Ten Years on a Georgia Plantation Since the War

by Frances Butler Leigh

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Genres: History

374 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1883

Reviews

[EJ Daniels]

Being the daughter of Pierce Butler, the profligate planter scion whose financial incompetence necessitated the liquidation of his family fortunes and the largest slave sale in Georgia history, and of Fanny Kemble, an English actress and fiery abolitionist whose account of slavery in Georgia scandalized anti-slavery audiences in the American North and England, any contribution which Frances Butler Leigh might make to the historiography of slavery is sure to be controversial. And despite its slipshod fact-checking and occasional lapses into race-related farce and melodrama, Ten Years on a Georgia Plantation since the War is a fascinating and essential look into both the material and conceptional identity of the Georgia planter aristocracy after the War Between the States.

Culled from letters and personal remembrances, Ten Years offers a very broad survey into what life was like for Frances from her arrival on Georgia's coast in 1866 to her departure in the mid-1870s. This summation consists primarily of broad generalizations, in which Frances offers insight into economic, political, or racial matters, punctuated with in-depth anecdotes. These little episodes are quite fascinating, and deal with subjects ranging from the state of Southern railroads after the War to the musical habits of local freedmen to the Republican political machines operating along the coast. There is a very great deal of valuable and essential information to be gleamed from these episodes, and the included appendix, which consists of letters from Frances' husband, the Rev. James W. Leigh, provide additional tantalizing details about daily life on a post-war rice plantation.

But along with factual details of note, Frances also slips often into the pap of sentimentality. Many of her interactions with kind and doting freedmen seem just a bit too precious, while casual calumnies about the conduct of the freed population abound as well. One feels as though Frances intentionally threw in these little asides to engage the interest of audiences, who were eager for the kind of trivial and clearly fictionalized interactions found in Uncle Tom's Cabin. Thankfully these exchanges tend to be very obvious and can be readily sorted out from the more meaningful reminisces.

I would recommend Ten Years on a Georgia Plantation since the War for any who is interested in daily life in the American South or white perceptions of freedmen in the South. There is an incredible amount of information available in this work, if one is willing to wade through the sensationalism.

[Merry Rassman]

I read an edition of this book that was conceived and edited by The Beehive Press of Savannah. Frances's book, which described life on Georgia plantations during the Reconstruction Period, was not published for twenty years (published in 1883, London). The Foreword describes the book as "a conservative account of the trials and tribulations of the use of free Negro labor."

I found this to be a fascinating and quick read. The book is comprised of her (and to a very small extent, her husband's) letters; a journal format. It presents a much different perspective of the impacts of the Freedmen's Bureau and Northern Abolitionists on the freed slaves and the agri-economy (rice and cotton) of the South than any I have previously read. The setting (Darien, Butler's Island, St. Simon's Island) was also a draw for me, since I have recently relocated to Amelia Island, Florida and have visited St. Simon's Island.

This is an interesting, sincere, but paternalistic journal of a strong woman who worked alone after the death of her father. to reclaim her family's plantation in Georgia.

[Rita Welty Bourke]

The author is the daughter of the infamous plantation owner, Pierce Mease Butler, who sold 436 of his slaves in the largest slave auction ever held (The Weeping Time, Anne C. Bailey). Her mother was the famous Shakespearian actress and abolitionist, Fanny Kemble, author of Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839.
Fanny bore two children: Sarah and Frances. The couple divorced in 1849; Butler was given custody of the two children, as was the custom in those days. Sarah supported her mother’s position on slavery, Frances that of her father. Kemble’s book was published in 1863, during the Civil War. Some believe it was influential in England’s decision to not recognize the South. Frances Leigh’s book, published in 1883, appears to be a rebuttal of her mother’s book.
When the Civil War ended, the plantations on Butler and Saint Simons Islands were in shambles. Frances and her farther attempted to hire free Blacks to work the cotton and rice fields. In Frances’s telling, they were lazy, childish, and argumentative. Her attempts to educate them by providing a school and teachers were not successful. She argued, she cajoled, she reasoned, all to no avail.
She tried to work with the Blacks, she brought in Irish workers, she considered Chinese. It all came to naught. In the end, the plantation system could not survive without slavery. Without free labor.
At times Frances seems to care deeply for the freed Blacks. At other times she is certain they can never be educated, will never try to better themselves, will never be reliable workers. They are like children who must be cared for all their lives.
She gives no quarter to the fact that they have been ripped away from their homes, worked until they could work no more, were kept in ignorance and the worse kind of poverty, lived at the mercy of their owners knowing they could be sold “downriver” at a whim.
She often expresses affection for the Blacks, and provides many examples of their fondness for her. Despite that, the depths of Frances’s prejudice is amazing. Her comment upon showing her three-month-old daughter to the Blacks on the island: “Oddly enough, the black faces never seemed to frighten her, and from the first she willingly went to the sable arms stretched out to take her. It was a pretty sight to see, the black nurse with her shining ebony face, surmounted by her bright-colored turban, holding the little delicate white figure up among the branches of the orange trees to let her catch the golden fruit in her tiny hands…”
I have no words.

[joyce richards]

Written by a very intelligent lady who did a job usually reserved for men at the end of the Civil War

[Darcia Scates]

It is always good to read about history. This title is from a racist point of view. For example, the author says Negroes are usually content with plenty to eat and idlelness. So she was surprised to hear they were demanding a 5 day work week with fair wages. Then she says the pure bred African versus the mulatto is not capable of keeping up with the white man intellectually and physically. As though the slaves did not keep those houses clean and the crops tended. She also says the ex-slaves wanted to take off their headscarves because the White ladies did not wear headscarves. She encouraged them to keep them on because their wooly hair was ugly. The author weaves in the racist views at the time. Ex-slaves were given money by kind former masters only to be ripped off. The ex-slaves purchased land with that money, but were never given titles to the land. Thus this story is inspirational. It makes you aware of the injustice that occured back then. It also inspires those who can to work harder to succeed professionally and to read more about history.

[Charles Mellor]

Took Me Back in Time

Enjoyed this first hand account of life in the south during reconstruction. Her vivid storytelling made me feel like I was really there. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as well as her mother's, which was written prior. Both give an exceptional account of southern life for both blacks and whites before, during and after the civil war.

[S.]

Found this e-book on Barnes & Noble instead:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ten-...
(The Amazon link went to a blank page with a picture of a dog.)

[Rio (Lynne)]

I thoroughly enjoyed Frances Butler’s diary on trying to rebuild their crops and plantation after the Civil War. Everyone talks about the Civil War, but nobody talks about the aftermath. I have visited Butler plantation. Taking it all in… history… without a 21st-century mindset.

[Christopher]

The 4.99 Kindle version is available on Amazon at https://a.co/d/01DTYICy

[Sarah Logan-Reynolds]

Interesting local history.

[Ebook Reader]

Great book, the e-book version can be found at:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ten-...