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What if you could sit down and talk to a woman who was the daughter of a prominent plantation owner? Well, we did.

Her name is Nancy Bostick  De Sausssure  (1837-1915) and she was one of twelve children born to a prominent plantation owner in Hampton County, South Carolina. She was educated at home by private tutors and took music lessons in Charleston, where she met Henry William De Saussure. They married in 1859 and settled in Robertville, South Carolina, a central location from which Dr. De Saussure found it easier to visit patients.

We created a “fictional” interview with Mrs. De Saussure by excerpting actual statements she left in her journals and diaries. The lengthy, interesting and insightful interview can be found in full here.

This is a fascinating interview. In it, you will learn things like:

• What life was like for slaves on a real plantation during the Civil War?
• How were slaves cared for medically?
• Was there a master-slave attachment?
• Were de Saussure’s slaves treated well?
• What was it like to personally observe the firing upon Ft. Sumter?
• How did Charlestonians feel about the war?
• What kind of destruction and ruin did Charlestonians experience?
• And many more interesting questions answered by a personal witness who was just 24 years old in 1861.

To read the entire interview click here.

An authentic interview between the Civil War Gazette and Mrs. De Sausssure (1837-1915).Nancy Bostick (1837-1915) was one of twelve children born to a prominent plantation owner in Hampton County, South Carolina. She was educated at home by private tutors and took music lessons in Charleston, where she met Henry William De Saussure. They married in 1859 and settled in Robertville, South Carolina, a central location from which Dr. De Saussure found it easier to visit patients.

During the Civil War, Dr. De Saussure served the Confederacy as a surgeon, first with the Charleston Light Dragoons, and later along the South Carolina coast. While her husband was away, Nancy and her young daughter lived at Nancy’s father’s plantation, which was close enough to her husband’s camp to enable her to visit him relatively frequently. When General Sherman’s army swept through South Carolina, Nancy fled their home, which was destroyed by fire. After the Civil War, Nancy Saussure taught at Vassar College.

Nancy Bostick De Saussure wrote Old Plantation Days: Being Recollections of the Days Before the Civil War (1909) in the form of a letter to her granddaughter, Dorothy.

What you are about to read is an “authentic” interview between The Civil War Gazette and Mrs. De Saussure. The answers Mrs. De Saussure [pronounced DES-suh-sore] provides are historically-accurate, taken from her journal, diaries or letters. The questions are contemporary, but chosen and phrased in a manner as if Mrs. De Saussure were interviewed by a 21st century reporter.

No attempt has been made to contemporize the language of Mrs. De Sausssure. For example, she often used the term ‘negroes’. Though certain terms, idioms and phrases are no longer used, or perhaps acceptable today, we feel it is important to hear Mrs. De Saussure in her context, which includes her original language.

This is a fascinating interview. In it, you will learn things like:

• What life was like for slaves on a real plantation during the Civil War?
• How were slaves cared for medically?
• Was there a master-slave attachment?
• Were de Saussure’s slaves treated well?
• What was it like to personally observe the firing upon Ft. Sumter?
• How did Charlestonians feel about the war?
• What kind of destruction and ruin did Charlestonians experience?
• And many more interesting questions answered by a personal witness who was just 24 years old in 1861.

Imagine a reporter from The Civil War Gazette sitting down with Mrs. De Saussure in 1909, on a large shaded porch, in Charleston of course; sipping ice tea . . . . asking questions we’d all love the answers to.

In 1861 the De Saussure’s lived in Robertville, SC; a little northwest of Beaufort.

This interview will cover these topics:

• The Old South vs The New South
• The de Saussure Family
• The Slaves and the Plantation
  • The Master/Slave Attachment
  • Health and Medical Care
  • Typical Day/Life on the Plantation
  • Education for the de Saussure Children
  • The Social-life Around the Plantation Community
• Life and Times in Charleston during the Civil War (1861-1865)
  • Early in the War
  • The Firing on Sumter, April 1861
  • Post-Sumter Days
  • The Capture of Port Royal, November 1861
  • Late-War Reminscences, Charleston-area
  • The Effect of War: Ruin and Destruction
  • Sherman’s march through the Carolinas
  • The War Comes to an End
    

The Old South versus The New South

GDV: Mrs. De Saussure [pronounced DES-suh-sore], how do you see the South now, forty years since the Civil War?

NBD: The South as I knew it has disappeared; the New South has risen from its ashes, filled with the energetic spirit of a new age.

GVD: So those days were . . . ?

NBD: . . . the happy plantation days, the recollection of which causes my heart to throb again with youthful pleasure, and near them are the days, the dreadful days, of war and fire and famine.

The de Saussure Family

GVD: We’ve heard your great-grandmother was a special woman. Tell us about her.

NBD: My great-grandmother’s eldest son, at nineteen, was a captain in the Revolutionary War, and she was left alone, a widow on her plantation. When the British made a raid on her home, carrying off everything, she remained undaunted, and, mounting a horse, rode in hot haste to where the army was stationed, and asked to see the general in command. Her persistence gained admittance. She stated her case and the condition in which the British soldiers had left her home, and pleaded her cause with so much eloquence that the general ordered the spoils returned to her. Dearest child, in the intrepid spirit of this ancestor you will find the keynote to the brave spirit of the women of the South.

GVD: And would you tell us about your mother? She ran a plantation, right?

NBD: Mother was a woman of remarkable sweetness of disposition and intelligence, and had great executive ability, which latter quality was dispensable in the mistress of a large household of children and servants. She gave unceasing care and attention to her children, and personally supervised every detail of their education. Besides these duties, the negroes of the plantation, their food and clothing, care of their infants and the sick, all came under her control.

GVD: Who was your grandfather (father’s side)?

NBD: Henry William De Saussure, who was a descendant of the Huguenot family of that name, and a grandson of Chancellor Henry William De Saussure.

GVD: Your father was a spiritual man, was he not?

NBD: His devotion to Christ was unusual, and I never knew him to doubt for an instant that he himself was a child of God. Having a most affectionate disposition, he loved his wife and children intensely, and lived in and for them.

Part Two: Interview with N.B. de Saussure

The Slaves and the Plantation

GVD: How did your parents come into owning slaves?

NBD: My father and mother inherited most of their negroes . . .

The Master-Slave Attachment

GVD: Can you speak to the “attachment” between slave and master that often occurred?

NBD: There was an attachment existing between master and mistress and their slaves which one who had never borne such a relation could never understand. In one of my rare visits South to my own people, the old-time darkies, our former slaves, walked twenty miles to see “Miss Nancy” and her little daughter, and the latter, your dear mother, would often be surprised, when taken impulsively in their big black arms, and hugged and kissed and cried over “for ol’ times’ sake.”

GVD: to be candid, wouldn’t your had preferred freedom?

NBD: When I would inquire into their welfare and present condition I heard but one refrain, “I’d never known what it was to suffer till freedom came, and we lost our master.” Yes, Dorothy dear, a lot of children unprepared to enjoy the Emancipation Proclamation were suddenly confronted with life’s problems.

GVD: Can you speak more to the attachment of the slave to the master, as you experienced?

NBD: In spite of many misrepresentations by those who can never comprehend the tender attachment existing in those days between master and slave, I want you to have a clear idea of it, and I want you to know that the Southerner understood, and understands to this day, the negro’s character better than the Northerner, and is in the main kinder to, and more forbearing with him. There were countless incidents during the war of love and loyalty shown by the negroes to their former owners, which you will read of in the many stories written now by those who know the truth.

GVD: you have a letter from a Reverend Lathrop who speaks to the master/slave attachment. Would you mind sharing some of it with us?

[A letter to N.B. from an Edward Lathrop…]

I was nursed by a negro woman to whom I was most fondly attached, and who, I believe, loved me as she would her own son. I have had the opportunity to mingle freely with slaveholders of different characters and dispositions, and while I regard slavery as such an enormous evil and am heartily glad that it has been abolished in this country, I am bound in candor to say that my observation, during all these years of my residence in Georgia and South Carolina, thoroughly convinced me that in the majority of cases slaves were more kindly treated and brought into more intimate and kindly relations to white families than they are now, though free. This, of course, is not given as an apology for slavery, but it is a simple statement of facts. I might refer, for example, to what I witnessed and felt, while a guest, on more than one occasion, in the house of your honored father and mother. Your father seemed to me to be as watchful of the interests, both temporal and spiritual, of his slaves as of his own immediate white family. It was, to my mind, a beautiful illustration of patriarchal slavery, as it existed in the days of Abraham. Of course there were exceptions to this treatment of slaves by their owners, but, as a rule, so far as my observation extended, your father’s methods were universally approved, while the cruel slaveholder was indignantly condemned and repudiated.

Beaufort District (now county) was probably the largest slaveholding district in the State. Most that I have stated above, as to the kindly treatment of slaves was emphatically true of Beaufort. The Baptist Church, in addition to its white membership, embraced about two thousand slaves. These slaves, as church members, enjoyed equal privileges with the whites. The Lord’s Supper was administered to them and to the whites impartially and at the same time.
– Edward Lathrop

Health and Medical Care on the Plantation

GVD: what did you do for medical care, with so many people on a plantation to attend to?

NBD: My mother had a magnificent constitution or she could never have accomplished the amount of work required of her. I never knew her to have until her latter years a physician for herself. But for family needs we had colored nurses who, under a physician, were competent and devoted in sickness.

It was a revelation to me of the tender care that old patriarch gave to his slaves, no wonder that they loved him. . . . . If a negro was sick, your father would always send him food from his own table, which was received with great pleasure.

Typical Day-Life on the Plantation

GVD: What kind of resources did your plantation provide?

NBD: We had a steam mill for sawing lumber, and mills for grinding corn and wheat. Sugar was made in quantities for negroes, but there was no way of refining it. Everything was bountiful and we lacked nothing, but coffee and tea. Every known and unknown substitute was used for these drinks, but none were satisfactory; otherwise we never lived with greater abundance. Our swamps yielded us all game bountifully, venison, wild turkeys, partridges, and reed birds. It was a rich country and could feed an army.

GVD: how did a typical day begin on your plantation?

NBD: The day was always begun with family prayers, for my father’s religious principles were his staff in life, and he derived much strength from them. Fortunately, the love he gave the slaves was fully returned, and I doubt if there was ever a more devoted and united family.

GVD: what did slaves typically do in the evenings after work?

NBD: . . . . they [slaves] gathered in groups about their bright fires, roasting corn and singing their quaint and wonderfully sweet plantation songs.

GVD: What normally took place after breakfast on the plantation?

NBD: .… after breakfast it was customary for the head nurse to report any cases of sickness on the plantation to my mother. Mother’s medicine chest was brought out and together they consulted about the condition of each patient. If anyone were very ill, a man was sent to call in a physician who lived several miles away. My mother then hastened to the negro quarters, and if the invalids could be removed they were brought to the sick house - a large, long building fitted with cots - where they could be better cared for.

I can remember going fearlessly in and out of the cabins, carrying dainty dishes to many little ones who were suffering with what they then called putrid sore throat. It was really diphtheria, and, strange to say, not one of our family took the disease, though there were forty cases on the plantation.

GVD: After attending the sick, what was next?

NBD: After attending the sick, mother’s next duty was to give out the daily provisions. She made a pretty picture in her quaint gown carrying a basket of keys on her arm. The Bible verse, “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness,” could well have been written of her. With twenty-five house and garden servants and the many little children to be looked after, this daily provisioning took a great deal of time, and thought. The house servants had their own kitchen and cook.

GVD: What was a typical Sunday like?

NBD: On Sunday they attended the same churches as the family, the galleries being reserved for them. I might have added in telling of their prayer meeting, that when we were present they always prayed for “Ole Massa and Missus,” and the various members of the family, including the “young Missus from the North.” The little negro children would leave their play to gather around me as they saw me walking about the grounds. On Sundays your mother and her daughters used to go around to the negroes’ houses to read the Bible, and teach the children Bible verses.

GVD: Were young mothers expected to work?

NBD: Mothers with babies were only required to do light work, such as raking leaves, spinning, or sewing, that they might be ready and in condition to nurse their babies.

GVD: How were the slaves provided clothing?

NDB: Another care of hers was to provide clothing for all the negroes, of whom there were over five hundred. To accomplish this, seamstresses were at work all the year round; three in the house and five or six in the negro quarters. These made the men’s and women’s clothing. All the cutting was done under mother’s supervision; and during the early part of the war, all the spinning and weaving of cloth, and even of blankets, was done on the plantation.

Education for the de Saussure Children

GVD: What kind of education was provided for plantation families?

NBD: We had a schoolhouse on the plantation where we went after breakfast with our governess. In those days, as teachers were not paid well for their services, it was difficult to find refined and cultured people to fill the position. Knowing this, father paid the highest salaries and thus secured the best talent there was to be had for us.

GVD: Did your education include exposure to music?

NBD: Besides a governess, we also had a music teacher, so we were expected to devote many hours to practicing music, and thus we were employed while mother was busy housekeeping.

GVD: Did you or your siblings attend college? If so, where?

NBD: As soon as the girls in our family were old enough they were sent North to school to finish their education, and the boys were sent to Northern colleges.

Social Life around a Plantation community

GVD: we have heard that it was common for planters to host guests fairly often, and oftentimes, many at one time. Can you speak to that?

NBD: As there were no inns in our country, and plantations were miles apart, some provision had to be made for the entertainment of travelers, who were never turned away. We often had delightful house parties and hunting parties, but our chief enjoyment was riding through the wild and beautiful country. We also went on fishing excursions, and on picnics. We thought nothing of driving ten miles to dine at a neighbor’s house.

Life and Times in Charleston during the Civil War (1861-1865)

Early in the War

GVD: What were the times like in South Carolina, more specifically, Charleston-area, in March 1861, just a month before the firing on Sumter?

NBD: It was a turbulent time; the feeling ran high between the North and the South, and we heard rumors of war, but it seemed too far away to invade our peaceful country.

The Firing on Sumter, April 1861

GVD: We understand you reached Charleston on April 12th, the very evening (and following eraly morning) that Sumter was fired upon. Tells us about that.

NBD: We reached Charleston about eight o’clock in the evening. My father-in-law met us, and after a warm greeting to the little stranger and ourselves, said, “You are just in time to see the fight at Fort Sumter, for it begins to-night.” I was terrified and begged to be taken home, but there was no train until morning and, therefore, we had to remain.

GVD: You were 24 years old and had a five-week old baby girl in April 1861; did you sleep that night (the 12th)?

NBD: That night I was too frightened to sleep.

GVD: Did you personally observe the bombardment of Ft. Sumter? If so, from what vantage point?

NBD: Toward morning, about four o’clock, the first gun was fired, and it seemed to me as if it were in my room. I sprang up, as I suppose everyone else did in the city. I hurriedly dressed myself and went down to cousin Louis De Saussure’s house, which is still standing on the corner of South and East Battery. From its numerous piazzas, which commanded a fine view of the harbor, we watched every gun fired from the two forts, Moultrie and Sumter.

GVD: Did others join you?

NBD: The house was crowded with excited mothers and wives, who had sons and husbands in the fight, and every hour added to their distress and excitement, as reports, which afterwards proved false, were brought to them of wounded dear ones. It was a day I can never forget.

We spent another most anxious day following an anxious night, but when Fort Sumter took fire and the white flag was raised, our spirits rose over the Southern victory, to confidence and hope.

GVD: Not knowing how long the war would last (four years), and the devastation Charleston would endure; how do you reflect on this today, some 40 years later (1909)?

NBD: We little realized the long years of struggle that were to follow ending in defeat, and ruined homes and country. Later on I was in Charleston several times when it was under shot and shell and heard the explosions of the shells as they shrieked over our houses. Those were sad and exciting times, the awful memories of which are still active with me.

Post-Sumter Days

GVD: We understand that after returning home in May, your husband joined the CSA war effort. Talk about that.

NBD: After a visit of several weeks, we returned to our home in Robertville, and my husband continued his practice, but his restlessness and anxiety to join the army was so great that I ceased to dissuade him. Physicians were needed at home, but he thought the older men should serve there, and the younger go to the front. He joined the Charleston Light Dragoons, and became surgeon of Major Trenholm’s brigade. When this brigade was was transferred to Virginia, he was, on account of his health, detailed to look after the hospitals on the coast.

The Capture of Port Royal, November 1861

GVD: Union forces capture Port Royal in early November 1861. Do you recall much about that?

NBD: Before we left our home, the fort below our country town, Beaufort, was taken, and the Northern fleet sailed in while the inhabitants were asleep. This fight at Port Royal was the second battle of the war.

GVD: What did people do when they learned the Port Royal region was taken by the North?

NBD: When the tidings of the invasions of their town was brought to them, the people, thinking the town would be shelled, fled in their carriages, many of them not waiting to dress themselves, so great was their fright. This long procession of carriages and wagons passed through our village about dusk, the occupants not knowing what to do or where to go. Every house was thrown open to them and these first refugees remained in the neighborhood during the war. They were taken care of, until in turn we had to flee before Sherman’s army.

Late-War Reminscences, Charleston-area

GVD: Take us back to December 1864. It’s late in the war, but of course you had no idea then when the war would be over. But in late 1864 the Eastern seaboard, Georgia and South Carolina particularly, are feeling the effects of Sherman’s famous March to the Sea. Can you talk about that a little?

NBD: The year 1864, in the month of December, found me still in the old homestead [in Robertville]. Sherman had passed on the Georgia side of the river, to Savannah, which was taken. We wondered what would be his next move, but never for an instant thought he would retrace his steps, and go through South Carolina.

GVD: Did your father provide support or care for retreating Southern troops as Sherman marched through South Carolina?

NBD: The Southern troops which had guarded Savannah retreated to our neighborhood, and we cared for them for several weeks. There were at least five thousand troops on our plantation of nine thousand acres. Barbecues of whole beeves, hogs, and sheep were ordered for them. The officers were fed in the house, there being sometimes two hundred a day. The soldiers had their meals in camp.

GVD: What did you do for money during the war?

NBD: For money we had no use, as everything was grown or manufactured on the plantation.

The Effect of War: Ruin and Destruction

GVD: Was your plantation destroyed or damaged by the Union during the war?

NBD: It was a wise provision that father was spared the sight of the destruction of his house and property, and possibly personal violence from the hands of the Northern soldiers, for during the raid, my uncle, an old man who was reputed to be wealthy was asked by the soldiers where he had buried his gold; and twice was he hung by them and cut down when unconscious, because he would not confess its hiding place. He had no gold, his wealth lay in his land and negroes.

GVD: Do you remember the day the Union army arrived at your plantation?

NBD: Shortly after father and mother’s departure, one morning, early, the remaining negroes came running to the house in a state of wild excitement, and said that Sherman’s army was crossing the Savannah River at the next landing below my father’s.

GVD: Do you remember precisely what you were doing that day?

NBD: I was picking oranges when the news came. Green oranges, blossoms, and ripe fruit all hung together on the tree. It was a favorite tree grown to an unusual size by the care given it, as it was always protected in winter. I have only to close my eyes at any time and see plainly the beautiful tree in all its glory of fruit and flower. We had picked from it that day a thousand oranges, the most luscious fruit, but they were left for Sherman’s army to devour, for we were thrown into a panic by the news the negroes brought us, and hastily got into our carriages and fled.

GVD: what happened to your slaves?

NBD: The negroes followed us in wagons, and we left our lovely home as if we had gone for a drive.

Sherman’s march through the Carolinas

GVD: Did you avoid coming in contact with Sherman after fleeing?

NBD: It was a strange fate that Sherman followed us in our flight passing through Columbia and within ten miles of us. His scouts came in and stole all our horses, except a few which we had time to hide in the swamps.

GVD: And your slaves?

NBD: The soldiers ordered many of the negroes, choosing the best young men, to mount the horses and go with them. All of them returned to us that night; they had broken away from camp, but were on foot.

GVD: What happened to Columbia?

NBD: Sherman’s army burned Columbia. Sherman may not have given the order, but he was undoubtedly responsible for the plunder and destruction engaged in by those under his command.

GVD: And . . .

NBD: Officers as well as soldiers had gone into houses and taken all food that could be found and burned it in the yards of the various houses; leaving the women and children to starve.

The War comes to an End

GVD: Finally, in mid-April 1865, you finally heard the news, “The war is over, Lee has surrendered.” What did you think? How did you feel?

NBD: My feelings were tumultuous; joy and sorrow strove with each other. Joy in the hope of having my husband back and the brothers and friends who were left, return to me, but oh, such sorrow over our defeat!

GVD: Did you long to return home to your plantation on the Savannah River?

NBD: As one after another of the family came back to us, worn out and dispirited, our thoughts turned to the dear old home on the Savannah River, and we longed to go back. Before yielding to our desires, it was considered wise for the men of the family to go first and investigate.

GVD: What did they find when they returned?

NBD: They found only ashes and ruin everywhere in our neighborhood, and father’s place, except a few negro cabins, was burned to the ground. There were thirty buildings destroyed. The steam mill, blacksmith’s shop, carpenter’s shop, barns, and house - nothing was left standing except chimney and brick walls to mark the place of our once prosperous, happy home. There was but one fence paling to indicate the site of our little village. The church, too, was burned, and now negro cabins are standing where it once graced the landscape. Our beautiful lawns were plowed up and planted in potatoes and corn by the negroes, who were told we would never return.

GVD: We’ve heard that even many years after the war was over, that people from the North sent personal items back that were stolen during the war by Northern soldiers. Things like pictures, jewelry, and Bibles too.

NBD: . . . . even family Bibles, which were taken from the old homes, have been returned to me. Looting was the order of the day during the Civil War, and wanton destruction followed.

GVD: The destruction and loss must have been very difficult to bear. Your final thoughts about the destruction you and your family experienced?

NBD: Sherman left a track of fire for three hundred miles through the State. When you hear the war song “Marching through Georgia,” which stirs the hearts of the Northerner, think of the scenes of desolation and heartbreak the song recalls to the Southerner

CWG: How many soldiers fought during the Civil War?

KM: 3.8 million men (and many boys) fought during the Civil War, from 1861 - 1865.

CWG: How many fought for the Union?

KM: 2.8 million fought to preserve the Union, roughly 13% of the total Northern population.

CWG: How many fought for the South?

KM: Just over 1 million fought for the Confederacy. Considering there were around 5 million non-blacks in the South in 1860, that accounts for roughly 20% of the total Southern (non-black) population.

CWG: How common was it to be wounded in the Civil War?

KM: For every 1,000 Federals (roughly the size of a Regiment at the beginning of the war), 112 were wounded. That number was higher for Confederates; 150 of every 1,000 Confederates were wounded.

CWG: Did battle wounds kill more soldiers or disease?

KM: Disease was much more deadly overall. While a Union soldier stood a 1 in 18 chance of dying in battle, he stood a 1 in 8 chance of dying of disease. Johnny Reb stood a 1 in 5 chance of dying of disease and a 1 in 8 chance of dying in combat.

CWG: how was the North and South, respectively ready for the casualties they faced inthe Civil War?

KM: Neither side was ready. The entire U.S. Army only had about 16,000 regular soldiers before the Civil War broke out, and most of those were out West. In April 1862 at the battle of Shiloh we see the first real staggering casualty numbers of the war. In just two days the Union lost over 10,000 men (killed or wounded) and the Confederates lost 9,700. That’s nearly 20,000 men in one battle.

CWG: this must have put an incredible strain on the ability to care for the wounded and dying.

KM: These kind of casualty numbers caused an enormous strain on the medical care required for the soldiers. When the War broke out there were just 113 surgeons in the U.S. Army, by the end there would be 12,000 in the Union ranks, and an additional 3,200 in the Confederate Army. Many men no doubt expired on the field having simply bled to death before proper care could be administered.

CWG: did medical care improve much as the war continued?

KM: Care for the wounded improved greatly as the War drew on. Mortality rates for surgeries especially improved as doctors improved their understanding of the body, disease, and the application of medical procedures.

CWG: When did the Federal income tax on personal income begin?

The Federal income tax on personal income began during the Civil War in 1861 during Abraham Lincoln’s administration. It violated the Constitution and was struck down at war’s end.

CWG: What percent in Federal tax revenue did Confederate states account for just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War (circa 1860)?

The Confederate states made up 87% of the tax revenue of the Federal treasury in 1860.

CWG: What was the primary form Federal taxes assumed just prior to the Civil War?

Before the War broke out Federal taxes were mostly in the form of excise taxes and tariffs (import taxes). Tariffs provided most of the Federal revenue in the form of taxes.

CWG: Why did Northern states use import taxes during the Civil War?

Northern states used import taxes as a way to protect their own manufacturers against Great Britain and other overseas competition. Northern imports brought in very little taxes for the government.

CWG: How did import taxes impact the South during the Civil War?

Unlike the North, the Southern states’ primary staple was King Cotton. The South depended heavily upon exporting cotton to overseas markets. Unlike the North, the South was an export-oriented economy. Thus import taxes on Southern cotton contributed greatly to the Federal tax revenue.

CWG: Since the North could not depend on revenues brought in from exported goods (i.e., cotton), how did the North generate revenue internally?

The North resorted to taxing it’s citizenry on such items as tobacco, alcohol, clothing, food stuffs, stamps, tools and even entertainment. The newly created Department of Internal Revenue (DIR) collected the taxes. Personal evasion of taxes was a common problem for the DIR.

CWG: What percent did taxes cover for the Civil War expenses of the North?

Taxes paid for roughly one-fifth of the North’s daily war efforts.

CWG: Where did the rest (i.e., four-fifths) of the money come from for the North?

It came from such forms as the creation of paper money, bonds and borrowing, This led to rampant inflation for the Northern economy due to an excessive proliferation of money.

CWG: How much did inflation affect the North from 1861-1865?

During the Civil War the cost of goods and services increased by 80% for the Northern states.

CWG: How much did inflation affect the South from 1861-1865?

During the Civil War the cost of goods and services increased by 60-70 times for the Southern states.

CWG: How much did it cost the North to wage Civil War on a daily basis?

About $1.75 million dollars was needed every day by the North to conduct its affairs on the military front, according to Anderson. Stevens says it was costing the North $2.5 million a day by the spring of 1863 (p. 106).

CWG: Prior to the changes in 1863 in bank charters, what kind of money or currency was in circulation in the United States?

There were many different forms of money in circulation prior to 1863, including private bank notes, government-minted gold and silver coins, Spanish dollars, and even private coins. There were as many as 1,500 different institutions issuing private bank notes. Private notes undermined the value of the Federal currency. They were printed in a variety of sizes, styles and denominations, thus making even simple transaction difficult to execute.

CWG: What did the Legal Tender Act of 1862 accomplish?

The Legal Tender Act of 1862 effectively outlawed privately minted gold and silver coins, and authorized the Federal Government to issue paper currency. It was printed with green ink on the back and thus became known as greenbacks. They were unbacked by gold and silver.

The government issued $500 million worth of bank notes during the war. By the end of the war, inflation having taken its toll, these same bank notes decreased in value by 61%.

CWG: How did the government use bonds to finance the Civil War?

At the beginning of 1863 the government relied heavily upon the sale of “five twenties” (six percent bonds, callable in five years and maturing in twenty). However, the demand for war bonds was unpredictable. They would rise and fall based on the military successes of failures of the North.

The government issued five kinds of paper currency during the war. For more information on the kinds of paper currency the North printed during the war see: http://www.financialhistory.org/civilwar/1861-1865/north/currency.htm

CWG: What were the first coins minted with the motto “In God we Trust” on them?

The Union 2-Cent pieces were the first U.S. coins minted with the motto, In God we Trust. These coins were bronze and were available from 1864-1865 during the war and actually up to 1873 after the war. They depict images of a shield, and eagle and a laurel sprig.

CWG: How were stamps used as “currency” during the Civil War?

Due to short supply of coins in the North, the government issued un-gummed stamps that could also be used as coinage.

CWG: Why did the Federal government stop minting coins after the Civil War began?

Facing a probable long war, the North decided to stop issuing coins and turned too printing paper money (i.e., greenbacks). As a result, many northerners panicked and started hoarding coins. Before long, most coins were no longer in circulation.

CWG: How did the Government respond to the crisis of coins being hoarded?

In response to the crisis, the Federal government issued fractional paper currency in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25, and 50 cents. These became known as shinplasters. People did eventually accept them as substitutes for metal coinage. The government stopped issuing fraction currency in 1876. By then $368 million worth of it made it into the private sector.

CWG: Did the South use similar means, as the North to finance the war effort (e.g., bonds, taxes and loans)?

In contrast with the North, the South primarily depended on paper currency to finance the war. As a result, inflation impacted the South even more since this currency was not backed by silver or gold. Currency was printed from 1861-1864. In 1861, when Confederate currency was first printed, it was worth 95 cents on the U.S. dollar. By 1863 they were trading at just 33 cents on the dollar. By April 9, 1965, at the war’s end, a Confederate dollar traded at just 1.6 cents on the dollar. On May 1, 1865 Confederate dollar bills were sold in bales of 1,200 notes for just $1 U.S. dollar.

CWG: How much currency was printed by the Southern government?

More than $1 billion was in circulation during the Civil War. Unfortunately, as much as $1.5 billion was printed in counterfeit Confederate currency. The North encouraged and promoted the counterfeiting of Confederate currency since it devalued the value of it.

CWG: What are some examples of paper denominational amounts that were printed by the South?

Confederate banknotes were printed in blue-gray color and became known as bluebacks. They were available in the following denominations: 5 cent note, 10 cent note, 15 cent note, 25 cent note, 50 cent note, $1 note, $1.75 note, $2 note, $3 note, $5 note, $10 note, $20 note, $50 note and $100 notes. $10 notes were the most widely printed note.

CWG: Were coins minted by the Confederacy?

Yes, coins were minted by the Confederacy but they were very rare, Experimental pennies (copper or silver, 1861) and half-dollars (silver, 1861) were minted by the South. Examples: .1 cent coin, .50 cent coin, $5 dollar coin.

CWG: What are some examples of paper denomination amounts that were printed by the Federal Government?

3 cent note, 5 cent note, 10 cent note, 25 cent note, $1 dollar note, $1, $2 dollar note, $5 dollar note, $10 dollar note, $50 dollar note

CWG: What kind of scenes did the South depict slaves on their printed currency?

Among the myriad of scenes depicting slave labor we find the following categories of images on printed currency: Individuals With Cotton Individuals With Assorted Tasks, Field Scenes Stylistic Scenes, Post Civil War Scenes, Sugar Plantations and Transportation. For more information see “Beyond Face Value” on the Web.

About Dr. Steven E. Woodworth

Dr. Woodworth is a two-time winner of the prestigious Fletcher Pratt Award, for his books Davis and Lee at War and Jefferson Davis and His Generals.

Steven was born in Ohio in 1961, raised in Illinois (mostly), and graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1982 with a B.A. in history. Thereafter he studied one year at the University of Hamburg, in Germany, before beginning studies at Rice University, where he received a Ph.D. in 1987. From 1987 to 1997 Woodworth taught at Bartlesville Wesleyan College in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and at Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa Falls, Georgia. At both institutions he was more or less the entire history department and taught everything from ancient Mesopotamia to modern Europe and the United States. In 1997 he came to TCU, where he teaches courses in U.S. history as well as the Civil War and Reconstruction and the Old South.

Recommended reading:

Nothing but Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861-1865. By Steven E. Woodworth

Background for this interview?

1. What was the military unit size for the Union army?
2. What was the military unit size for the Confederate army?

At what time in the war and under what circumstances was this the size of typical Civil War units?

At the time of their enlistment, early in the war, Civil War companies nominally consisted of about 100 men, although the true number could be closer to 80 or 90. However, this began to attrit very early-on, especially as a result of disease. So that 70 or 80 was probably a more realistic figure for a company when first meeting the enemy–provided it did so within 6 to 9 months of its enlistment more or less.

How did garrison duty or an inactive theater impact unit sizes?

If a regiment pulled a long stint of garrison duty or found itself in an inactive theater so that it did not meet then enemy until it had been in service for a year or more, I would guess that 50 would be a better approximation of average company strength.

And how did active theaters of war impact unit sizes?

Regiments that had seen heavy fighting would be smaller of course, and for them the 35-40 figure is probably about right. Naturally, after many heavy battles a regiment might become extremely depleted, especially if it was not replenished with recruits, so there really almost is not minimum strength for a company. Nor can we speak of units all being of comparable size at the same time. Regiments enlisted in the fall of 1861 would have been heavily attritted by the the following fall, while other regiments on the same battlefield (I’m thinking of Antietam) would have been newly recruited and almost at full strength.

Which side did a better job of keeping unit strength (in sizes) up?

In general the Confederacy did a slightly better job of keeping their units up to strength than the Union did.

One Civil War ‘List’ book says that both sides averaged about 34-40 per company; 350-400 per regiment, and 800-1700 per brigade. Are those more appropriate during a particulat time in the war?

The company, regiment, and brigade figures are probably good for the average units of mid-1863. The preceding year, all three would have been larger, and I think even in ‘63 the Confederates had quite a few brigades significantly larger than 1,700 men.

One ‘List’ says the CSA division range was 6,000 - 14,000 men. How does that sound?

Pickett’s division, the smallest Confederate division at Gettysburg, numbered just over 5,000, so that range should probably be expanded downward.

Is the range of 24,000 - 28,000 for a CSA Corps side accurate?

As for Confederate corps size, this probably has reference to the Army of Northern Virginia. The Confederate corps at Shiloh were much smaller–about 10,000 men each, and corps in the Army of Tennesse probably continued to be smaller than the range given here, I would say probably something like 18,000-20,000 men each.

At the other extreme, I suspect that Longstreet’s corps at Fredericksburg was significantly larger than 28,000 men. The Union figures [12,000 - 14,000] seem about right–again, for the average units of the middle period of the war.