"Yesterday I broke down—gave way to abject terror. The news of Sherman's advance—and no news of my husband. Today—wrapped up on the sofa—too dismal for moaning, even. There was a loud knock. Shawls and all, I rushed to the door. Telegram from my husband.
'All well—be at home on Tuesday.' It was dated from Adams Run.*
I felt as lighthearted as if the war were over.
Then I looked at the date—Adams Run. It ends as it began. Bulls Run—from which their first sprightly running astounded the world. Now if we run—who are to run? They ran full-handed. We have fought until maimed soldiers and women and children are all that is left to run."
*A point on the Charleston and Savannah Railroad about fifty miles west of Charleston.
Mary Boykin Chesnut is one of the most important voices of the American Civil War with her unique perspective from inside Confederate halls of power. Her husband James Chesnut, Jr, served in the South Carolina legislature, and in 1858 was elected to the U.S. Senate. He resigned from office after Lincoln's 1860 win, then returned south to help draft the ordinance of secession and attend the First Confederate Congress. He was a close aide to Jefferson Davis for much of the war as history unfolded.