They say I'm a Yankee -- but if wanting peace is Yankee -- then I am one. I am tired of Disunion of husband wife. In 1858; nineteen-year-old Priscilla "Mittie" Munnikhuysen began a new diary that saw her marry; leave her family in the genteel Protestant seaboard culture of Chesapeake Bay; and take up residence with her wealthy husband; Howard Bond; in the frontier plantation society of Catholicsouth Louisiana. By 1865; Priscilla Bond had witnessed trials and disillusionments enough to fill a two-volume journal: her father-in-law's brutality toward his slaves; her husband's alleged ambush of Union soldiers and subsequent flight from home; the retaliatory burning of the family's sugar plantation in Houma; and the losses; horrors; and daily depredations of war.Published here for the first time; with extensive notes and a critical introduction by Kimberly Harrison; Bond's intimate writings illuminate the Civil War's impact on women; families; and individual identities. Occasionally Bond records her experiences for the benefit of later readers; but more often she uses her diary to carve a space and time for self-reflection; self-instruction; and self-persuasion. Nineteenth-century women's lives were defined by their relation to others -- as wife; mother; daughter; and sister -- and keeping a diary allowed Bond to claim time for herself. It served as a rhetorical tool that helped motivate her to conform to contemporary standards of "true womanhood;" adapt to a harsh new environment; and survive the collapse of a civilization. Harrison's interpretive commentary enables readers to appreciate the context within which Bond writes even as entries about everything from marital anguish to in-law difficulties to religious struggles to failing health bring Priscilla Bond uniquely and movingly to life. Her diary; deftly cross-referenced with numerous letters; adds a valuable and enriching layer of complexity to the larger story of the Civil War home front.
#1566621 in Books Louisiana State University Press 1999-11Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 1.76 x 6.23 x 9.24l; #File Name: 0807124117584 pages
Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Information from the INSIDEBy Carolyn StewartI currently have 15 books that I use in researching information about Morgan's Raiders. While this book touches on part of those events; it is hard to find a book that gives better description of the day to day boredom and survival of the Confederate forces in western Virginia and eastern Tennessee during that time. It also helps reinforce the unending confusion among the officers and the struggles of vanity that were taking place. There is MUCH information here that is missing from any of the other books.I found Guerrant a likeable young man whose concerns for his appearance; young ladies and a good horse not so different than the standard concerns of young men today. At one point he commented that he had written a thought with the idea that no young woman would ever be reading it. I considered that this older woman was reading it; but then realized that he had died long before I was born. It really puts life cycles and our communications by writing into perspective.I am not a scholar; but have enjoyed this book tremendously. When it ended; I felt I had lost a friend. I often go back and read about his life afterwards that is in the introduction. I have been to his area of Kentucky to visit. There is a display about him; his father; son and grandson in the Bluegrass Heritage Museum in Winchester.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A little dry for my taste; but if you ...By Sandra MunnA little dry for my taste;but if you are interested in a different perspective on the Civil War;it may be worth your while.Guerrant writes in the style of that time period and you have too look over his going on about his account of things.I purchased this book more for a genealogical stand point;due too being a distant relation of the Guerrant's.He does mention cousins and family members so it suited my original idea for it's use;by establishing sources for other individuals that he mentions.For me;it was worth the purchase.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great for researching those forgotten Confederate soldiersBy Harold C.This is the diaries of the AG of the Western Virginia and Eastern Tennessee Command C.S.A. Great for researching those forgotten Confederate soldiers.
