The War-time Journal of a Georgia Girl, 1864-1865

Many citizens wrote diaries during the Civil War, but few did so as descriptively or poignantly as Eliza “Fanny” Andrews. Fanny was still living at home when the war broke out in 1861, living with a father who did not support the Confederacy while her three brothers fought for it. Fanny herself was an ardent supporter of the rebellion, which led to tension in the family. Later in the war, Fanny and her sisters stayed with a relative in Georgia, and she began recording her journey and stay, which was eventually published in 1908 as the Wartime Journal of a Georgia Girl: 1864-65. In a small essay published in 1865, she described the mistreatment of Southerners by the new administrators now controlling the South during Reconstruction. Fanny’s work is known for effectively describing her dissatisfaction with the unfolding events, but she still became one of the age’s most acclaimed writers.