Women in Tennessee History: A Bibliography
The Civil War Period
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  • Biographical Index
  • Books, Articles & Theses
  • Films & Videos
  • Manuscripts & Archives
  • See also:
    American Women's History: Civil War


  • "Alice Williamson Diary:
    An On-line Archival Collection."
    Special Collections Library, Duke University.
    http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/williamson/





    Biographical Index

    • Acklen, Adelicia
    • Battle, Mary Frances
    • Brown, Lizinka Campbell
    • Edmundson, Belle
    • Fogg, Mary Middleton Rutledge
    • French, L. Virginia
    • McEwen, Hetty Montgomery Kennedy
    • Moon, Virginia Bethel


    Books, Articles and Theses

    Ash, Stephen V. "Sharks in an Angry Sea: Civilian Resistance and Guerrilla Warfare in Occupied Middle Tennessee, 1862-1865." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 45 (1986): 217-29.

    Babelay, David, ed. "Seven Letters of Louise Rochat (1820- 1865)." Swiss American Historical Society Review 27 (1991): 11-24.

    Bailey, Fred A. "Class Contrasts in Old South Tennessee: An Analysis of the Non-Combatant Responses to the Civil War Veterans Questionnaires." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 45 (Winter 1986): 273-86.

    Bejach, Wilena Roberts. "Civil War Letters of a Mother and Son." West Tennessee Historical Society Papers 4 (1950): 50-71.

    Brock, Darla. "Battles of Their Own: Memphis's Civil War Women." Masters Thesis, Memphis State University, 1994.

    ------. "'Domestic Recreation' and 'Household Amusements': Spousal Abuse in Memphis, 1861-1865." West Tennessee Historical Society Papers 48 (1994): 81-90.

    ------. "'Our Hands Are at Your Service': The Story of Confederate Women in Memphis." West Tennessee Historical Society Papers 45 (1991): 19-34.

    Bucy, Carole Stanford. "The Civil War." In Tennessee Women: A Guide for Teachers on Integrating Women into the Tennessee Social Studies Curriculum, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Nashville: Tennessee Department of Education, 1994.
    Includes a brief overview of the hardships Tennessee women faced during the war, biographical sketches of about ten women, and a list of suggested activities for various grade levels.

    Burkholder, Mary Ann. "The Mistress of Stoney Lonesome." Middle Tennessee Genealogy 7, no. 2 (Fall 1993): 55-57.
    Includes transcript of a letter that Fanny Keeble sent to her husband, Walter, while he was in the Confederate army.

    Caldwell, May Winston. A Chapter from the Life of a Little Girl of the Confederacy. Nashville, TN: Parthenon Press, 1936.

    Carmack, Catherine E. "A Tennessee Planter Family in Transition, 1849-1867." Master's thesis, Middle Tennessee State University, 1995.

    Cimprich, John. "Slave Behavior During the Federal Occupation of Tennessee, 1862-1865." The Historian 44 (May 1982): 335-46.

    Cody, Annie E. History of the Tennessee Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy. Nashville: Cullom & Ghertner, 1947. 374p.

    Culpepper, Marilyn Mayer. Trials and Triumphs: Women of the American Civil War. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1991.
    Culpepper provides excerpts from the diaries and letters of many women, including the following Tennesseans: Kate Carney (p.50), Catherine Cooper (p.91), Rachel Craighead (p.36-37, 92-95), Elizabeth Baker Crozier (p.159-161), Sallie Florence McEwen (p.18-19), Elizabeth Avery Merwether (p.202-203), Margaret Crozier Ramsey (p.157-158), and Mary Jane Reynolds (p.70, 202-203).

    Cumming, Kate. A Journal of Hospital Life in the Confederate Army of Tennessee, from the Battle of Shiloh to the End of the War. New Orleans: John P. Morgan, 1866. Reprinted as her Kate: The Journal of a Confederate Nurse. With an introduction and footnotes by Richard Barksdale Harwell. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959.

    Cupples, Douglas Wayne. "Memphis Confederates: The Civil War and Its Aftermath." Ph.D. diss., University of Memphis, 1995.

    Delozier, Mary Jean. "The Civil War and Its Aftermath in Putnam County." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 38 (Winter 1979): 436-61.
    Includes short section on the concerns and feelings of women (p. 452).

    Durham, Walter T. Rebellion Revisited: A History of Sumner County, Tennessee, From 1861 to 1870. Gallatin, Tenn.: Sumner County Museum Association, 1982.

    Galbraith, Loretta and William, ed. A Lost Heroine of the Confederacy: The Diaries of Belle Edmondson. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1990.
    Online review by S. Kittrell Rushing for H-CIVWAR: http://h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=5894850452046

    Gaston, Kay Baker. "A World Overturned: The Civil War Experience of Dr. William A. Cheatham and His Family." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 50 (1991): 3-16.

    Gower, Herschel ed. The Beersheba Springs Diaries of L. Virginia French, 1863-1864. Beersheba Springs, Tenn.: Beersheba Springs Historical Society, 1986.

    ------. "The Beersheba Diary of L. Virginia French, Part I, Summer and Fall, 1863. East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications, Nos. 52-53 (1980-81): 89-107.

    ------. "The Beersheba Diary of L. Virginia French, Part II, Winter, Spring, and Summer, 1864. East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications, Nos. 54-55 (1982-83): 3-25.

    Harding, Elizabeth McGavock. Letters: Written by Mrs. William G. Harding to Her Husband, General William G. Harding, April 27th, 1862 - September 24th, 1862. Transcribed by Mrs. M. G. Buckner. Nashville, Tenn.: George Peabody College for Teachers, 1940.

    Harris, William C. "East Tennessee's Civil War Refugees and the Impact of the War on Civilians." Journal of East Tennessee History 64 (1992): 3-19.

    Holden, John A. "Journey of a Confederate Mother." West Tennessee Historical Society Papers 19 (1965): 36-57.

    Hoobler, James A. "The Civil War Diary of Louisa Brown Pearl." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 38 (1979): 308-21.

    House, Ellen Renshaw. A Very Violent Rebel: The Civil War Diary of Ellen Renshaw House. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1996.

    Jones, James Boyd, Jr. "A Tale of Two Cities: The Hidden Battle Against Venereal Disease in Civil War Nashville and Memphis." Civil War History 31 (1985): 270-276.

    Jones, Katharine M. Heroines of Dixie, Confederate Women Tell Their Story of the War. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1955.

    Law, Sarah Chapman Gordon. Reminiscences of the War of the Sixties Between the North and South. Memphis, Tenn.: Memphis Printing Co., 1892.

    Lindsley, Maggie. "Maggie!" Maggie Lindsley's Journal. Southbury, Conn.: M.D. Mackenzie, 1977. 129p.
    Lindsley was a Union sympathizer.

    Mackin, Aloysius. "Wartime Scenes from Convent Windows: St. Cecilia, 1860-1865." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 39, no. 4 (1980): 401-422.

    McDowell, Amanda, and Lela McDowell Blankenship. Fiddles of the Cumberlands. New York: Richard R. Smith, 1943.

    McGlone, John. "Lucy Bell's Story: A Family Legend Analyzed." Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin 52 (Winter 1986): 122-38.

    McKamy, Miss Minerva. "Reminiscences of the War Between the States." Chronicles of Bradley County 4 (April 1984): 16-19.

    Meriwether, Elizabeth Avery. Recollections of 92 Years, 1824-1916. Nashville: Tennessee Historical Commission, 1958.

    Miller, Randall M. "Letters from Nashville, 1862, II. 'Dear Master'." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 33 (1974): 85-92.
    Transcriptions of two letters from a slave, Suzanna, to her master, General Harding.

    Moon, Anna Mary, ed. "Civil War Memories of Mrs. Adeline Deaderick." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 7 (1948): 52-71.

    ------. "A Southern Woman in 1897, Remembers the Civil War." East Tennessee Historical Society Publications 21 (1949): 111-115.

    Partin, Robert. "The Wartime Experiences of Margaret McCalla: Confederate Refugee from East Tennessee." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 24 (1965): 39-53.

    Pearson, Alden B. "A Middle-Class, Border State Family During the Civil War." In The Southern Common People: Studies in Nineteenth-Century Social History, edited by Edward Magdol and Jon L. Wakelyn. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1980.
    Includes excerpts from the diaries of Ethie and George Eagleton.

    Powell, Elvira J. Hospital Pencillings. Boston: Edward L. Mitchell, 1866. 211p.
    Powell worked as a nurse in Nashville and Jeffersonville, Indiana.

    Rothrock, Mary U., ed. "Family Letters : Home Life in Madison and Carroll Counties, Tennessee 1864-1867." West Tennessee Historical Society Papers 23 (1969): 110-29.

    Scott, Prudence Polk. Annie of Oak Hill, An 1850 House and It's Family. Bessemer, Ala.: Colonial Press, 1990.

    Simkins, Francis Butler, and James W. Patton. The Women of the Confederacy. Richmond, Va: Garrett & Massie, 1971.

    Schroeder-Lein, Glenna R. "Confederate Army of Tennessee Hospitals in Chattanooga." The Journal of East Tennessee History 66 (1994): 32-52.
    Part of this article describes Kate Cumming's role as chief matron of the Newsom Hospital.

    Skipper, Elvie Eagleton, and Ruth Gove, eds. "'Stray Thoughts': The Civil War Diary of Ethie M. Foute Eagleton." East Tennessee Historical Society Publications 40 (1968): 128-137.

    Smith, Ophia D. "The Incorrigible 'Miss Ginger'"." West Tennessee Historical Society Papers 9 (1955): 93-118.

    Stanfield, Elizabeth P. "Selected Social Correspondence of Miss Eleanor Hardin Jackson of Rutherford County (1860-1865)." Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin 41, no. 1 (1975): 9-18.

    Strasser, William A. "'Our Women Played Well Their Parts': Confederate Women in Civil War East Tennessee." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 59 (Summer 2000): 88-107.

    -----. "'Our Women Played Well Their Parts': East Tennessee Women in the Civil War Era, 1860-1870." M.A. thesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1999.

    Trimble, Sarah Ridley ,. ed. "Behind the Lines in Middle Tennessee, 1863-1865: The Journal of Bettie Ridley Blackmore." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 12 (1953): 48-80.

    Venable, Rita. "History of Glen Echo." Williamson County Historical Society Publication No. 27 (1996): 77-86.
    Includes a 1864 letter from Rebecca Campbell to her soldier son, Kit Ridley.

    Williams, Emma Inman ,. ed. "Hettie Wisdom Tapp's Memoirs." West Tennessee Historical Society Papers 36 (1982): 117-123.

    Wills, Ridley II. "Letters from Nashville, 1862, I. A Portrait of Belle Meade." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 33 (1974): 70-84.

    Zebley, Kathleen R. "Unconditional Unionist: Samuel Mayes Arnell and Reconstruction in Tennessee." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 53 (Winter 1994): 246-59.
    Includes a description of an encounter between Arnell's wife, Cornelia, and a Confederate colonel (p. 250). The Confederates had ransacked their home.


    Manuscripts/Archives

    Allen, William Gibbs. Memoirs. Confederate Collection, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
    Allen tells of the roles played by Rhea County women during the Civil War.

    Bills Family. Papers, 1826-1877. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville. Microfilm.

    Boone, Sally Walker. Memoir, 1861-1863. Confederate Collection, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
    Life in the Memphis area after the Battle of Belmont. Boone describes the death of her cousin in detail.

    Brooks, Abbie M. Papers. Atlanta Historical Society.

    Carney, Kate. Diary. Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Microfilm.

    Cooper Family. Papers, 1716-1968. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
    Includes Catherine Cooper's letter to her two sons during the Civil War.

    Craighead, Rachel Carter. Diaries. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville. Microfilm.

    Craighead, W. A. Memoirs, 1861-1865. Confederate Collection, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
    Life in Roane County during the Civil War.

    Crozier, Elizabeth Baker. Journal. Special Collections, University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

    Davidson, John Mitchell. Papers. Special Collections Department, Robert W. Woodward Library, Emory University.
    John and Julia (Dunn) Davidson resided in Ducktown, TN until 1862, when they moved to Atlanta. In her letters, Julia Davidson wrote of the hardship experienced by civilians during the Civil War.

    Edmondson, Belle. Diary, 1864. Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

    Fain, Fannie A. Diaries, 1863-98. Archives of Appalachia, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City.
    Brief online description: "The Civil War in Appalachia." Available from http://cass.etsu.edu/archives/Civilwar.htm.

    French, Lucy Virginia (Smith). Papers. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.

    Gale and Polk Family. Papers, 1815-95. Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
    Online manuscript inventory: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/g/Gale_and_Polk_Family.html

    Gale, Dudley. Papers, 1898-1963. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville. Microfilm.

    Garrett, Jill Knight. Collection. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
    Online description: http://www.state.tn.us/sos/statelib/techsvs/manud/1621.pdf.
    Includes the memoir of Rowena Webster for the years 1862-65. She wrote of events near Wartrace, in Bedford County.

    Gooch, Margaret (Ridley). Memoir. Confederate Collection, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
    Life in Franklin, Tenn. and other southern towns during the Civil War.

    Gwyn, Margaret. Diary and Account Book, 1854-67. Special Collections Library, Duke University, Durham, N.C.

    Hamilton, Mary L. Pearre. Collection, 1860-65. Archives of Appalachia, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City.
    Brief online description: "The Civil War in Appalachia." Available from http://cass.etsu.edu/archives/Civilwar.htm.

    Hamilton-Williams Family. Papers, 1850-1971. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
    Online finding aid: http://www.state.tn.us/sos/statelib/techsvs/manud/90-342.pdf.

    Hansard, A.C.M.A. Letter, 1865. Special Collections Department, Virginia Tech Libraries, Blacksburg.
    "Civil War homefront letter written February 24, 1865, from Tazewell, Claiborne County, Tennessee. Hansard writes to her family about the lack of meat, robberies in the area, and a recent local revival meeting." Description taken from, "Manuscript Sources for Women's History Research in the Special Collections Department of the Virginia Tech Libraries," available from http://scholar2.lib.vt.edu/spec/women/wmnunidx.htm.

    Hardin, Hettie (Irwin). Memoirs, 1900-1913. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville. Microfilm.

    Heiskell Family. Diaries, 1849, 1863-65. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville. Microfilm.
    Includes the diary of Susan Heiskell McCampbell (1834-1917) of Dandridge, Tennessee.

    Heiskell, Frederick S. Papers, 1810-82. Archives of Appalachia, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City.
    Includes "letters from Heiskell's daughter to her husband, a Confederate soldier." Description taken from "The Civil War in Appalachia," available from http://cass.etsu.edu/archives/Civilwar.htm.

    Howard Family. Papers. Special Collections, Library, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

    Howard, Gerald Branch. Papers, 1770-1973. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
    Online manuscript inventory: http://www.state.tn.us/sos/statelib/techsvs/manud/91-169.pdf. This collection includes correspondence between Mary Jones (Polk) Branch (1831-1919) and her husband, Joseph G. Branch (1817-1867). Mrs. Branch's letters describe the effect of the war on her family and neighbors in Maury County.

    Harding Jackson Family. Papers. Jean and Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
    Includes letters Elizabeth Harding sent to her husband, William Giles Harding, during the Civil War.

    Harding Jackson Family. Papers. Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
    Online manuscript inventory: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/h/Harding_and_Jackson_Family

    Johnson, John. Papers, 1862-1900. Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
    Includes a diary from 1862 of Johnston's sister, Sarah Johnston Estes, in which she describes community life in Madison County, Tennessee, and in Amite, Louisiana.

    McCampbell, Susan Heiskell. Diary, 1863-65. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
    Life in Dandridge, Tennessee during the Civil War.

    McConnell, Sarah Harriet. Memoir, ca. 1923. Confederate Collection, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
    McConnell's detailed account of her imprisonment in Nashville during 1864-65.

    McEwen, Sallie Florence. Diary. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.

    McKamy, Minerva. Memoir. Typescript. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.

    Meriwether, Elizabeth Avery. Recollections. Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

    Mitchell, Martha Armstrong (Luttrell). Memoirs. Confederate Collection, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
    Life in Knoxville during the Civil War.

    Moore, Harriet Ellen. Papers. Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Microfilm.

    Nagy, James Emerick, Collector. Nashville Public Schools, 1710-1958. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
    Includes the Nashville diary of Louisa Brown Pearl from Sept. 1, 1861 to March 22, 1862. See also James Hoobler, "The Civil War Diary of Louisa Brown Pearl," Tennessee Historical Quarterly38 (1979): 308-21.

    Ramsey, Margaret B. Crozier. Journal. Special Collections, University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

    Ready, Alice. Diary. Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Microfilm.

    Reynolds, Mary Jane. Letters. Special Collections, University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

    Sloan, Anna (Toone). Memoir. Confederate Collection, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
    The Battle of Franklin from the perspective of a local family.

    Thompson, Sarah. Papers, 1855-1904. Special Collections Library, Duke University, Durham, N.C.

    Williamson, Alice. Diary, 1864. Special Collections Library, Duke University, Durham, N.C.
    Diary of an opinionated 16 year old rebel farm girl near Gallatin, Tenn., describes the Yankee occupation of surrounding areas, projects to educate former slaves, her own school life and social visits. [This description has been taken from Ginny Daley, Women and the Civil War: Manuscript Sources in the Special Collections Library at Duke University. http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/women/civilwar.html]




    Women in Tennessee History: A Bibliography

    Ken Middleton kmiddlet@frank.mtsu.edu
    Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University