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Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens: His Diary Kept When a Prisoner at Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, 1865 (1910)
""Recollections of Alexander H. His Diary Kept When A Prisoner At Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, 1865"" is a historical book written by Myrta Lockett Avary. The book is a compilation of the personal diary entries of Alexander H. Stephens, a prominent American politician and Vice President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. The diary entries were written during his imprisonment at Fort Warren, Boston Harbor in 1865, following the end of the Civil War.The book provides a unique insight into the thoughts and experiences of Alexander H. Stephens during his incarceration. It covers a wide range of topics, including his daily routine, his interactions with fellow prisoners, his views on the war and its aftermath, and his personal reflections on his life and career. The diary entries are supplemented by additional commentary and analysis from Myrta Lockett Avary, providing further context and historical background to the events described.Overall, ""Recollections of Alexander H. His Diary Kept When A Prisoner At Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, 1865"" is a fascinating historical document that sheds light on a crucial period in American history. It is an essential read for anyone interested in the Civil War or the life and career of Alexander H. Stephens.""Giving Incidents And Reflections Of His Prison Life And Some Letters And Reminiscences.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
- GenresBiography
588 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1865
About the author
Myrta Lockett Avary
38 books4 followersFrom Wikipedia article below:
Myrta Lockett Avary (December 7, 1857 – February 14, 1946) was an American white supremacist, author, and journalist. Her books include Dixie After the War (1906), The Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens (1910) and Uncle Remus and the Wren's Nest (1913). She died on February 14, 1946, in Atlanta.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrta_L...
Myrta Lockett Avary (December 7, 1857 – February 14, 1946) was an American white supremacist, author, and journalist. Her books include Dixie After the War (1906), The Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens (1910) and Uncle Remus and the Wren's Nest (1913). She died on February 14, 1946, in Atlanta.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrta_L...
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 31, 2013
This book is worth reading if only for the bio section at the beginning. It is appalling that more people don't know more about Stephens. Reading his memoir, you get a true sense of the character of the man. His deeply imbedded Christian faith helps him interpret every experience and put his captivity into perspective. My only fault with Stephens would be his view of blacks as an inferior race. While this could be attributed to him being a man of his times, his Christian faith should have helped him see all men are made in God's image and no race is inferior. Even so, his belief in this did not keep him from treating blacks, slave or free, compassionately and with grace.
September 19, 2017
This was an absolutely amazing read! I have not been so moved by someone's private journal since Anne Frank. The despair that Alexander Stephens went through while in prison is palpable, and he fills the pages of his journal with his despair, anger, loneliness, and worry which come from his complete and utter isolation. What I also found pretty amazing was the efforts to fill the time by filling out pages and pages of his journal with remembered speeches that he gave until his hand would cramp to try and pass the time. This journal should also be the front line argument against the faulty belief that the entire States' Rights argument as to being the cause of the War Between the States is purely a concoction of Jubal Early years after the war, as this journal was written before the last Confederate Army had even surrendered and positively oozes with the States' Rights arguments for the cause of the war.
January 15, 2017
Written during his six month confinement at Fort Warren, Boston, Alexander Stephens' prisoner's dairy encapsulates a brilliant mind at its nadir; his homeland despoiled, his friends in danger, and his very life in question, Stephens must endure while socially isolated and deprived of the intellectual stimulation which had been his life's work. But like Abbe Faria, Stephens has a useful, if humble, utensil: his own intellect, into which he retreats when the physical world turns totally against him. The result is one of the greatest works of biography in the history of literature.
Originally intended to provide his loved ones with some account of his last days should he be executed, Stephens' Recollections become a window in the world of a political genius. To combat tedium, Stephens records his daily schedule, what he has eaten, observations on the weather, the sighting of a "sea monster" in Boston Harbor, and funny little episodes about battling bedbugs and trying to domesticate a mouse. But Stephens also offers up his musings on the books he has acquired to read, ranging from historical to theological commentary, and as well the many letters he wrote to the leading men of his day while imprisoned, including Seward, Grant, and Johnson. Stephens also provides his initial insights into the War Between the States and the tumultuous path which brought the South to its destruction, commenting on the war effort, and the attitudes and opinions of both Southerners and Northerners, with many critiques of Jefferson Davis in particular. As a result, Stephens also reiterates his extensive and extremely complex views on the issues of race, illustrating a far more nuanced and compassionate assessment that one traditionally gleans from poorly contextualized excerpts from his "Cornerstone" speech. These ruminations would germinate into Stephens later works like his "School History" of the United States and his account of the War Between the States, and especially his magnum opus, A Constitutional View of the Late War Between the States.
But where the Recollections provide their greatest value is in Stephens' memories of his youth and earlier career. In fullest detail, outside his letters, Stephens traces the remarkable path which carried a poor orphan in central Georgia through a brilliant career in law to the penultimate authority in that "storm-cradled nation that fell." An amazing portrait develops of one of the most analytical and reasoned mines in history, and how it was shaped by personal hard work and constant exchange with other minds. From his interviews with Lincoln and Davis to chats with his slaves and memories of his mother, Stephens looks back on his remarkable life with the view of one faced with losing it.
One must also commend the excellent and thoroughly grounded modern introduction by Ben Forkner, who indulges in no politically correct finger-pointing but celebrates Stephens through his own accomplishments. The original editing by Myrta Lockett Avary is ideal and intrusive, and her opening biographical sketch of Stephens is one of the greatest ever put to paper. Avary is to be commended as a shining star among the constellations of early 20th century history and historiography.
I would recommend Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens to anyone interest in American biography, the political history of the War Between the States, or, of course, in Stephens himself. This work is a triumph of autobiography and represents, I believe, a compulsory tome for any concerned with the state of the United States during the early and mid 19th century
Originally intended to provide his loved ones with some account of his last days should he be executed, Stephens' Recollections become a window in the world of a political genius. To combat tedium, Stephens records his daily schedule, what he has eaten, observations on the weather, the sighting of a "sea monster" in Boston Harbor, and funny little episodes about battling bedbugs and trying to domesticate a mouse. But Stephens also offers up his musings on the books he has acquired to read, ranging from historical to theological commentary, and as well the many letters he wrote to the leading men of his day while imprisoned, including Seward, Grant, and Johnson. Stephens also provides his initial insights into the War Between the States and the tumultuous path which brought the South to its destruction, commenting on the war effort, and the attitudes and opinions of both Southerners and Northerners, with many critiques of Jefferson Davis in particular. As a result, Stephens also reiterates his extensive and extremely complex views on the issues of race, illustrating a far more nuanced and compassionate assessment that one traditionally gleans from poorly contextualized excerpts from his "Cornerstone" speech. These ruminations would germinate into Stephens later works like his "School History" of the United States and his account of the War Between the States, and especially his magnum opus, A Constitutional View of the Late War Between the States.
But where the Recollections provide their greatest value is in Stephens' memories of his youth and earlier career. In fullest detail, outside his letters, Stephens traces the remarkable path which carried a poor orphan in central Georgia through a brilliant career in law to the penultimate authority in that "storm-cradled nation that fell." An amazing portrait develops of one of the most analytical and reasoned mines in history, and how it was shaped by personal hard work and constant exchange with other minds. From his interviews with Lincoln and Davis to chats with his slaves and memories of his mother, Stephens looks back on his remarkable life with the view of one faced with losing it.
One must also commend the excellent and thoroughly grounded modern introduction by Ben Forkner, who indulges in no politically correct finger-pointing but celebrates Stephens through his own accomplishments. The original editing by Myrta Lockett Avary is ideal and intrusive, and her opening biographical sketch of Stephens is one of the greatest ever put to paper. Avary is to be commended as a shining star among the constellations of early 20th century history and historiography.
I would recommend Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens to anyone interest in American biography, the political history of the War Between the States, or, of course, in Stephens himself. This work is a triumph of autobiography and represents, I believe, a compulsory tome for any concerned with the state of the United States during the early and mid 19th century
October 8, 2021
I had visited Fort Warren in Boston Harbor years ago, and knew it was a Civil War era prisoner of war camp. Stephens, the Vice President of the Confederacy, was held here with a handful of others. He kept a journal of his days there - and the people he received while there, and those who wrote to seeking his release. Interesting to hear him tell his story in his own words. 21st century readers won't like his views - but that sent me off to read his biography and get a better feel for the time in which he was raised. A self made man, a very successful lawyer, and a politician with a national reputation. With a blind spot that all Southerners and many Northerners had.
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May 20, 2012
A pretty remarkable book in a lot of ways.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews