The War the Women Lived: Female Voices from the Confederate South [Hardcover]

Walter Sullivan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 20, 1995

Selections from the best writings of southern women who experienced the Civil War.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Organized chronologically, these engrossing diary excerpts written by 23 white Southern women during the Civil War document the hardships they and their families endured, the suffering they witnessed and the risks many of them took. Although Sullivan, a novelist (A Time to Dance) and professor of English at Vanderbilt Univ., states in his introduction that the diarists opposed slavery, only Dolly Lunt Burge mentions having any qualms ("I have never felt that slavery was altogether right"), while most express a deep commitment to the Confederacy and a casual acceptance of the plight of African Americans. Rose O'Neal Greenhow and Belle Boyd were Confederate spies who provide details of their espionage activities, for which they were later imprisoned. There are many harrowing descriptions of the damage inflicted by Sherman's march through Georgia, as well as accounts of the compassionate nursing the women provided to wounded soldiers in makeshift hospitals.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Sullivan (English & creative writing, Vanderbilt Univ.) has compiled narratives of 20 Southern women and their experiences during the Civil War, drawn from years of personal readings. Mostly educated women, born and raised in the South, two immigrated to America from England and one from Havana. Caught in a war they did not understand, they came to know and hate the "Yankees" and all they represented. When asked on a spy mission to England in 1864 if she was afraid of Yankees, Belle Boyd responded, "No I am not; I was never frightened of a Yankee in my life." Even though their lives were in turmoil throughout the war, and they never knew when they might be captured, imprisoned, or killed, they still thought about the future and wondered what it held for them. While using the narratives from the war years (1859-65), Sullivan does include an epilog that provides closure to the lives of these remarkable women. Fascinating and riveting reading, this book is strongly recommended for any Civil War or women's history collection.?Barbara A. Zaborowski, Cambria Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Johnstown, Pa.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 319 pages
• Publisher: J.S. Sanders Books; First edition. edition (December 20, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879941309
• ISBN-13: 978-1879941304
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,148,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whispers from the Grave, August 19, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The War the Women Lived: Female Voices from the Confederate South (Hardcover)

The Women of the Confederacy speak. Culled from journals, diaries and published memoirs of the most cruel war of all, a Civil War, these women tell of hardships endured and unbelievable savagery on both sides. If this book was fiction it would be a good read. As eyewitness accounts it is a great read. Experience the horrors, the insights, the frame-of-mind of a violent time from our past. This book will enrich you

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Awe Inspiring Book!!!!!!, December 24, 2008

By 

Katie McCurdy "Legacy of a Writer" (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The War the Women Lived: Female Voices from the Confederate South (Hardcover)

This is an AMAZING book! I LOVED every minute of it! It is full of actual accounts of what the southern women silently suffered while their husbands were away, defending their state. It is amazing what they had to do, from tending the maimed soldiers that were brought to the city or having a whole family of little ones to feed...but with nothing to give them!

It is a wonderful book put together from the diaries of southern woman who suffered for their cause. For anyone who wants to know a little of how it was, pick this book up. It's a treasure!!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good excerpts from Confederate women's diaries, April 26, 2010

By 

JerseyGirl "Bookworm" (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The War the Women Lived: Female Voices from the Confederate South (Hardcover)

This is an excellent small book with excerpts from Confederate women's diaries. I have read many of the more well known diaries like Mary Chestnut and Sarah Morgan. These excerpts contain many eyewitness accounts of the women who lived the war in their own backyards.

If you do not want to read the much longer diaries, then these excerpts really give some short insights into the lives of Southern women during the war.

I highly recommend this book, as well as the aformentioned diaries of Mary Chestnut and Sarah Morgan, to understand a crucial time in our American history. These woman lived the war and their voices bring back the sadness and seriousness of not only the Civil War but of the sadness and suffering in all wars.