Lot 96
Diary of A Journey to the South by Southern Sympathizers Carrying Contraband, A 165 manuscript journal kept by Mrs. Susan Brown, wife of Dr. George Brown, founder of the first institution for "feeble minded" children in the U.S. The Browns, who were from Barre, Mass., were southern sympathizers and they made a journey to the South (Mississippi) in 1863 to visit Maj. Gen. James Lusk Alcorn (1816-1894). With them they carried contraband, stored away in trunks. The detail in Mrs. Brown's journal is exceptional, describing every step of the way: the people they met, political conversations, food, the land, the "colorful" negroes, their days with Alcorn, a steam boat trip down the Yazoo Pass, being fired upon by snipers, "copperheads" and much more. With cabinet photos of Dr. George and Mrs. Susan Brown; also, Dr. Brown's personal leather agenda, which notes their arrival at Gen. Alcorn's home on April 2nd and their department on the 3rd, as well as their total expenses for the trip being $498 and Gen. Alcorn giving them $500.
Gen. Alcorn served as a CSA brigadier general from Mississippi for some 18 months, mainly in raising troops and in garrison duty. He was taken prisoner in Arkansas in 1862 and paroled late in the year. In 1863, he was elected to the Mississippi state legislature. A wealthy man before the war, he maintained his wealth during the war by trading cotton with the North. Unaffected by the poverty which afflicted much of the South after the war, Alcorn was one of the wealthiest men in the New South.
Estimated Value $2,000 - 3,000
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