Surviving the Confederacy

Rebellion, Ruin and Recover - Roger and Sara Pryor During the Civil War

by John C. Waugh

I love this book. For a nonfiction book, I was surprised at what an easy read it is. The author's narrative flow was excellent. He relied heavily on memoirs and diaries from women who lived in the South during the Civil War and I loved that because it gave me an inside view of what was going on and how they all felt about it. I had known how awful things got to be in the South during the Civil War, particularly towards the end, but it gives it a whole new meaning to hear first hand accounts of it.

As it happens, Roger and Sara Pryor were in most of the exciting parts of the war. Roger was there during the firing on Fort Sumter and was even offered to fire the first shot (he declined on account of the fact that his state had not yet formally seceded and that was probably for the best for his life after the war ended). Sara followed Roger pretty much everywhere he went. By the time Grant laid siege to Petersburg, they were both there. Sara was living in a relative's house and Roger was fighting for General Lee.

Neither of them were present for the burning of Richmond, but some of their friends were and Waugh provides some excellent first-hand accounts of that event through letters the Pryors received.

The book contains a brief history and lineage of both Roger and Sara Pryor. It begins their story in detail about a decade before the war starts. For several years, Roger was a Congressman and so both of them met and befriended powerful people in Washington and they both witnessed (and Roger was party to) the bickering that went on on the Congress floor which eventually led to secession and the war.

Overall, this book painted a vivid picture of two characters living during one of the most fascinating times in our country's history. It also brought to life the time period, including information on the fashion of the time (and how that compared to what Southern women were often forced to wear) during the war. It made me feel as though I knew what it was like to live there during those times and it gave me a sense of the strength of Southern women of the time. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. Absolutely anyone.