Mary Boykin Chesnut facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mary Boykin Chesnut
Chesnut in the 1860s
Born	Mary Boykin Miller March 31, 1823 near Stateburg, South Carolina, US
Died	November 22, 1886 (1886-11-23) (aged 63) Camden, South Carolina, US
Nationality	American
Known for	Civil War diaries
Spouse(s)	James Chesnut, Jr.

Mary Boykin Chesnut (born Mary Miller) (March 31, 1823 – November 22, 1886) was an American writer. She is famous for her book, which was based on her diary from the American Civil War. Her book gives a clear look at Southern society during this difficult time.

Mary Chesnut wrote about the war from the perspective of her wealthy social group in the South. However, her diary also included details about people from all walks of life. She was married to James Chesnut, Jr., a lawyer who became a U.S. senator and later a general in the Confederate Army.

Mary worked on her diary for publication between 1881 and 1884. It was finally published in 1905, many years after her death. Later, new versions came out when more of her writings were found. The 1981 edition, called Mary Chesnut's Civil War, won a special award called the Pulitzer Prize for History. Many writers and historians consider her diary a very important book from the Civil War era.

Early Life

Mary Chesnut was born on March 31, 1823. Her birthplace was a large farm called Mount Pleasant, near Stateburg, South Carolina. Her parents were Stephen Decatur Miller and Mary Boykin. Her father was a U.S. Representative and later the governor of South Carolina. He also became a U.S. senator.

When her father became governor in 1829, her family moved to Charleston. Mary was the oldest of four children. She had a younger brother and two sisters.

At age 13, Mary started school at Madame Talvande's French School for Young Ladies in Charleston. This school was for daughters of wealthy families who owned enslaved people. Mary learned to speak French and German very well. She received a strong education.

Later, her father left politics and moved his family to Mississippi. He bought many acres of land there. This area was very different from Charleston. He owned three large cotton farms and hundreds of enslaved people. Mary lived in Mississippi for short times between school terms, but she preferred city life.

Marriage and War Years

In 1836, when Mary was 13, she met James Chesnut, Jr. in Charleston. He was eight years older than her. They married on April 23, 1840, when Mary was 17.

They first lived with James's parents at Mulberry, a large farm near Camden, South Carolina. James's father, called the "Old Colonel" by Mary, owned a lot of land and about 500 enslaved people.

In 1858, James Chesnut, Jr. became a U.S. senator for South Carolina. He served until South Carolina left the United States in December 1860. This happened after Abraham Lincoln was elected president.

When the Civil War began, James Chesnut became an assistant to Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. He also became a general in the Confederate Army. During the war, Mary and James lived at Chesnut Cottage in Columbia, South Carolina.

Mary was smart and witty. She often helped her husband's career by entertaining important people. She enjoyed their time in Washington, D.C., and Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. Mary sometimes felt sad, partly because she could not have children. Their marriage had its ups and downs, but they were mostly close and loving.

Mary Chesnut wrote in her diary about her many friends and acquaintances. These included important people in Southern society and the Confederate government. Among them were generals, politicians, and their wives. The Chesnuts were also friends with Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his wife, Varina Howell.

After the War

Like many wealthy families in the South, the Chesnuts faced hard times after the Civil War. They lost the enslaved people they owned, who were now free. James Chesnut, Sr. died in 1866. He left his son the use of their farms, Mulberry and Sandy Hill, but they had many debts.

James Chesnut, Jr. worked hard to manage the farms and support his father's family. He only had the use of the farms during his lifetime. In February 1885, both James and Mary's mother passed away. The farms then went to another male relative in the Chesnut family.

Mary Boykin Chesnut received almost no money to support herself. She also found that her husband had many debts related to the farms. She struggled in her last year and died in 1886 at her home in Camden, South Carolina. She was buried next to her husband in Knights Hill Cemetery.

Writing Her Famous Diary

Mary Boykin Chesnut started writing her diary on February 18, 1861, and finished it on June 26, 1865. She wrote that she wanted her journal to be about what she saw, not just her own feelings.

Mary was an eyewitness to many important events because she traveled with her husband during the war. She was in Montgomery, Alabama, and Richmond, Virginia, where the Confederate government met. She was also in Charleston when the first shots of the Civil War were fired. She lived in Columbia, South Carolina, where her husband was in charge of military forces. They also spent time at Mulberry Plantation, where they hosted many visitors.

Mary knew that what she was seeing was historically important. Her diary captured the changing fortunes of the South during the war. She edited her diary and wrote new versions between 1881 and 1884 for publication. She wanted it to feel like events were happening as she wrote them, without knowing the future.

She wrote about the growing difficulties faced by all people in the Confederacy as they neared defeat. Mary was very aware of politics. She described and analyzed different groups of people in the South throughout the war. She gave a detailed look at Southern society, especially the roles of men and women.

Mary was also honest about the difficult and complicated issues related to slavery. She wrote about the problems of white slaveowners having children with enslaved women in their own households.

Historians have studied Mary Chesnut's papers. They show how she developed as a writer. Before working on her diary as a book, she translated French poetry, wrote essays, and a family history. She also wrote three full novels that were never published during her lifetime.

Because Mary Chesnut had no children, she gave her diary to her close friend, Isabella D. Martin, before she died. Mary asked her friend to have it published. The diary was first published in 1905, but it was heavily edited and shortened. Later versions, like the one by C. Vann Woodward in 1981, kept more of her original writing. This version also explained the many people, places, and events mentioned in her diary.

Publication of Her Diary

• 1949: A Diary from Dixie, a longer version edited by Ben Ames Williams.
• 2011: Mary Chesnut's Diary, a Penguin Classic edition with an introduction by Catherine Clinton.