroes . . . . 21
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CHAPTER. IV. – CAMDEN, S. C., April 20, 1861 – April 22,1861. After Sumter was taken – The jeunesse dorée – The story of Beaufort Watts – Maria Whitaker’s twins – The inconsistencies of life . . . . 42
CHAPTER V. – MONTGOMERY, Ala., April 27, 1861 – May 20, 1861. Baltimore in a blaze – Anderson’s account of the surrender of Fort Sumter – A talk with Alexander H. Stephens – Reports from Washington – An unexpected reception – Southern leaders take hopeless views of the future – Planning war measures – Removal of the capital . . . . 47
CHAPTER VI. – CHARLESTON, S. C., May 25, 1861 – June 24, 1861. Waiting for a battle in Virginia – Ellsworth at Alexandria – Big Bethel – Moving forward to the battleground – Mr. Petigru against secession – Mr. Chesnut goes to the front – Russell’s letters to the London Times . . . . 57
CHAPTER VII. – RICHMOND, Va., June 27, 1861 – July 4, 1861. Arrival at the new capital – Criticism of Jefferson Davis – Soldiers everywhere – Mrs. Davis’s drawing-room – A day at the Champ de Mars – The armies assembling for Bull Run – Col. L. Q. C. Lamar . . . . 68
CHAPTER VIII. – FAUQUIER WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, Va., July 6, 1861 – July 11, 1861. Cars crowded with soldiers – A Yankee spy – Anecdotes of Lincoln – Gaiety in social life – Listening for guns – A horse for Beauregard . . . . 77
CHAPTER IX. – RICHMOND, Va., July 13, 1861 – September 2, 1861. General Lee and Joe Johnston – The battle of Bull Run – Colonel Bartow’s death – Rejoicings and funerals –
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Anecdotes of the battle – An interview with Robert E. Lee – Treatment of prisoners – Toombs thrown from his horse – Criticism of the Administration – Paying the soldiers – Suspected women searched – Mason and Slidell . . . . 82
CHAPTER X. – CAMDEN, S. C., September 9, 1861 – September 19, 1861. The author’s sister, Kate Williams – Old Colonel Chesnut – Roanoke Island surrenders – Up Country and Low Country – Family silver to be taken for war expenses – Mary McDuffie Hampton – The Merrimac and the Monitor . . . . 127
CHAPTER XI. – COLUMBIA, S. C., February 20, 1862 – July 21, 1862. Dissensions among Southern leaders – Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Conscription begins – Abuse of Jefferson Davis – The battle of Shiloh – Beauregard flanked at Nashville – Old Colonel Chesnut again – New Orleans lost – The battle of Williamsburg – Dinners, teas, and breakfasts – Wade Hampton at home wounded – Battle of the Chickahominy – Albert Sidney Johnston’s death – Richmond in sore straits – A wedding and its tragic ending – Malvern Hill – Recognition of the Confederacy in Europe . . . . 131
CHAPTER XII. – FLAT ROCK, N. C., August 1, 1862 – August 8, 1862. A mountain summer resort – George Cuthbert – A disappointed cavalier – Antietam and Chancellorsville – General Chesnut’s work for the army . . . . 210
CHAPTER XIII. – PORTLAND, Ala., July 8, 1863 – July 30, 1863. A journey from Columbia to Southern Alabama – The surrender of Vicksburg – A terrible night in a swamp on a riverside – A good pair of shoes – The author at her mother’s home – Anecdotes of negroes – A Federal Cynic . . . . 216
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CHAPTER XIV. – RICHMOND, Va., August 10, 1863 – September 7, 1863. General Hood in Richmond – A brigade marches through the town – Rags and tatters – Two love affairs and a wedding – The battle of Brandy Station – The Robert Barnwell tragedy . . . . 229
CHAPTER XV. – CAMDEN, S. C., September 10, 1863 – November 5, 1863. A bride’s dressing-table – Home once more at Mulberry – Longstreet’s army seen going West – Constance and Hetty Cary – At church during Stoneman’s raid – Richmond narrowly escapes capture – A battle on the Chickahominy – A picnic at Mulberry . . . . 240
CHAPTER XVI. – RICHMOND, Va., November 28, 1863 – April 11, 1864. Mr. Davis visits Charleston – Adventures by rail – A winter of mad gaiety – Weddings, dinner-parties, and private theatricals – Battles around Chattanooga – Bragg in disfavor – General Hood and his love affairs – Some Kentucky generals – Burton Harrison and Miss Constance Cary – George Eliot – Thackeray’s death – Mrs. R. E. Lee and her daughters – Richmond almost lost – Colonel Dahlgren’s death – General Grant – Depreciated currency – Fourteen generals at church . . . . 252
CHAPTER XVII. – CAMDEN, S. C., May 8, 1864 – June 1, 1864. A farewell to Richmond – “Little Joe’s” pathetic death and funeral – An old silk dress – The battle of the Wilderness – Spottsylvania Court House – At Mulberry once more – Old Colonel Chesnut’s grief at his wife’s death . . . . 304
CHAPTER XVIII. – COLUMBIA, S. C., July 6,1864 – January 17, 1865. Gen. Joe Johnston superseded and the Alabama sunk- The author’s new home – Sherman at Atlanta – The
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battle of Mobile Bay – At the hospital in Columbia – Wade Hampton’s two sons shot – Hood crushed at Nashville – Farewell to Mulberry – Sherman’s advance eastward – The end near . . . . 313
CHAPTER XIX. – LINCOLNTON, N. C., February 16, 1865 – March 15, 1865. The flight from Columbia – A corps of generals without troops – Broken-hearted and an exile – Taken for millionaires – A walk with Gen. Joseph E. Johnston – The burning of Columbia – Confederate money refused in the shops – Selling old clothes to obtain food – Gen. Joe Johnston and President Davis again – Braving it out – Mulberry saved by a faithful negro – Ordered to Chester, S. C. . . . . 344
CHAPTER XX. – CHESTER, S. C., March 21, 1865 – May 1, 1865. How to live without money – Keeping house once more – Other refugees tell stories of their flight – The Hood melodrama over – The exodus from Richmond – Passengers in a box car – A visit from General Hood – The fall of Richmond – Lee’s surrender – Yankees hovering around – In pursuit of President Davis . . . . 367