South Carolina in the Civil War: The Confederate Experience in Letters and Diaries (review)

South Carolina in the Civil War: The Confederate Experience in Letters and Diaries. Edited by J. Edward Lee and Ron Chepesiuk. (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2000. Pp. 192. $28.50.)

There has been no shortage of Civil War period diaries and letters published recently, and here is yet one more. This slim volume takes a very narrow focus and offers less than the title promises. This is not a study of the state of South Carolina during one of the pivotal moments in its history, but rather a glimpse into the lives of a few individuals who lived through the war years. As such it will appeal primarily to those very interested in South Carolina history.

The letters and diary entries reprinted here are culled from the archives of Winthrop University by the head of special collections, Ron Chepesiuk, and historian Edward Lee. Each chapter represents one particular moment or aspect of the war, from the bombardment of Fort Sumter to the travails of civilian life in Spartanburg, and offers a handful of relevant primary sources. In some cases a chapter contains just two letters, in others a whole memoir and, in one arcane selection, a unit's service record. Short prefaces to each chapter explain the setting and introduce the writers, who are a bit romanticized as "gallant Confederates" who fall "tragically" in battle or have "bloody rendezvous with destiny." The emphasis is on the difficulties of the individual rather than on any relevance to the larger picture of the war. One wishes that these offerings were tied to recent scholarship. For example, the assertion that one woman came to blame the Confederacy for her hardships would benefit from an examination of studies on Confederate nationalism and women's role in its creation.

The diaries and letters are interesting, well selected for their style and content. We meet an Irish immigrant serving with the Union army at Fort Sumter, a German immigrant in the Confederate ranks, members of the 6th and 12th South Carolina, widows, refugees, female farmers, and expatriate Confederates. Unfortunately, there are fewer than forty selections, and those fail to provide any really new material. Personal accounts of battle, home front struggles, or nomadic refugee life, either particular to South Carolina or representative of a wider region, can all be found elsewhere. Most readers may be better served by turning to any of the numerous collections of primary sources that have a broader scope and more abundant evidence.

Although enjoyable reading, this book does not answer the questions posed by the authors in the preface--what the war meant to Southerners and why the Civil War retains such a strong hold on the imaginations of modern Americans. Queries as to why South Carolinians risked so much and fought so hard for the Confederate cause are intriguing and worthwhile--they just aren't answered here. It will take a much more in-depth volume to accomplish that.

 

Clarissa W. Confer
University of Florida

...