biography
| name: |
Chesnut, Mary Boykin
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| |
née Miller
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| sex:
| female
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| lived:
| (1823–86)
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| biography:
| Diarist, born near Camden, South Carolina, USA. She married James Chesnut, a wealthy planter, defender of slavery, and staunch secessionist. He joined the US Senate as a Democrat in 1859, but resigned in 1860 to help form the Confederacy. He then served with the Confederate army, leaving his wife to write her journal of life on the Southern home-front, especially in Richmond and South Carolina. First published in 1905 as A Diary from Dixie, it is recognized as a lively and compelling contribution to the literature of the Civil War. |
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