Queen of the Confederacy: The Innocent Deceits of Lucy Holcombe Pickens

CHAPTER TWO: “Riches have taken to themselves wings and flown away.” Eugenia Dorothea Holcombe (1840–1846)

8 Riches have taken to themselves wings L ucy, born into an antebellum, slave-holding society, would be aware of the responsibility and demands of this oppressive system that the mistress of the plantation helped maintain .1 From dawn to dusk she would see her mother tend to the basic needs of the slaves and to the instruction and supervision of work. Everything was taught and done by hand on the premises—butchering , preserving, canning, soap making, butter churning, spinning, weaving, and sewing. The once-a-year supplies and storehouse of provisions were kept under locks, the keys fastened to the mistress’s belt. Duties did not end with directing daily chores. Lucy might see her mother called out in the night to tend the sick, say prayers for the dying, or help with the birthing of a slave-child. Slavery may have been essential to the South’s economy and, as a social system, shaped the lives of its womenfolk.2 The Southern plantation mistress found herself locked into a position of isolation, someCHAPTER TWO 1840–1846 “Riches have taken to themselves wings and flown away.” Eugenia Dorothea Holcombe 9 1840–1846 times in a hostile environment. Very often she had only her children and female house slaves for company. Tired and often distraught with worry and concern, she might take comfort in her religion. Religious convictions lay at the heart of the countrywoman’s struggle to know herself and to apply that knowledge so as to live and die a Christian woman.3 Eugenia was no exception. With her prayers and Bible readings she imparted the tenets of the Presbyterian Church to her children and to her slaves. Letter writing and journal keeping served as an emotional release and temporary respite from her responsibilities. Visits by relatives and friends, though welcomed, doubled the domestic demands, and travel away from the plantation was frowned upon unless accompanied by a male member of the family or an older friend. This situation was bound to stymie the personal development of the plantation mistress. Before Eugenia Holcombe’s marriage, she had received a fine classical education from Reverend Philip S. Fall, in Nashville, Tennessee .4 Ambitious and talented, Eugenia’s mental attainments overshadowed those of her husband. It is most likely that Beverly Lafayette Holcombe, as the youngest and favorite son, pursued his love of horse breeding and racing rather than scholastics. A handsome, soft-spoken , generous man, with quite possibly a roving eye, Beverly continued his role of master-in-absentia, leaving Eugenia in full charge of the plantation. Having provided his wife with a home, children, servants , and a place in society, it probably never occurred to him that she would want anything more from life. Eugenia, on the other hand, may have felt trapped. She writes in her journal, “Nine years has robbed this world of many of its charms and shown me men and women as they are not as imagination painted them.”5 Later she added, “A new year has commenced and with it a renewed desire to serve God better, to read the blessed Bible more, to pray more for my dear wayward thoughtless husband.”6 Eugenia feared for her daughters and did not want them to experience this form of feminine defeat. She felt it critical that they receive a fine education and wrote in her journal, “I wish for my precious daughters to be carefully educated and thoroughly informed, so highly 10 Riches have taken to themselves wings accomplished in all things that would add to their happiness. A good education will make them independent.”7 She began by introducing Anna Eliza and Lucy to the works of Robert Burns, Lord Byron, and Sir Walter Scott. Lucy, a bright, inquisitive child, added to these literary offerings her own favorites, The Fanciful Tales of Fashionable Women by Maria Edgeworth and Godey’s Lady’s Book.8 Wishing her daughters to be musically accomplished, Eugenia taught them to play her prized piano. Anna Eliza showed a fine talent for the piano but Lucy, fondly called “Petty” or “Push,” preferred to sing, admitting that she wanted to be admired facing an appreciative audience.9 In the winter of 1839, the third daughter, Martha Maria died. Crushed by the loss of her child, Eugenia took to her bed and relied on Miss Hawley for supervision of the children. Two years later, an entry in her diary...