Customer Reviews

Sarah Morgan: The Civil War Diary Of A Southern Woman

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What an amazing book! To read this book is to take a trip back in
time. Not a politically correct book, but the diaries of a complex
young woman who was haughty and kind, flirtatious and proper,
deferential to men and determined to be an independent spinster. Sarah
Morgan was a rebel in terms of both her Southern heritage and her
pre-feminism beliefs. Her words depict a white world-view that doesn't
recognize its own racism, as well as her personal defiance of
society's expectations of her as a woman. She was a talented writer
with opinions that varied from modern, by today's standards, to
cripplingly in sync with the standards of 1860s Louisiana. As a Civil
War book, as a woman's memoir, and as a journey into one of the United
States' most fascinating and tragic times, this book is truly
outstanding.

Well, I never thought I'd be writing one of these, but the last two reviews, being grossly unfair, inspired me. I read Sarah Morgan's diary about two years ago, so this is coming from memory. Whatever one may think of Ms. Morgan as a person (and judging her from contemporary standards would surely be a mistake), she was for her age extremely well-educated and articulate. Her prose is, in comparison to most today, exceptional (again, especially for her age). The same can be said of her insight (which, of course, for any person of her age, is by no means beyond reproach). Aside from constituting a valuable guide to the mind of a young southern woman during the Civil War, her story (which is anything but dull) provides historical context and perspective to the union army's ascent up the Mississippi. Without knowing something of this military campaign, I can see how another reader might not enjoy her diary. Lastly, Ms. Morgan was truly a feminist -- a word I do not particularly care for as it seems to overly excite some and unduly offend others. She was, like most women of her time, a product of a male-dominated society. She questions this society in her diary and, if I recall correctly from the preface, led her later years in a way most feminists of today would be proud. Nothing but enjoyable reading here.

When reading this superb Civil War diary the reader is immediately struck by two things. One, it is hard to believe that so young a woman could have expressed herself and her feelings so beautifully, and two, it is even more amazing that everything contain in this diary is exactly as Sarah Morgan wrote it originally. That is to say, it was not polished and edited afterwards (as Mary Chestnut intended to do, but was not able). If you want to take a glimpse at what living through four years of war was like for a Southern family and especially a young Southern woman you need look no further.

After reading "Brokenburn: The Journal of Kate Stone, 1861-1868" I was looking forward to "Sarah Morgan: The Civil War Diary of a Southern Woman". I have a combined interest in the Civil War era and women studies so I thought this would be a perfect selection. My other motive for selecting this book to read is that I, as an author/editor, am seeking new, interesting ways to format a second set of an ancestor's diaries for publication.

I have a personal rule to always finish a book that I have started reading. I must admit that this is the first time I have broken that rule. I made it to page 275 and just gave up. I found that it was becoming a dreaded task to continue reading the book, rather than a pleasurable experience.

Part of my problem was the editing that had been done. Reading along and finding a (p.6) in the middle of a sentence broke my concentration and left me wondering why it was there. Was I suppose to turn to that page or was that what page it was on in the original diary? The same goes for footnotes such as " 77. What Sarah must mean is an Acadian - a Cajun....". How does the editor know after more than a hundred years what Sarah meant? If it isn't something that is a fact...should it be a footnote made in a non-fiction book? These type of footnotes appear repeatedly throughout the material I read "72. Probably the meeting... 135. Sarah could be referring to either....".

On the other hand I found the footnoting of definitions of colloquiums or no longer used terms very helpful and something I might add to the presentation of the diaries I am working on.

I assumed -incorrectly - that a book entitled "The Civil Diaries of a Southern Woman" would pertain mainly to the Civil War. I found that the book mainly addressed Sarah Morgan, as a young woman and the society to which she belonged. While much of the descriptions of the households, social gatherings, wearing apparel were interesting, I had not chosen this book to read page after page of a young girl dissecting her own every move, thought or gesture. I was looking for her thoughts and descriptions of the Civil War. And these were little and few between. Her comments on herself and her family seemed over-dramatic, much like many teenage girls of today.

Sarah's diary gives valuable insight on the customs, political climate, and lifestyle of her time, but as a "story" it's really dull reading. Sarah isn't that different from teens today; can't see very far outside her own social sphere and she's extremely spoiled. Frankly, I disliked her and had to struggle through this book. It was more of a reminder of why I hated rich, popular girls in high school than educational.

I hoped to use this for research in my writing and reenacting, but would never base my impression on Sarah. Mary Chesnut's "Diary from Dixie" is of far more historical value and makes for MUCH more interesting reading. Recommend for scholars of the period, but avoid Sarah Morgan if you want entertainment - it's waayyyy too dry.

Considering that it's a diary, not to mention a diary by an upper-middle-class Southern woman, I had mixed hopes regarding the book. I found it, for the most part, well-written, with several interesting anecdotes, and occasional mention of how specific battles affected the Morgan family's life.

That said, Sarah herself seemed to be a particularly self-absorbed, whiny, egotistical teenager, despite being 19 when she began her diaries. She constantly describes herself as unattractive and unpleasant, while in the next sentence brags about the number of men who call on her- married men, in many cases. She accuses several of the wives of these married men as being mentally unstable due to their jealousy at the attention paid to Sarah by their husbands... while she then goes on to proclaim that no one could ever take her flirting seriously- and states that she will continue flirting. Throughout the course of the book she knowingly leads on several young men, only to write about her shock when they announce their intentions.

At one point during the book, Sarah suffered what appears to be a bruised or cracked tailbone- which is painful (I couldn't sit for a week after I bruised mine), but not life-threatening- and spends the next few months bemoaning her state, claiming she will die (this, after she has already frequently wailed over how she would be the least missed of all her siblings, were she to die) from her terrible injury. The medical treatments she is subjected to surely only prolonged her invalid state- bleeding and blistering, administration of strychnine, forced bed rest when she actually would have been better off walking around, rather than losing muscle mass for months... If I could have been spoiled so every time I so much as bruised myself, I would have turned into the biggest brat that ever was.

In the introduction, Sarah is described as a feminist- I can't think where they would have gotten this impression! She does repeatedly state that she wishes she could be a man, so as to help fight the war (and because men are naturally smarter -she says), and that she does not intend to marry unless she can find a man who is her intellectual better (of which she believes there are none besides her brothers and the aforementioned married men), but those statements, no matter how vehement, do not a feminist make. I should think that denigrating one's own sex would actually make one an anti-feminist...

What irritated me the most was her slavish devotion to class circles. While glorifying the noble Confederate army, she still considers it the greatest of impertinence when one of the common soldiers so much as doffs his cap or bows to her. She refuses to associate with those she considers "beneath" her, which is nearly everyone- her father was a judge, and thus she believes herself a cut above the rest. At one point, an officer with whom she had previously been friendly revealed himself as the son of Baton Rouge's brewer, at which point she cut him from her society- and reasoned that the cut was acceptable because he should have known better than to aspire to her acquaintance. Sarah also expresses her surprise and horror at the gossip that surrounds her family- gossip that is based on their desire to associate as little as possible with the lower classes.

The little details regarding daily life in the Confederate South were fascinating, and Sarah's lack of political discussion was interesting- she knew that her knowledge of the political situation was lacking, and thus only maintained opinions on those things with which she was familiar- very rare, no matter the time period.

I am glad to have read it, but Sarah is exactly the kind of person who would drive me mad if I knew her... transparently self-serving, but with a firm belief that everything she does is for the benefit of others.

She did have quite a gift for eloquence, though.

So far I am enjoying the diary of Sarah Morgan, it is my opinion that Scarlett O'Hara was patterned after her. Her writing is very interesting without being droll or boring.
And as a Civil War reenactor with a Southern character, it is helpful learning how the women of the south felt and what they did while enduring the hardships of the war. Having to leave your home and all the worldly things that we all hold so dear was a hardship for many of them. Thank goodness for those who were successful in hiding family heirlooms and whatnot to pass down through the generations. It really was horrible how the "Federals" (Yankees) destroyed there homes just for the spite of it.
The long and short of it is; I am enjoying the diary very much and learning another stitch in our history.

First off, let me say this book was a lot of fun to read as it takes you into a culture we don't know any longer. Sarah tells you of the culture back then of having servants, how men talked to women back then, being in a wealthy family in the 1800s and what war was like in her eyes. She gets you close to the soldiers and generals known to us all through history books. She shares her opinion and doesn't hold back which makes you feel like you are her best friend sharing secrets and rumors of the war.

While people have written reviews saying she is not very P.C., it's true because there was no such thing back then. People said what they felt and didn't get offended. There was no need to go out of your way to make sure someone didn't get offended. Sarah shares with you how tough people were back then, how scary war can be and how even though she may have been brought up wealthy, she has a backbone and can take on anything. You instantly feel cheated by reading this book after realizing how lazy we are all now. She was well educated (something America lacks now) and wanted to learn more, often going to her room to study, she was well spoken which is something we lack also, and seemed to be a very kind girl. It was a completely different world.

If you want a first hand look at the culture of Southerners trying to win independence from the North controlling everything in the US, being a Southerner and the politics back then, get this book. You won't be bored.

Sarah Morgan is the real Scarlett O'Hara. As the world as she had known it crumbled to ashes around her, she had hardships she had never even dreamed of in her upper class society before the War. She knew nothing of the harshness of slavery or of the stuggles of others outside her own crumbling world. It is a beautiful narrative, an historical treasure and she is a gifted writer beyond her years. The description of the death of her father brings me to tears every time.

I have just began reading this. So far it seems very promising of being a very good book. I love reading how the Civil War affected women; their feelings, life & thoughts.
She mentions different areas of the South, and being a Southern girl myself I love reading about those places.
I am very pleased with the book.