Introduction / by Catherine Clinton
Suggestions for further reading
Mary Chesnut's diary. 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
Montgomery, Ala., February 19, 1861-March 11, 1861. Making the Confederate Constitution
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
Despondent talk with anti-secession leaders
Charleston, S.C., March 26, 1861-April 15, 1861. A soft-hearted slave-owner
Social gaiety in the midst of war talk
Beauregard as hero and a demigod
The first shot of the war
Anderson refuses to capitulate
The bombardment of Fort Sumter as seen from the housetops
War steamers arrive in Charleston harbor
Camden, S.C., April 20, 1861-April 22, 1861. After Sumter was taken
The story of Beaufort Watts
The inconsistencies of life
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
Southern leaders take hopeless views of the future
Charleston, S.C., May 25, 1861-June 24, 1861. Waiting for a battle in Virginia
Moving forward to the battleground
Mr. Petigru against secession
Mr. Chesnut goes to the front
Russell's letters to the London Times
Richmond, Va., June 27, 1861-July 4, 1861. Arrival at the new capital
Criticism of Jefferson Davis
Mrs. Davis's drawing-room
A day at the Champ de Mars
The armies assembling for Bull Run
Fauquier White Sulphur Springs, Va., July 6, 1861-July 11, 1861. Cars crowded with soldiers
Richmond, Va., July 13, 1861-September 2, 1861. General Lee and Joe Johnston
An interview with Robert E. Lee
Toombs thrown from his horse
Criticism of the administration
Camden, S.C., September 9, 1861-September 19, 1861. The author's sister Kate Williams
Roanoke Island surrenders
Up Country and Low Country
Family silver to be taken for war expenses
The Merrimac and the Monitor
Columbia, S.C., February 20, 1862-July 21, 1862. Dissensions among Southern leaders
Beauregard flanked at Nashville
Old Colonel Chesnut again
The battle of Williamsburg
Dinners, teas, and breakfasts
Wade Hampton at home wounded
Battle of the Chickahominy
Albert Sidney Johnston's death
A wedding and its tragic ending
Recognition of the Confederacy in Europe
Flat Rock, N.C., August 1, 1862-August 8, 1862. A mountain summer resort
Antietam and Chancellorsville
General Chesnut's work for the army
Portland, Ala., July 8, 1863-July 30, 1863. A journey from Columbia to southern Alabama
The surrender of Vicksburg
A terrible night in the swamp on a riverside
The author at her mother's home
Richmond, Va., August 10, 1863-September 7, 1863. General Hood in Richmond
A brigade marches through the town
Two love affairs and a wedding
The battle of Brandy Station
The Robert Barnwell tragedy
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
At church during Stoneman's raid
Richmond narrowly escapes capture
A battle on the Chickahominy
Richmond, Va., November 28, 1863-April 11, 1864. Mr Davis visits Charleston
Weddings, dinner-parties, and private theatricals
Battles around Chattanooga
General Hood and his love affairs
Burton Harrison and Miss Constance Cary
Mrs. R.E. Lee and her daughters
Fourteen generals at church
Camden, S.C., May 8, 1864-June 1, 1864. A farewell to Richmond
"Little Joe's" pathetic death and funeral
The battle of the wilderness
Spottsylvania Court House
Old Colonel Chesnut's grief at his wife's death
Columbia, S.C., July 6, 1864-January 17, 1865. Gen. Joe Johnston superseded and the Alabama sunk
At the hospital in Columbia
Wade Hampton's two sons shot
Hood crushed at Nashville
Sherman's advance eastward
Lincolnton, N.C., February 16, 1865-March 15, 1865. The flight from Columbia
A corps of generals without troops
Broken-hearted and an exile
A walk with Gen. Joseph E. Johnston
Confederate money refused in the shops
Selling old clothes to obtain food
Gen. Joe Johnston and President Davis again
Mulberry saved by a faithful negro
Chester, S.C., March 21, 1865-May 1, 1865. How to live without money
Other refugees tell stories of their flight
A visit from General Hood
In pursuit of President Davis
Camden, S.C., May 2, 1865-August 2, 1865. Once more at Bloomsbury
Surprising fidelity of negroes
Federal soldiers who plundered old estates
Old Colonel Chestnut last of the grand seigniors
