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Mary Boykin Chesnut (nee Miller, 1823-86) was an American author noted for her Civil War diary in which she described the war from within the upper-class circles of Southern planter society she inhabited. She was married to a lawyer who served as a US senator and Confederate officer, and the Chesnuts were family friends of President Jefferson Davis and his wife Varina Howell. They had close ties to the Confederate government, with generals John Bell Hood and Wade Hampton III among their acquaintances, and also many politicians, including John S Preston and Louis T Wigfall and their wives. Chesnut was aware of the historical importance of what she had witnessed and the extensive diary she had kept during the war years, commencing on 18 February 1861 and ending on 26 June 1865, covered the changing fortunes of the South as the war progressed, providing a detailed view of Southern society, the roles of men and women, and the complex situation regarding slavery. She worked on editing the diary from 1881-84, producing new drafts for publication, but it was not until 1905, 19 years after her death, that it was finally published. One of the editors of the published version, Myrta Lockett Avary (1857-1946), was an author and journalist specialising in Southern history, who lived in Atlanta most of her life and contributed to many of its journals. She was also the author of Dixie After the War (1906). Includes 16 black and white illustrations.

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