Among the pines;: Or, South in secession-time,

by Edmund Kirke

It is one of the most readable books on Southern life we have ever seen. The pictures which the author gives of the working of peculiar institutions are not surpassed by the most tragic scenes so vividly portrayed by Mrs. Stowe in Uncle Tom's Cabin." PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

310 pages, Library Binding

First published December 1, 1862

About the author

Pseudonym used by James R. Gilmore

Reviews

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this book was a real surprise. I found it at a rummage sale in its original dustjacket, and was interested in it mostly because of its advanced age and a sticky note on it that read, "Negro History." A quick smartphone Google search (while still at the rummage sale) revealed that it had been reprinted many times... so although I couldn't locate any reviews, it seemed promising that publishers would release it multiple times. I bought a first edition, 1852, for $20 bucks.

Because this is (supposedly) a true account, it reads like a modern memoir. And it provided a wonderful glimpse into what it was really like for James (his real name..."Edmund" was a nom de plume) to go, as a Yankee businessman, on a journey through the secessionist south to meet with some business contacts, just on the cusp of the Civil War. Its yellowed pages spoke to me directly, literally from antebellum times. It was kind of a surreal experience to read it.

The author is a Yankee, and although he consistently denies to his secessionist (his account of what they call themselves: "sesesheners") hosts that he is an abolitionist, he is of course writing this book to reveal all the evils he has discovered about slavery. And reveal he does. So although we are all familiar with the horror stories of rape, severe exploitation and diminishment, there were lots of nuances about the intimate relationships of real families that made slavery seem more real, and less of a fairy tale, to me.

A note about language. People did use bad words in those days... they just seem mild to us know because they have lost their force. So words like "hell" are abbreviated as "h-ll" and as a reader you realize that "What the hell!" was the "WTF!" of its day, with equal power. Conversely, words like "nigger," "darky," "quadroon" and other similar epithets are not abbreviated or hidden because at that time, they weren't yet considered bad words to use. Even for an abolitionist. So read this book, but don't be too judgmental on his use of epithets. Rest assured, he's an open-minded Yankee through and through!

[Becky Colosimo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend loaned an original copy of Among the Pines to me when he found it at an estate sale. It's a shame this book is out of print because I think any student of American history should read it. The little-known memoir of a Yankee visiting a turpentine plantation owner in South Carolina a few weeks after secession portrays all the evils of slavery without the melodrama of the Uncle Tom's Cabin. The author, writing under a pseudonym, has in depth conversations with several slaves, exposing their true character as intelligent and sensible to their plight. His story portrays the way the institution not only dehumanizes blacks but also oppresses the uneducated poor whites of the South. More subtly, it demonstrates the poisonous effects of human bondage on the white masters. While the constant use of the racial epithet is a jarring (if commonly used when the book was published in 1862), if you have any interest in the antebellum South and can get your hands on a copy of this, I highly recommend it.

[Sandy Hays · Rating 4 out of 5]

written right before the civil war and in a southern dialect, a different view of life in the south.