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Rose Cottage Chronicles: Civil War Letters of the Bryant-Stephens Families of North Florida
July 31, 1859
My Angel of purity love and Goodness!
Forgive this offence and I’ll be guilty of the like again the first time I feel like writing. You had as well bid the Sun cease to wander the earth with its heat as to bid the heart of Winston not to commune with the object of its adoration . . . March 12, 1862
My own dear husband,
I hardly know what to write and how to write to you my poor heart is so full of anxiety . . . I think you may as well give up and come home as to try and keep the enemy back . . . I suppose you heard that the Government has abandoned this state and the Governor has ordered all the regiments that are mustered into the Confederate service away from East Fla. What is to become of us? Feb 2, 1864
My Dear Wife,
Oh! That I could have you by me to talk to . . . We get no news here, still it does seem that something must be doing to make ready for a grand move. . . I often think and wonder if our Government sees the awful truth and is preparing to meet and defeat the attempt to crush us. . . .
As fresh and poignant today as when they were written, these touching letters and diaries capture the heart of everyday life during the Civil War. Set both at home in north Florida and on the front, the letters were written from 1856 to mid-1865 by two generations of the Bryant and Stephens families, ordinary Confederate folk whose members included radical secessionists, moderates, and even a few Unionists.
The domestic letters, written mostly by mothers and daughters from their homes near Welaka, Florida, describe their hatred of Yankee invaders, their emotions in dealing with slaves, and their flaming patriotism as well as their fear of being abandoned by the government. They offer a rare picture of the expanded roles of women as farm managers; their naive hopes for a quick victory; and their yearning for peace. From the military camps, soldiers and officers write about Abe Lincoln; "coloured troops"; endless marches; Florida's two best-known battles, Olustee and Natural Bridge; and all the skirmishes around Jacksonville and the St. Johns River as well as distant military events like the Battle of Gettysburg. For all of the letter writers, death has become as familiar as Spanish moss.
Especially, though, the letters tell a love story. The courtship of Winston Stephens and Tivie Bryant was prolonged, erratic, and stormy; their married life at Rose Cottage was nearly perfect--and brief. Four years and three months after their wedding--during the final ticks of the Confederate clock--Winston was killed in battle. Days later their only son was born.
Virtually all of the letters--more than one thousand exchanged between eight major and four minor correspondents--survive in this family saga, a riveting human and historical chronicle set in the foreground of the Civil War.
Arch Fredric Blakey, retired military historian, has written several books and numerous articles on the Civil War and Florida history, including General John H. Winder, C.S.A. (UPF, 1990), a History Book Club selection. He lives near Bell, Florida. Ann Smith Lainhart, a descendant of the Bryant-Stephens families, is a professional genealogist. She lives in Peabody, Massachusetts. Winston Bryant Stephens, Jr., also a descendant of the Bryant-Stephens families, is a retired businessman in Jupiter, Florida.
My Angel of purity love and Goodness!
Forgive this offence and I’ll be guilty of the like again the first time I feel like writing. You had as well bid the Sun cease to wander the earth with its heat as to bid the heart of Winston not to commune with the object of its adoration . . . March 12, 1862
My own dear husband,
I hardly know what to write and how to write to you my poor heart is so full of anxiety . . . I think you may as well give up and come home as to try and keep the enemy back . . . I suppose you heard that the Government has abandoned this state and the Governor has ordered all the regiments that are mustered into the Confederate service away from East Fla. What is to become of us? Feb 2, 1864
My Dear Wife,
Oh! That I could have you by me to talk to . . . We get no news here, still it does seem that something must be doing to make ready for a grand move. . . I often think and wonder if our Government sees the awful truth and is preparing to meet and defeat the attempt to crush us. . . .
As fresh and poignant today as when they were written, these touching letters and diaries capture the heart of everyday life during the Civil War. Set both at home in north Florida and on the front, the letters were written from 1856 to mid-1865 by two generations of the Bryant and Stephens families, ordinary Confederate folk whose members included radical secessionists, moderates, and even a few Unionists.
The domestic letters, written mostly by mothers and daughters from their homes near Welaka, Florida, describe their hatred of Yankee invaders, their emotions in dealing with slaves, and their flaming patriotism as well as their fear of being abandoned by the government. They offer a rare picture of the expanded roles of women as farm managers; their naive hopes for a quick victory; and their yearning for peace. From the military camps, soldiers and officers write about Abe Lincoln; "coloured troops"; endless marches; Florida's two best-known battles, Olustee and Natural Bridge; and all the skirmishes around Jacksonville and the St. Johns River as well as distant military events like the Battle of Gettysburg. For all of the letter writers, death has become as familiar as Spanish moss.
Especially, though, the letters tell a love story. The courtship of Winston Stephens and Tivie Bryant was prolonged, erratic, and stormy; their married life at Rose Cottage was nearly perfect--and brief. Four years and three months after their wedding--during the final ticks of the Confederate clock--Winston was killed in battle. Days later their only son was born.
Virtually all of the letters--more than one thousand exchanged between eight major and four minor correspondents--survive in this family saga, a riveting human and historical chronicle set in the foreground of the Civil War.
Arch Fredric Blakey, retired military historian, has written several books and numerous articles on the Civil War and Florida history, including General John H. Winder, C.S.A. (UPF, 1990), a History Book Club selection. He lives near Bell, Florida. Ann Smith Lainhart, a descendant of the Bryant-Stephens families, is a professional genealogist. She lives in Peabody, Massachusetts. Winston Bryant Stephens, Jr., also a descendant of the Bryant-Stephens families, is a retired businessman in Jupiter, Florida.
- GenresAmerican History
416 pages, Paperback
First published April 18, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 26, 2024
This is a first-hand account, through letters and journals, of life in Florida during the Civil War. Tivie and Winston's letters to each other during their separation while Winston served are touching and revealing. They share affection, insecurity, concerns about home, health, and family, and grief. Other family members' correspondence fill out the picture of hope and loss.
June 8, 2013
Great book for listening. Good mix of Florida and Civil War history, romance and Southern culture.
February 2, 2023
As this book is written with a plethora of letter correspondence it can take some getting use to as most letters/journals tend to either be one sided or between two parties. With that being said, it is a very interesting piece as it has a good mix of local history of the time in North East Florida along with some rare looks into the lives of those in the deep south during the war. This isn't about some grandiose family as many seem to be; probably in part due to the lack of literacy of the time. Instead you get transported back in time to a family living at the edge of civilization.
There is a tremendous amount of loss with some only related to blockades for medicine instead of combat itself. It is known that countless people lost their lives simply because the war was going on and not due to having anything to do with a battle, but when you see it from the eyes of someone who lived it, its unimaginable.
Another shocked thing was the open discussion of extramarital affairs (albeit in code). Again, it is well known that women of loose morals often followed the soldiers on either side to secure monetary gains, but its often not something written about, nor openly accepted.
it gives you a rare glimpse into the realities of a woman taking on the role of a farm manager as was often the case with their husbands off fighting the war. Some of their correspondence is simply a husband telling his wife when to plant, when to sell, etc.
By the end you really do feel the depravity which was felt by those at the end of the war in the prospects of loosing loved ones, family members and their entire way of life.
There is a tremendous amount of loss with some only related to blockades for medicine instead of combat itself. It is known that countless people lost their lives simply because the war was going on and not due to having anything to do with a battle, but when you see it from the eyes of someone who lived it, its unimaginable.
Another shocked thing was the open discussion of extramarital affairs (albeit in code). Again, it is well known that women of loose morals often followed the soldiers on either side to secure monetary gains, but its often not something written about, nor openly accepted.
it gives you a rare glimpse into the realities of a woman taking on the role of a farm manager as was often the case with their husbands off fighting the war. Some of their correspondence is simply a husband telling his wife when to plant, when to sell, etc.
By the end you really do feel the depravity which was felt by those at the end of the war in the prospects of loosing loved ones, family members and their entire way of life.
May 19, 2008
Often monotonous
March 10, 2014
A great read to understand the civil wars impact on an Eastern Florida family. These diaries really allow you to be in the moment of their lives!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews