The Diary of Serepta Jordan: A Southern Woman's Struggle with War and Family, 1857–1864 ed. by Minoa D. Uffelman et al.

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Diary of Serepta Jordan: A Southern Woman's Struggle with War and Family, 1857–1864 ed. by Minoa D. Uffelman et al. George C. Rable (bio) The Diary of Serepta Jordan: A Southern Woman's Struggle with War and Family, 1857–1864. Edited by Minoa D. Uffelman, Ellen Kanervo, Phyllis Smith, and Eleanor Williams. (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2020. Pp. xliii, 499. $44.95 paper; $44.95 ebook) The best diaries reveal much about the diarist but also about time and place. The published diary of Serepta Jordan (pruned down from a substantially longer manuscript) presents a poignant personal account while also telling readers a great deal about the Civil War around Clarksville, Tennessee. [End Page 90] Born in 1839, Jordan lost her parents early on and lived with a beloved aunt in a slaveholding household. The editors decided to include prewar entries that establish some of the family dynamics and show her great (albeit at times acerbic) interest in weddings and marriages. Typically, Jordan recounted household chores, dealings with slaves, religious activities, and countless visits to neighbors and family. Jordan read avidly and taught school irregularly. She was courted for several years by Bladen Beverly Homer but was wary of his drinking and other personal faults. They finally married in the summer of 1863, though this hardly quelled her reservations and complaints. Only in 1860 did Jordan first allude to sectional strife and possible disunion, but the diary presents a full picture of war on the ground as experienced by civilians who believed they had a considerable stake in the conflict but also sought to maintain the rhythms of everyday life. At the outset, Jordan realized that many of the young, eager volunteers would likely not return home and throughout the conflict, she remained quite sensitive to soldier suffering. She did occasional sewing and cooking for the troops as war news sometimes kept nerves on edge. In the diary, readers can find any number of passages that reveal changes brought about by the war, such as women being escorted by young boys or carrying weapons when traveling. Attendance at both schools and churches became spotty. Of all the military engagements, Fort Donelson brought war closest to the people living around Clarksville. Federal troops began showing up, freely talking to slaves, seizing food, and damaging property, though Jordan bravely claimed they were afraid of southern women. The enslaved became increasingly unsettled, running away or in other ways proving worrisome to their supposed masters. The changing nature of the Christmas holidays each year became a disturbing sign not only of what had been lost but of what the future might bring. Rumors flew as Jordan sometimes tired of incessant war talk, but rejoiced at any hopeful news for the Confederacy. She despised Yankees and thought them [End Page 91] capable of most any imaginable devilment. No respectable woman should consort with the enemy, she believed, even as she observed how some socialized with the bluecoats. On several levels, social and family life grew strained and unsatisfactory. When her beloved aunt died, Jordan was inconsolable, and her uncle's eagerness to remarry along with the hostility of his second wife brought great misery, and may well explain why despite serious misgivings she finally married a man she always referred to as "Mr. Homer." The diary abruptly ended in mid-1864 shortly after the birth of the couple's first child, though there might have been an additional volume that did not survive. The editors have diligently sought to identify a bevy of persons mentioned in the diary and their notations alone (which would have been far more useful interspersed with the entries themselves) run to more than one hundred pages. The volume has an unusually thorough index of both names and subjects. Researchers of varying interests will find much material here, and Jordan's sad story itself is well worth reading. George C. Rable GEORGE C. RABLE is professor emeritus at the University of Alabama. He has written six books, including Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg!, which won the Lincoln Prize (2003). Copyright © 2021 Kentucky Historical Society