Oh, What a Loansome Time I Had

by Moxley, William Morel; Moxley, Emily Beck; Cutrer, Thomas W.

• ISBN13: 9780817311186
• ISBN10: 0817311181
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Univ of Alabama Pr

Summary

This rare and valuable correspondence between an Alabama soldier and his wife relates in poignant detail the struggle for survival on the battlefield as well as on the home front and gives voice to the underrepresented class of small farmers. Emily's moving letters to her husband, startling in their immediacy and detail, chronicle such difficulties as a desperate lack of food and clothing for her family, the frustration of depending on others in the community, and her growing terror at facing childbirth without her husband, at the mercy of a doctor with questionable skills. Major Moxley's letters to his wife reveal a decidedly unromantic side of the war, describing his frequent encounters with starvation, disease, and bloody slaughter.

Author Biography

Thomas W. Cutrer is Professor of American Studies at Arizona State University, West Campus.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	1	(13)
``For you and them I am willing to die,'' 10 June 1861-22 October 1861	14	(24)
``Good news as well as bad,'' 23 October 1861-22 November 1861	38	(25)
``How dreadful is war,'' 23 November 1861-28 December 1861	63	(29)
``You have no idea how much trouble this settlement is in,'' 1 January 1862-7 February 1862	92	(24)
``Oh, what a sudden death,'' 10 February 1862-25 February 1862	116	(15)
``As Well as Common,'' 28 February 1862-2 April 1862	131	(8)
``It really seems that we have worse luck than any other set of men in the known world,'' 3 May 1862-17 December 1864	139	(19)
``A prettie wild country,'' 6 September 1870-20 April 1891	158	(9)
Bibliography	167	(6)
Index	173