“My father was a South Carolina nullifier, Governor of the state at the time of nullification row, and then United States Senator; so I was of necessity a rebel born. My husband’s family being equally pledged to the Union party rather exasperated my zeal.Yet I felt a nervous dread and horror of this break with so great a power as the United States, but I was ready and willing.”(3)
Mary Boykin Chesnut introduces her heritage and sets the stage for what her diary is about with this quote. She gives the impression that she was born a rebel, though she knew that the seperation from the Union was dangerous because America had finally become a power in the world.
Mary Boykin Chesnut
Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut was born March 31, 1823 to Stephan Decatur Miller and his wife Mary Boykin in Stateburg, South Carolina. Mary Boykin Chesnut died on November 22, 1886 without any children and was buried in Knights Hill Cemetery beside her husband, General James Chesnut, Jr.
“For once in her life, Mrs. Chesnut held her tongue.”(3)
Throughout the diary, Mary Boykin Chesnut confronts people and says exactly what she is thinking whether that is to her husband or a well resepcted Reverend. In this period of history, you hear of men being the dominate power so this quote where Mary refers to herself in third person shows how Mary varied from other women of her time, but not too much to become a threat to her husbands political standing.
Confederate Flag
Mary Boykin Chesnut married General James Chesnut, Jr. on April 23, 1840 and the only surviving son of a wealthy landowner. General James Chesnut was an U.S. senator from 1858 until South Carolina broke from the Union in 1860. After South Carolina broke from the Union, General Chesnut became a Confederate General and an aide to the Chesnut’s close friend, Jefferson Davis.
General James Chesnut Jr. and Mary Boykin Chesnut
“Every woman from every window of every house we passed waved a handkerchief-if she had one-at the soldiers”(66)
In this part of the book, Mary is talking about her traveling to different parts of the Confederacy while the war is beginning. She gives vivid discriptions of the places she traveled and what she encountered while there.
“At church today I saw old Negro mammys going to the communion in their white turbans. Being at the Lords table – so called, even then – black, white and brown must separate according to caste.”(31)
This quote shows the seperation between whites and blacks in the south during the civil war. Like many people in the south, mary seemed to be against the idea of slavery; however, she was living in a seperated world were whites were superior.
“I think I shed the bitterest tears that ever came into my eyes for him, cut off so soon, and for his mother!! Not yet twenty-one, his beautiful bride, and his baby unborn.”(279)
This quote shows the sorrow that came with the civil war. When a young son of a friend dies, Mary becomes over shadowed with sorrow for his family.
“Life is, I dare to say, pretty much the same game everywhere. Whatever one says of one’s husband here is always repeated to him by some shabby women present. They like to lay a trap for you.”(180)
Mary retorts this to a woman from another country who says that American women always praise their husbands. This shows how high society was during that time, very snobby and manipulative.
The Mulberry Plantaion was the home of General James Chesnut Jr. and Mary Boykin Chesnut. It is located in Camden, South Carolina and was named a National Historic Landmark in 2000.
The Mulberry Plantation
[The Mulberry Plantation]
"is nationally significant in the area of American literature for its association with Mary Boykin Chesnut's remarkable first-hand account of southern society during the Civil War. Her war-time diary, acknowledged as the most important piece of Confederate literature, is also recognized for its contributions to our understanding of southern culture and society."
- "Mulberry Plantation (James and Mary Boykin Chesnut House)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
(confederate flag)www.confederatemercantile.com/confederate_fla... (Mary)www.notablebiographies.com/images/uewb_03_img... (Mary and General James)www.findagrave.com/.../55/8574_120396538141.jpg
"is nationally significant in the area of American literature for its association with Mary Boykin Chesnut's remarkable first-hand account of southern society during the Civil War. Her war-time diary, acknowledged as the most important piece of Confederate literature, is also recognized for its contributions to our understanding of southern culture and society."
- "Mulberry Plantation (James and Mary Boykin Chesnut House)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
(Mary)www.notablebiographies.com/images/uewb_03_img...
(Mary and General James) www.findagrave.com/.../55/8574_120396538141.jpg
(Mulberry Plantation) Mulberry_Plantation_(Kershaw_County,_South_Carolina).jpg (591 × 407 pixels, file size: 146 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
Muhlenfeld, Elisabeth . Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut, 1823-1886 . Documenting The American South. 06 November 2008 <http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/chesnut/bio.html>.
Chesnut, Mary B. A Diary From Dixie. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1949.
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