Mary Boykin Chesnut was an influential writer during the Civil War. She wrote an amazing diary that documented her life during the war when she was 37, from 1861-1865. Despite her being loyal to the Confederate cause, Mary also wrote about how she was against slavery. Her family depended on slavery for their livelihood, which molded her upbringing in a home that supported slavery, however, she still believed that it was wrong. Mary Boykin Chesnut opened up to show the many aspects of life during the Civil War, including hers, throughout every financial struggle. Chesnut was a strong Southern woman with solid leadership skills, yet a caring and soft woman. Mary Boykin Chesnut was born on her grandparents' plantation at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina on March 31, 1823. She was the …show more content…
Her dislike for slavery came from her belief that caring for the blacks was unprofitable. “A hired man is far cheaper than a man whose father and mother, his wife and twelve children have to be fed, clothed, housed, nursed, taxes paid, and doctor’s bills- all for his half-done, slovenly, lazy work.” (DeCredico 150) Chesnut stayed at the plantation for a few weeks while her husband went from his post as a senator in Washington to Columbia, to the seat of South Carolina government. There he participated in the South Carolina Secession Convention and was appointed to a committee to prepare an Ordinance of Secession.
Chesnut joined her husband in Charleston when an outbreak of smallpox interrupted the convention. There she was excited in the idea of preparing for war, because she wished her husband would go fight in the battles. At the beginning of the Civil War, Chesnut was still living at Mulberry even though James was always away from home due to his work. She busied herself with entertaining guests at home, listening to the news of the war, and sewing shirts for the Confederate