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A Blockaded Family: Life in Southern Alabama During the Civil War
"Experienced the hardships of the Union naval blockade...homilies and anecdotes meant to validate the Confederacy and lament...a lost way of life." -Women in the American Civil War (2008)
"Hague found medicine substitutes in the surrounding woods." -These Rugged Alabama in the Civil War (2017)
"Hague tells the story of a woman who even used a surplus of watermelon to make sugar and syrup." -Daily Life in Civil War America (2009)
"Giving in an easy, kindly, sympathetic style the every-day life in Southern Alabama during the dark days of Civil War." -Current Opinion
Parthenio Antoinette Vardaman Hague (1838 - 1914) author, was born at Dowdels Mill, Harris County, Georgia. She finished her education in Harris County, Ga. at Hamilton female college.
After graduation from Hamilton Female college, she lived in Hurtville, AL about
11 miles from Eufaula, AL in Barbour County where she was a teacher on a
plantation.
She lived in Alabama in the 1860s. In 1888, she published a book, A BLOCKADED
FAMILY. The book was endorsed personally by Jefferson Davis and Gen. Beauregard and is a book of great interest, describing the expedients resorted to by the people of blockaded districts to procure the necessities of life.
The book presents a picture of life in Southern Alabama during the civil war, the contrasting colors of which are distributed very skillfully. The patience and the heroism displayed by the women of the South during four years of conflict, especially when we take into consideration the luxury which they had formerly enjoyed, has often been acknowledged; and the book in question gives details of their daily life, of their privations, and yet of their occasional pleasures, the reading of which is sure to interest. The tone in which the story is told also commends itself. There is not a word of reproach in it, and not a note of harshness or vindictiveness sounded.
So Wide and varied is the field to be yet harvested for crops of information about the home life of Southern people in the War, that we are glad to take up Miss Hague's 'A Blockaded Family.' It will be found to be a record of interest, while unpretending as a piece of literary work. Miss Hague was a governess of Southern birth and sympathy, living in the houseliold of an Alabama planter during the four years that threw women as much upon their own resources to secure the necessaries of daily life, as did the residence of the Swiss Family Robinson upon their desert isle.
The author's task has been to detail the innumerable devices of herself and friends to supply cloth, shoes, hats, thread, dyes, hoop-skirts, buttons; to find substitutes for coffee, tea, raisins, starch and medicines. The castor-oil plant, growing abundantly near their house, was cultivated, and, from the beans crushed in mortars, an oil was obtained as satisfactory as any bought from the ante-bellum apothecary. Salt, in the regions remote from the seacoast and the border States, was a luxury. In some case's the salty soil under old smoke-houses was dug up and put into hoppers, from which, by a homely process of evaporation, a grey deposit was obtained, serving as salt for want of something better. Home-made pottery replaced breakages in the pantry. All of the ladies learned to card and spin and weave. So universal was the necessity for things of everyday, that while every hand and brain was lent to the task of contriving, there was less time to spend in lamentation over the increasing burden of a common care. We recommend Miss Hague's book as an interesting, and evidently unexaggerated, account of a momentous time in the history of our country.
"Hague found medicine substitutes in the surrounding woods." -These Rugged Alabama in the Civil War (2017)
"Hague tells the story of a woman who even used a surplus of watermelon to make sugar and syrup." -Daily Life in Civil War America (2009)
"Giving in an easy, kindly, sympathetic style the every-day life in Southern Alabama during the dark days of Civil War." -Current Opinion
Parthenio Antoinette Vardaman Hague (1838 - 1914) author, was born at Dowdels Mill, Harris County, Georgia. She finished her education in Harris County, Ga. at Hamilton female college.
After graduation from Hamilton Female college, she lived in Hurtville, AL about
11 miles from Eufaula, AL in Barbour County where she was a teacher on a
plantation.
She lived in Alabama in the 1860s. In 1888, she published a book, A BLOCKADED
FAMILY. The book was endorsed personally by Jefferson Davis and Gen. Beauregard and is a book of great interest, describing the expedients resorted to by the people of blockaded districts to procure the necessities of life.
The book presents a picture of life in Southern Alabama during the civil war, the contrasting colors of which are distributed very skillfully. The patience and the heroism displayed by the women of the South during four years of conflict, especially when we take into consideration the luxury which they had formerly enjoyed, has often been acknowledged; and the book in question gives details of their daily life, of their privations, and yet of their occasional pleasures, the reading of which is sure to interest. The tone in which the story is told also commends itself. There is not a word of reproach in it, and not a note of harshness or vindictiveness sounded.
So Wide and varied is the field to be yet harvested for crops of information about the home life of Southern people in the War, that we are glad to take up Miss Hague's 'A Blockaded Family.' It will be found to be a record of interest, while unpretending as a piece of literary work. Miss Hague was a governess of Southern birth and sympathy, living in the houseliold of an Alabama planter during the four years that threw women as much upon their own resources to secure the necessaries of daily life, as did the residence of the Swiss Family Robinson upon their desert isle.
The author's task has been to detail the innumerable devices of herself and friends to supply cloth, shoes, hats, thread, dyes, hoop-skirts, buttons; to find substitutes for coffee, tea, raisins, starch and medicines. The castor-oil plant, growing abundantly near their house, was cultivated, and, from the beans crushed in mortars, an oil was obtained as satisfactory as any bought from the ante-bellum apothecary. Salt, in the regions remote from the seacoast and the border States, was a luxury. In some case's the salty soil under old smoke-houses was dug up and put into hoppers, from which, by a homely process of evaporation, a grey deposit was obtained, serving as salt for want of something better. Home-made pottery replaced breakages in the pantry. All of the ladies learned to card and spin and weave. So universal was the necessity for things of everyday, that while every hand and brain was lent to the task of contriving, there was less time to spend in lamentation over the increasing burden of a common care. We recommend Miss Hague's book as an interesting, and evidently unexaggerated, account of a momentous time in the history of our country.
95 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1888
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 12, 2017
Of the many Civil War memoirs by Confederate ladies, no one is likely the choose Parthenia's book as the most dramatic: she had the good fortune not to encounter the horrors of war at first hand, and only a brief visit near the end to the ruins of Columbus, GA takes her into the territory explored by Mary A.H. Gay and many others.
Parthenia spent most of the war teaching school in a small town in Alabama, and her narrative dwells heavily on everyday domestic life, with particular emphasis on how ordinary people coped with shortages resulting from the Federal blockade. There is exhaustive detail about manufacturing clothing, most of which went over my head: prior knowledge of the craft of weaving is necessary to grasp what is going on (and it is precisely this kind of unique, homely detail which is lacking in most memoirs of this kind, making this one of particular value to historical specialists). Other matters, such as the creation of coffee substitutes and the manufacture of sugar are accessible even to those of us accustomed to buying everything in plastic wrap.
Despite its relative tranquility, the book has memorable moments. Parthenia had a gift for evoking a scene, and several linger in the reader's memory: a bridal party under the moon for a household slave ("a vision of fairy-land"); glimpses through a carriage window of bucolic scenes not yet touched by war ("Now an open field of corn, green of blade, gently billowed by the wind, an old gray-haired farmer plowing, seemingly oblivious to all surrounding objects, and singing, as if from the fullness of a glad soul, the refrain, 'I have some friends in glory'"); and, most memorable of all, the serio-comic episode in which the invading Yankees do not come tramping into her village.
As usual with these memoirs, there is an inclination to romanticize the antebellum world, and Parthenia is unashamed of her racism. Elizabeth Fox-Genovese's introduction provides useful context.
Parthenia spent most of the war teaching school in a small town in Alabama, and her narrative dwells heavily on everyday domestic life, with particular emphasis on how ordinary people coped with shortages resulting from the Federal blockade. There is exhaustive detail about manufacturing clothing, most of which went over my head: prior knowledge of the craft of weaving is necessary to grasp what is going on (and it is precisely this kind of unique, homely detail which is lacking in most memoirs of this kind, making this one of particular value to historical specialists). Other matters, such as the creation of coffee substitutes and the manufacture of sugar are accessible even to those of us accustomed to buying everything in plastic wrap.
Despite its relative tranquility, the book has memorable moments. Parthenia had a gift for evoking a scene, and several linger in the reader's memory: a bridal party under the moon for a household slave ("a vision of fairy-land"); glimpses through a carriage window of bucolic scenes not yet touched by war ("Now an open field of corn, green of blade, gently billowed by the wind, an old gray-haired farmer plowing, seemingly oblivious to all surrounding objects, and singing, as if from the fullness of a glad soul, the refrain, 'I have some friends in glory'"); and, most memorable of all, the serio-comic episode in which the invading Yankees do not come tramping into her village.
As usual with these memoirs, there is an inclination to romanticize the antebellum world, and Parthenia is unashamed of her racism. Elizabeth Fox-Genovese's introduction provides useful context.
January 19, 2020
Interesting First Person Historical Account
Very well expressed Southern perspective of the home front during the War Between the States. A bit heavy on the knitting, weaving and dress making but otherwise very well done.
Very well expressed Southern perspective of the home front during the War Between the States. A bit heavy on the knitting, weaving and dress making but otherwise very well done.
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June 28, 2019Short and sweet. A wonderful read for history buffs. I especially enjoyed how the women found ways to dress themselves and their servants during wartime. They had to scavenge, hunt, and work hard to feed their families. The author goes into detail as to reasons there was no food available for their families, soldiers, or prisoners during the war.
May 5, 2014
I highly recommend this book.
December 9, 2022
A Treasure Trove
This author has laid bare the trials and tribulations of southerners during the war between the states. The details are so clear that one can't help but visualize them in ones own mind and want to know exactly how things were done that allowed the people to survive.
This author has laid bare the trials and tribulations of southerners during the war between the states. The details are so clear that one can't help but visualize them in ones own mind and want to know exactly how things were done that allowed the people to survive.
July 5, 2020
Interesting
She reveals how the family lived during the Civil War. A great deal of information is how they made clothes and shoes. The last few chapters describe how devastating the Union soldiers were. Basically, it is a description of life.
She reveals how the family lived during the Civil War. A great deal of information is how they made clothes and shoes. The last few chapters describe how devastating the Union soldiers were. Basically, it is a description of life.
September 6, 2022
Found this e-book on Barnes & Noble instead:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-bl...
(The Amazon link went to a blank page with a dog picture.)
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-bl...
(The Amazon link went to a blank page with a dog picture.)
January 23, 2026
The first half of the book is a bit like one of Eliot Wigginton's Foxfire books, a study in how the author and other blockaded Southerners rediscovered many of the old crafts their grandparents would have known and used. We tend to forget that even by the 1861, the economy of the US had been transformed, and many people no longer remembered how to make everything they needed. The second half consists of accounts about the arrival of the Northern armies, many of these stories being gathered from her neighbors. However, Hague's own family avoided most of the depredations committed by Sherman's troops.
December 9, 2019
This was a short history book originally published in 1888. Written by a young girl who persevered during the Civil War.
An essential historical lesson to learn about the hardships in the Southern home front during the Federal Navy Blockade in Alabama during the Civil war. Turning their cotton crops into wheat crops because cotton wasn't selling.
A family with slaves living to make-do with what they had. A good book with trials and hardships but never giving up. An interesting book, written almost as an documentary so many years ago.
An essential historical lesson to learn about the hardships in the Southern home front during the Federal Navy Blockade in Alabama during the Civil war. Turning their cotton crops into wheat crops because cotton wasn't selling.
A family with slaves living to make-do with what they had. A good book with trials and hardships but never giving up. An interesting book, written almost as an documentary so many years ago.
July 18, 2022
Very detailed descriptions of the struggles and challenges of Southerners during the darkest time in the history of the South. The strength and ability to improvise to meet their needs was extraordinary. Enjoyed the read.
Loved the detailed descriptions. They provide excellent insight into the lives of the people during a very difficult time in history. It was an easy to read and understand book and the author's research is apparent. Nice job!
Loved the detailed descriptions. They provide excellent insight into the lives of the people during a very difficult time in history. It was an easy to read and understand book and the author's research is apparent. Nice job!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews