Mary Chestnut's Civil War Photograph Album

Mike Serpa

Major
Joined
Jan 24, 2013
"Mary Boykin Chestnut, already well-known for generations because of the diaries she kept during the Civil War, was made a household name after Ken Burns' television series The Civil War. Burns relied heavily on her detailed accounts of life in the Confederacy as he created his award-winning picture of the war that aired on public television across the nation in 1990.

Mary was an intelligent chronicler of the struggle, and she wrote of her associations with President Jefferson Davis, famous Confederate generals and civilians, and even of Abraham Lincoln. Her positions as a prominent socialite in her native South Carolina and wife of a Confederate general gave her rich insights. Her husband served as President Davis' personal aide, later rising to the rank of brigadier general.

As she created her magnificent diary, she also collected a remarkable photograph album containing an amazing 211 carte de visite photographs of Confederate generals, politicians, and Chestnut family members. Many of the images are autographed by the sitters with the identifications of the sitters and entries added to the album in Mary's own hand....

Some of the noteworthy individuals include the following luminaries photographed by the most famous photographers of the war: Governor Francis Pickens of South Carolina; Isaac Hayne, Attorney General of South Carolina; General William W. Harlee, Postmaster General of South Carolina; Governor James Adams of South Carolina; General James Jones, leader of the 'Minutemen' of South Carolina; Beaufort T. Watts, Secretary to Governor Francis Pickens of South Carolina; Governor John L. Manning of South Carolina; General Louis T. Wigfall; General John S. Preston; Captain Francis J. Hartstene of the Confederate States Navy; General P.G.T. Beauregard; Lieutenant John Randolph Hamilton of the Confederate States Navy; ... Robert E. Lee's daughters, Agnes Lee and Mary Custis Lee; Lee's son, Major General George Washington Custis Lee; Mrs. Jefferson Davis and Edmund Ruffin, the man who fired the first shot at Fort Sumter at the beginning of the Civil War.

Among the many autographed cartes de visite are images of General Robert E. Lee; Confederate President Jefferson Davis; Colonel Robert Wilson Gibbs, Surgeon General of the Confederate army of South Carolina; General John Bell Hood; General Simon Bolivar Buckner (double signed); General James J. Archer; General Edward Johnson; Confederate Vice-President Alexander Stephens, and Confederate Navy Lieutenant George Bryan of Florida...."

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Sold for: $77,675.00 in 2007
https://historical.ha.com/itm/milit...018.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515
 
"Mary Boykin Chestnut, already well-known for generations because of the diaries she kept during the Civil War, was made a household name after Ken Burns' television series The Civil War. Burns relied heavily on her detailed accounts of life in the Confederacy as he created his award-winning picture of the war that aired on public television across the nation in 1990.

Mary was an intelligent chronicler of the struggle, and she wrote of her associations with President Jefferson Davis, famous Confederate generals and civilians, and even of Abraham Lincoln. Her positions as a prominent socialite in her native South Carolina and wife of a Confederate general gave her rich insights. Her husband served as President Davis' personal aide, later rising to the rank of brigadier general.

As she created her magnificent diary, she also collected a remarkable photograph album containing an amazing 211 carte de visite photographs of Confederate generals, politicians, and Chestnut family members. Many of the images are autographed by the sitters with the identifications of the sitters and entries added to the album in Mary's own hand....

Some of the noteworthy individuals include the following luminaries photographed by the most famous photographers of the war: Governor Francis Pickens of South Carolina; Isaac Hayne, Attorney General of South Carolina; General William W. Harlee, Postmaster General of South Carolina; Governor James Adams of South Carolina; General James Jones, leader of the 'Minutemen' of South Carolina; Beaufort T. Watts, Secretary to Governor Francis Pickens of South Carolina; Governor John L. Manning of South Carolina; General Louis T. Wigfall; General John S. Preston; Captain Francis J. Hartstene of the Confederate States Navy; General P.G.T. Beauregard; Lieutenant John Randolph Hamilton of the Confederate States Navy; ... Robert E. Lee's daughters, Agnes Lee and Mary Custis Lee; Lee's son, Major General George Washington Custis Lee; Mrs. Jefferson Davis and Edmund Ruffin, the man who fired the first shot at Fort Sumter at the beginning of the Civil War.

Among the many autographed cartes de visite are images of General Robert E. Lee; Confederate President Jefferson Davis; Colonel Robert Wilson Gibbs, Surgeon General of the Confederate army of South Carolina; General John Bell Hood; General Simon Bolivar Buckner (double signed); General James J. Archer; General Edward Johnson; Confederate Vice-President Alexander Stephens, and Confederate Navy Lieutenant George Bryan of Florida...."

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View attachment 125283

Sold for: $77,675.00 in 2007
https://historical.ha.com/itm/milit...018.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515
That is a great find mike.this is the best new item of the day.
 
She really was an astonishingly clear channel, between 150 years ago and now. Guessing a little intimidating to have met and a woman who did not suffer fools.... . What a difficult war she lived through and how much her world changed. I'm a little surprised, as hefty a price as this is, it's not more. Maybe in 2017 it would be.

Thanks for finding this, Mike! I wasn't aware she'd left an album, too, along with that journal- it's like Chestnut was aware this moment in History was extraordinarily important not just to her but to all of us, too and a wider spread of time.
 
"What a difficult war she lived through and how much her world changed. I'm a little surprised, as hefty a price as this is, it's not more. Maybe in 2017 it would be."

A complete photo album containing the signed images of Lincoln, his VP, his Cabinet, and all the U.S. Senators was appraised on Antiques Roadshow last year for over $100,000. With the Mary Chesnut provenance and because CS is always more rare and valuable than US, I bet you are right JPK.
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