A Diary from Dixie

Description

Mary Boykin Chestnut was the wife of famous Confederate general James Chestnut Junior, who was a southern aristocrat and one of the first who left the senate at the beginning of the American Civil War. Mary Chestnut’s Diary from Dixie is quite possibly the most faithful account of life in the southern aristocratic society during the war that still remained intact once the war has ended.

The main reason why this book remains an extremely important historical document is not only Mary’s status as the wife of one of the top leaders of the Confederate army, but also the fact that she was well acquainted to many Confederate leaders of the time. Some of the most well-known names include John Bell Hood, Jefferson Davis and even Robert E. Lee.

The eyewitness narrative depicted in the book provides an unprecedented and highly detailed view of daily life, the struggles of those involved in the war and the tribulations of everyone from common folk to the top politicians and army generals in the area. Period photographs are also included that will provide you with a remarkable way of immersing yourself into an age when those who documented history were few and far between, and another document such as A Diary from Dixie was difficult, if not impossible to find.

Mary lived in both Confederate capitals, providing her accounts of what life was like in Richmond, Virginia and Montgomery, Alabama, while also describing her own home and her husband’s plantation in South Carolina.

Mary Chestnut’s unique perspective on the war is provided in great detail, from the early stages of the war, when parties, dinners and luncheons filled her entire time, until the days before the war was lost when she expressed her insightful and empathic concerns on the suffering of the Confederate soldiers.
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