Following the American Civil War Sesquicentennial with day by day writings of the time, currently 1863.

Through Some Eventful Years by Susan Bradford Eppes

Through Some Eventful Years.—Susan Bradford Eppes

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July 28, 2011

Through Some Eventful Years by Susan Bradford Eppes

July 28th, 1861.—Colonel Robert Howard Gamble is organizing “Gamble’s Artillery,” and Charley Hopkins has enlisted in that company and so have many others from Tallahassee. Aunt Sue brought a beautiful piece of French opera flannel and asked me to make Charley two shirts. I am a little doubtful as to my ability but if I find it too difficult I can get my Lulu to finish them for me; she sews so neatly and she makes all my clothes, under Mother’s direction. These shirts are blue and they are to have real silver buttons, which Aunt Sue has had made at the jewelers. She says silver will not tarnish as common metal buttons might do. Mr. Pratorius is making Charley’s uniform. I suppose I will learn all the different uniforms after awhile. The Infantry is gray, trimmed with blue, the buttons are of brass and the officers have gold lace on their sleeves, a chevron they call the design on the sleeves; a captain has three gold bars on his collar; the privates do not have any gold lace. Charley is in an artillery company and they wear a little red, but the uniform is gray, too. Cousin Willim Bradford is in a cavalry regiment and his gray uniform is trimmed with corn-color. They all look fine to me and I grow more patriotic all the time but Sister Mag says that is because I am not married. Ridiculous; I am just a child.

The Governor’s Guards volunteered some time ago and now they are re-organizing and will serve as an infantry company, with Captain G. W. Parkhill as their captain. The name has been changed to “The Howell Guards,” in honor of Mrs. Jefferson Davis, who was a Miss Howell. Soon they, too, will be going to Virginia; poor Sister Mag; she will be heartbroken I fear. The Captain is a fine looking man in his uniform but not so handsome as Brother Amos, who is 2nd Lieutenant in the Howell Guards. They are in camp now and are drilling every day.

“One of our generals has gained a new name from his action while in battle; he is General Jackson, and he has been a professor in the Virginia Military Institute. “—Diary of Susan Bradford Eppes.

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July 27, 2011

The American Civil War,Through Some Eventful Years by Susan Bradford Eppes

July 27th, 1861.—Each day brings us fresh news from the battle of Manassas. One of our generals has gained a new name from his action while in battle; he is General Jackson, and he has been a professor in the Virginia Military Institute. He is a strict disciplinarian and his boys at the V. M. I. all knew better than to disobey and the soldiers in his command soon learned the same lesson. Then, too, all who come in contact with him in this new military life are impressed with the personal magnetism he exerts. Uncle Daniel, who was with him several days on business for General Lee, who is in command of the Division in which Uncle Daniel is a Brigadier General, says he is one of the most remarkable men he ever met. In the height of the Battle of Manassas General Jackson had his men drawn up in line facing the enemy; they stood firm, an unwavering line. The newspapers tell it this way. General Bee was trying to rally his Brigade of Georgians; men of undoubted courage, but under fire for the first time. As he waved his sword and urged them on his eyes fell upon General Jackson with his well-drilled Virginians, standing immovable. He cried out to his men, “See, there stands Jackson like a stone wall.” Later in the day General Bee joined “The Immortals,” but ere he went he gave to the quiet professor from the V. M. I. a name which will live forever.

Through Some Eventful Years

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July 23, 2011

Through Some Eventful Years by Susan Bradford Eppes

July 23rd, 1861.—Today we had a thanksgiving service at Mount Zion Church. Mr. Blake conducted the services and his text was “The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong but Thou, Oh Lord, giveth the victory.” He made the most beautiful prayer I ever listened to and he prayed so earnestly and tenderly for those who had fallen in battle and for those who had lost their loved ones.

A telegram this afternoon tells of the deaths of Generals Bee and Bartow, both Georgians and both relatives of the Whitehead family.

Post image for Susan Bradford Eppes’ Diary—”General Beauregard is the hero of the hour.”

Susan Bradford Eppes’ Diary—”General Beauregard is the hero of the hour.”

July 22, 2011

Through Some Eventful Years by Susan Bradford Eppes

July 22nd, 1861.—Joy! Joy!! There has been a great victory for our side. Yesterday the Battle of Manassas was fought in Virginia and it was a complete victory for the Confederates. Our army chased the Yankees almost to Washington city. General Beauregard is the hero of the hour although there are so many who are heroic, it is hard to discriminate. Our loss has not yet been ascertained; nor do we know the enemy’s loss. The telegraph office is crowded all the time and day and night the people are flocking thither for news of the great battle.

Post image for Susan Bradford Eppes’ Diary

Susan Bradford Eppes’ Diary

July 4, 2011

Through Some Eventful Years by Susan Bradford Eppes

July 4th, 1861.—This day, which was once so filled with merriment and pleasure, is now a thing of the past, where we are concerned. Father and my uncles let the negroes go ahead with the usual Fourth of July barbecue. Father said it would not be right to curtail their pleasures because of our own troubles; so they are having a merry time today.

“It rested entirely with the North whether it should be WAR or PEACE.”—Civil War Diary of Susan Bradford Eppes.

June 11, 2011

The American Civil War,Through Some Eventful Years by Susan Bradford Eppes

Post image for “It rested entirely with the North whether it should be WAR or PEACE.”—Civil War Diary of Susan Bradford Eppes.

June 11th, 1861.—Perhaps it would be as well, my dear Diary, to write here a short sketch of the Bradford neighborhood at this time. The war is an established fact and a shadow lies across the hearts of the Southern people. It may be that the North feels it equally with ourselves, but I cannot think so. This is the reason why. We did not want this war. It rested entirely with the North whether it should be WAR or PEACE. We wanted peace but war was forced upon us and now that it has begun we will do our best to win. May The God of Battles help us.

Coming southward from the Georgia line you reach the Bradford neighborhood at Pine Hill Plantation, the home of Dr. Edward Bradford. He has no sons, only daughters, but he has three sons-in-law in the army. The next place is Oaklawn, the home of Captain William H. Lester. The Captain’s head is white, he gained his title in the Indian War but he has three sons and a son-in-law in the army. Then comes Greenwood, where Dr. Holland lives with a house full of daughters. His only son was among the first to volunteer and he also has a son-in-law in the service. Mr. Thomas A. Bradford comes next. Walnut Hill Plantation lost its mistress some years ago and the affairs of the household are administered by four beautiful and capable daughters. There are three sons also and these are in the Confederate army, as well as a son-in-law, who had won the fifth daughter from the old home. Water Oak Plantation is the home of the youngest of the Bradford brothers. He has four sons in the army.

This completes the entire number of men eligible for military duty and you see no one is shirking this duty. While the men have gone forth to meet the foe the women are not idle. The blockade established by President Lincoln has cut us off entirely from the rest of the world; we must depend upon our own resources and we are trying to utilize them all. Father says we never know what can be done until we are pushed to the wall and that is just where we are finding ourselves now. And this is only the beginning.

So far we have plenty of cloth for some purposes but uniforms are more necessary than anything else at present and no suitable material can be had. Of course the men of wealth can and do, buy up all in reach, but there are so many hundreds who must be clothed. The factories of North Georgia and Alabama are running day and night, turning out “Butter-nut Jeans” from which the women all over the South are fashioning uniforms. We are knitting socks, too, for they are needed; the dainty hosiery of pre-war days will not stand the necessarily hard usage of camp life. I learned to knit when I was quite small and now I am very glad of it; we try to see who can complete a pair of socks in the shortest space of time.

Post image for A not-so-direct-route.—Through Some Eventful Years

A not-so-direct-route.—Through Some Eventful Years

May 11, 2011

Through Some Eventful Years by Susan Bradford Eppes

May 11th, 1861.—The wanderers got home last night, the direct route was so closely guarded that they had to come across country to Vicksburg, on the Mississippi and, taking a flat-boat there, come south until they reached a landing at one of the large Louisiana plantations, where they got off. Cousin Johnnie explined the situation and tried to hire a conveyance of some kind to travel to the next town, but the planter was the soul of hospitality and entertained them until the next morning and then sent them on in his carriage to a place where a livery stable was kept. Here they purchased a horse and buggy and thus they reached home. Cousin Bettie has been at school in the North for four years, with just a short visit at Christmas.

Post image for “…last night the news reached us.., (of) a blockade of all Southern ports, beginning at Pensacola.”—Through Some Eventful Years

“…last night the news reached us.., (of) a blockade of all Southern ports, beginning at Pensacola.”—Through Some Eventful Years

May 9, 2011

The American Civil War,Through Some Eventful Years by Susan Bradford Eppes

May 9th, 1861.—We hear many rumors and the papers are filled with alarming paragraphs, just enough to keep us “on the anxious bench,” yet not enough to give much real information. We have been hearing hints of a blockade but last night the news reached us that the United States Government established on the 6th of May, a blockade of all Southern ports, beginning at Pensacola. This is bad but the South has so many bays and inlets along her miles and miles of sea-coast that it seems almost impossible to prevent the entrance of vessels that wish to come in. The Southern Confederacy needs everything you can mention in the way of weapons and munitions of war; neither have we manufactories, where these can be made. Nearly every day some new company is organized and the need for arms grows greater all the time. Cousin Bettie Bradford has been at school in New York and now she is in a great hurry to get home before it is too late. Cousin Johnnie has gone on for her but nothing has been heard from them as yet and the family are feeling anxious.

Post image for “The 1st Florida Regiment went to Pensacola today. Oh! this is like war.”—Through Some Eventful Years

“The 1st Florida Regiment went to Pensacola today. Oh! this is like war.”—Through Some Eventful Years

April 17, 2011

Through Some Eventful Years by Susan Bradford Eppes

April 17th, 1861.—Yesterday we had a picnic on Lake McBride, the occasion being the presentation of a flag to the Dixie Yeomen. The ladies of the Bradford neighborhood embroidered the banner and though cousins Martha and Rebecca Bradford designed and selected the silks, we, every one, did our part in the work. Even if the stitches were few, when the fingers were unskilled, those few stitches represented the deepest love for our country and her brave defenders.

The flag was presented by Miss Bradford and received by Captain Gardner. Both made fine speeches and, when that was over, we served an elegant dinner under the magnificent Live Oaks, which have stood guard over the lovely lake for many centuries. After dinner there was target practice and boat-riding; this does not seem like war.

The 1st Florida Regiment went to Pensacola today. Oh! this is like war. In the Leon Artillery, Captain Hilton commanding, Edward Bradford and Mr. Routh and many others of our Tallahassee friends. In the Leon Rifles were many more, but it was the Madison Company, Captain Richard H. Bradford commanding, which hurt me most. The entire Bradford family adore Cousin Rich, he is so young, so talented, so handsome and Sir Galahad himself was not more spotless than he. When the call for volunteers was made in the court house in Madison, Judge Vann made a stirring and patriotic speech. He pictured the grimness of war as well as its glory and when he had finished he stood beside the table, where a blank sheet awaited the signatures of those who should respond. For a moment the silence of death rested on the crowd assembled there, then Richard Bradford stepped forward and affixed his name to the paper which meant so much. Others came quickly and in a few minutes the hundred men needed for the company had signed and they elected Richard Bradford captain, and he the youngest man there.

I have often heard that “history repeats itself,” and it is surely true sometimes. The book Miss Brewer sent me years ago about Mrs. Nancy Bradford, of New England, is very like Mrs. Nancy Bradford of Florida. In her diary the Mrs. Bradford of Revolutionary days was telling of the dangers which surrounded her husband and their five sons, all of whom were in the American army. She told of the heartaches, which she knew and the privations they suffered.

Our Mrs. Nancy Bradford has five sons also and four of them have volunteered in the Confederate army; the fifth would like to enlist also but he is just a little school boy and must wait awhile. I hope the war, which is just beginning, will not last that long. One of her sons is in West Virginia with General Lee, one has joined the Dixie Yeomen, one went to Pensacola in the Leon Artillery, and one, the Benjamin of the household, is captain of the Madison Volunteers. Aunt Nancy is something like our mother in appearance, she is just as tiny but she is even fairer and where our mother’s eyes are blue and her hair a golden brown, her hair and eyes are of the lightest shade of brown you can imagine. I love her dearly and I tell her she dresses like Jenny Wren in Mother Goose, “For I will wear my brown dress and never look too fine.” Our mother dresses in the fashion and she likes silks and laces but Aunt Nancy thinks it is wrong to attach any importance to dress, beyond being neat and immaculately clean. Both of them are members of the Methodist Church but their ideas differ on many points. When I asked Mother to explain this she said, “Our Lord looks, at the heart and not the dress, read your Bible carefully and thoughtfully and you will find that our Heavenly Father requires nothing of His children but obedience and love.” I shall try to remember this, to obey and to love.

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Through Some Eventful Years

March 17, 2011

Through Some Eventful Years by Susan Bradford Eppes

March 17th, 1861.—Brother Amos has been a member of the Governor’s Guards for a long time; that is, ever since the company was organized last October and he did not tell us until tonight that the Guards volunteered two weeks ago. Sister Mag was wild with grief at first but Mother tried to comfort her by insisting that there would be no fighting—just talk of war and reconciliation would follow. Brother Junius came in to supper and he told us he and Dr. Gardner and several others were raising a company in this county, to be called the Dixie Yoemen. Richmond Gardner, Captain; Joel Blake, 1st Lieutenant; Junius Taylor, 2nd Lieutenant; Jimmie Conner, 3rd Lieutenant. These men must think there will be war or they would not be preparing for it. This is extremely exciting.

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