Civil War Diaries and Journals
Writer
Title
Mary Chestnut
from Mary Chestnut’s Civil War
Warren Lee Goss
“Recollections of a Private”
Randolph McKim
“A Confederate Account of the Battle
of Gettysburg”
Explain how this writer was involved
in the Civil War.
Purpose of writing
Attitude toward war
Textual Evidence #1
Explanation/What it Reveals
Textual Evidence #2
Explanation/What it reveals
Choose two of the selections. Write a 2-3 paragraph essay in which you compare and contrast each writer’s presentation of Civil War based on context and
message of the passage.
Sample responses:
Writer
Title
Explain how this writer was involved
in the Civil War.
Purpose of writing
Attitude toward war
Mary Chestnut
from Mary Chestnut’s Civil War
Warren Lee Goss
“Recollections of a Private”
She was married to Colonel Chestnut
who became an assistant to a general
and was involved in the attack on Fort
Sumter. She witnesses the attack
from Charleston (both from her
rooftop and hearing the sounds).
Narrative; we read as Informational:
providing personal thoughts, feelings
and observations
Anxious; nervous; excited
He is a young Northern enlistee in the
army. He details his feelings upon
enlisting
Narrative; we read as Informational:
providing personal thoughts, feelings
and observations
Anxious and nervous before enlisting;
somewhat disillusioned and humbled
after enlisting
Before: “Though determined to
enlist, I was half inclined to put if off
awhile: I had a fluctuation of desires;
I was fainthearted and brave; I
wanted to enlist, and yet—Here I
turned the knob and was relieved….”
(500).
Textual Evidence #1
April 12, 1861 “Yesterday was the
merriest, maddest dinner we have
had yet. Men were more audaciously
wise and witty. We had an unspoken
foreboding it would be our last
pleasant meeting” (497).
Explanation/What it Reveals
Because of the impending attack on
Fort Sumter, daily activities like eating
are disrupted. The sense of
foreboding gives a sense of
uneasiness about what is to come.
Goss reveals that although he has
made the decision to enlist, he has
some anxiety and reservations about
it. When he says he was relieved, he
just means relieved of the
indecisiveness, not really relieved of
all of the uncertainty.
Textual Evidence #2
April 1, 1861 “The women were wild,
“It takes a raw recruit some time to
Randolph McKim
“A Confederate Account of the Battle
of Gettysburg”
He is a Confederate soldier who led
the advance on Culp’s Hill during the
Battle of Gettysburg (the turning
point in the war).
Narrative; we read as Informational:
providing personal thoughts, feelings
and observations
Sees it as a necessary duty to the
confederacy to always display
bravery; more personal investment
“On swept the gallant little brigade,
the Third North Carolina on the right
of the line, next the Second Maryland,
then the three Virginia regiments
(10th, 23rd, and 37th), with the First
North Carolina on the extreme left.
Its ranks had been sadly thinned, and
its energies greatly depleted by those
six fearful hours of battle that
morning, but its nerve and spirit were
undiminished” (502).
Using a word such as gallant reflects
that McKim believed in the cause he
was fighting for and saw it as a
glorious duty. Additionally, he reports
that in spite of a grueling day, the
men were surging forward with just
as much nerve as they previously
had” (502).
“By the strenuous efforts of the
Choose two of the selections. Write a 2-3 paragraph essay in which you compare and contrast each writer’s presentation of Civil War based on context and
message of the passage.
Explanation/What it reveals
there on the housetop. Prayers from
the women and imprecations from
the men, and then a shell would light
up the scene” (497)
learn that he is not to think or
suggest, but obey” (501)
After being unable to sleep, Chesnut
wakes to the rumbling of a cannon.
This allows us to imagine what it
would be like to be on the rooftop,
observing the attack with a
combination of prayers and curses,
followed by the sights and sounds of
firing on the Fort.
After enlisting, Goss discovered that
there wasn’t as much excitement as
he had anticipated. After he makes a
suggestion and is sent to drill, he
realizes that he is just supposed to
follow orders. In many ways he is
disillusioned as he discovers that
army life is more tedious and
mundane than he first anticipated.
officers of the line and of the staff,
order was restored, and we re-formed
in the breastworks from which we
had emerged, there to be again
exposed to an artillery fire exceeding
in violence that of the early morning”
(502).
Although McKim realizes that the end
of the battle and defeat is upon them,
he emphasizes that the men continue
to fight hard through their strenuous
efforts.
Choose two of the selections. Write a 2-3 paragraph essay in which you compare and contrast each writer’s presentation of Civil War based on context and
message of the passage.