The War the Women Lived

by Walter Sullivan

Selections from the Civil War diaries and memoirs of twenty-three Southern women form an account of the war as it was lived and endured on the domestic front in the South.

Genres: History, Civil War, Nonfiction, Civil War History

350 pages, Paperback

First published December 20, 1995

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sullivan's selection of women's recollections of the Civil War ranges from nurse, spy, plantation mistress, officer's wifes, and young women of the wealthy planter class. He breaks the writings/memories into three areas - the beginning of the war, middle and the ending. Of course, all were of the wealthy South as very few, if any, women of the farming class had time or education to write personal accounts. The perspectives are interesting when the reader puts them into the broader picture of the entire Civil War from both sides.

[Jocelyn Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of Southern women's diary entries, organized by year. A good variety of experiences are represented. I would have enjoyed a little more commentary from a historian between the firsthand accounts, but still a great collection.

[Eden Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had this book for years!! Such a valuable source, for research for reenacting and for writing! Everyone should read this!