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Re: Family Diary
They ain't gonna be well in about 3 days.
You ain't lying, and it's only going to get worse...quick.
On a more serious note, I still think this is absolutely fascinating. I was thinking about some things I've noticed elsewhere while reading this last entry. Scanning through the census you occasionally find a man who has little or no land but a very specific small amount of property. That is to say, he claims exactly $43 or exactly $67. It always struck me as a bit odd. How did he know that his goods added up to that exact amount? Why didn't he just give an approximate value? $45 or $70 instead of the precise amount.
But I guess when you're a small farmer, barely scraping by from year to year, keeping up with such minutia is important. That same $2 or $3 dollars can be make or break at some point -- literally life or death. That this gentleman's records of the various armies taking and consuming all of his resources read like a ledger book, and that he attempts to get everyone's names recorded speaks to how devastating this war has become.
You can almost feel the growing anxiety in his head. Add to that the fear of being helpless at the hands of the troops and the worry over his sons in the army and we've got a test case for civilian hardship during the war. At the same time fantastic to have as a historian and heart-wrenching for the human.
Can't wait for the next installment. I'm addicted.
Originally posted by BumpusTN
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Nov. 23, 1863-Since the above was written the war and other things have made many changes.
On a more serious note, I still think this is absolutely fascinating. I was thinking about some things I've noticed elsewhere while reading this last entry. Scanning through the census you occasionally find a man who has little or no land but a very specific small amount of property. That is to say, he claims exactly $43 or exactly $67. It always struck me as a bit odd. How did he know that his goods added up to that exact amount? Why didn't he just give an approximate value? $45 or $70 instead of the precise amount.
But I guess when you're a small farmer, barely scraping by from year to year, keeping up with such minutia is important. That same $2 or $3 dollars can be make or break at some point -- literally life or death. That this gentleman's records of the various armies taking and consuming all of his resources read like a ledger book, and that he attempts to get everyone's names recorded speaks to how devastating this war has become.
You can almost feel the growing anxiety in his head. Add to that the fear of being helpless at the hands of the troops and the worry over his sons in the army and we've got a test case for civilian hardship during the war. At the same time fantastic to have as a historian and heart-wrenching for the human.
Can't wait for the next installment. I'm addicted.
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