They say history is written by the victors. In the case of the Civil War, that’s largely true. But historian Samuel Mitcham brings the Southern point of view to life in Voices from the Confederacy. In it, you will read about the heroic, the scoundrels, the clever, the vanquished, and the hungry. Rich or poor, black or white, Voices from the Confederacy shares hundreds of poignant and revealing moments during the war between the states. From Voices from the Confederacy: Sara Pryor, the wife of Colonel Roger Pryor, the commander of the 3rd Virginia Infantry, heard the rumor that he was promoted to brigadier general. That day, Mrs. Pryor attended a reception at the Spotswood Hotel in Richmond, where she saw President Davis. “Is it true, Mr. President?” she asked. Had her husband been promoted? Mr. Davis smiled benevolently and replied, “I have no reason, Madam, to doubt it, except that I saw it this morning in the papers.” Robert E. Lee felt the same way as the president. He once sarcastically said to A. P. Hill: “We made a great mistake in the beginning of our struggle, and I fear, in spite of all we can do, it will prove to be a fatal mistake. We appointed all our worst generals to command our armies, and all our best generals to edit the newspapers.”.
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