| PAGE |
| 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 house-tops—War
steamers arrive in Charleston harbor—“Bull
Run” Russell—Demeanor of the negroes | [ 21] |
| 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 battle-ground—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—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] |
| 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
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] |
| Chapter XXI.—CAMDEN, S. C., May 2, 1865-August
2, 1865. | |
| Once more at Bloomsbury—Surprising fidelity of negroes—Stories
of escape—Federal soldiers who plundered old
estates—Mulberry partly in ruins—Old Colonel Chesnut
last of the grand seigniors—Two classes of sufferers—A
wedding and a funeral—Blood not shed in vain | [384] |
| INDEX | [405] |
| FACING PAGE |
| Mrs. JAMES CHESNUT, Jr. | [Frontispiece] |
| From a Portrait in Oil. Reproduced by courtesy of the
owner, Mr. David R. Williams, of Camden, S. C. | |
| A PAGE OF THE DIARY IN FACSIMILE | [xxii] |
| |
| THE OLD BAPTIST CHURCH IN COLUMBIA, S. C. | [4] |
| Here First Met the South Carolina Secession Convention. | |
| VIEW OF CHARLESTON DURING THE WAR | [22] |
| From an Old Print. | |
| FORT SUMTER UNDER BOMBARDMENT | [38] |
| From an Old Print. | |
| A GROUP OF CONFEDERATE GENERALS | [94] |
| Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, Albert Sidney Johnston,
“Stonewall” Jackson, John B. Hood, and Pierre
G. T. Beauregard. | |
| MULBERRY HOUSE, NEAR CAMDEN, S. C. | [128] |
| From a Recent Photograph. | |
| A GROUP OF CONFEDERATE WOMEN | [148] |
| Mrs. Jefferson Davis, Mrs. Francis W. Pickens, Mrs. Louisa
S. McCord, Miss S. B. C. Preston, Mrs. David R. Williams
(the author’s sister Kate), Miss Isabella D. Martin. | |
| ANOTHER GROUP OF CONFEDERATE GENERALS | [230] |
| Robert Toombs, John H. Morgan, John C. Preston, Joseph
B. Kershaw, James Chesnut, Jr., Wade Hampton. | |
| THE DAVIS MANSION IN RICHMOND, THE “WHITE
HOUSE” OF THE CONFEDERACY | [264] |
| Now the Confederate Museum. | |
| Mrs. JAMES CHESNUT, Sr. | [310] |
| From a Portrait in Oil by Gilbert Stuart. Reproduced by
courtesy of the owner, Mr. David R. Williams, of Camden,
S. C. | |
| Mrs. CHESNUT’S HOME IN COLUMBIA IN THE LAST
YEAR OF THE WAR | [314] |
| Here Mrs. Chesnut entertained Jefferson Davis. | |
| RUINS OF MILLWOOD, WADE HAMPTON’S ANCESTRAL HOME | [350] |
| From a Recent Photograph. | |
| A NEWSPAPER “EXTRA” | [380] |
| Issued in Chester, S. C., and Announcing the Assassination
of Lincoln. | |
| Col. JAMES CHESNUT, Sr. | [390] |
| From a Portrait in Oil by Gilbert Stuart. Reproduced
by courtesy of the owner, Mr. David R. Williams, of Camden, S. C. | |
| SARSFIELD, NEAR CAMDEN, S. C. | [402] |
| Built by General Chesnut after the War, and the Home of
himself and Mrs. Chesnut until they Died. From a Recent Photograph. | |