Sarah Morgan is the real Scarlett O'Hara. As the world as she had known it crumbled to ashes around her, she had hardships she had never even dreamed of in her upper class society before the War. She knew nothing of the harshness of slavery or of the stuggles of others outside her own crumbling world. It is a beautiful narrative, an historical treasure and she is a gifted writer beyond her years. The description of the death of her father brings me to tears every time.

This is a very interesting view of the Civil War. I always thought that my children were the "ME" generation. Maybe I was wrong, the young upper-class in the South were also a "ME" generation. From the research I have done this was wasn't the general case. Just like the young Confederate soldiers had to learn to be a good soldier, the Southern belles were also forced to grow up and do what was needed to survive the war. I am sure there were some that continued to be spoiled, but they were in the minority. By Ruth Thompson author of "Natchez Above The River" and The Bluegrass Dream"

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This is a very interesting view of the Civil War. I always thought that my children were the "ME" generation. Maybe I was wrong, the young upper- class in the South were also a "ME" generation. From the research I have done this was wasn't the general case. Just like the young Confederate soldiers had to learn to be a good soldier, the Southern Belles were also forced to grow up and do what was needed to survive the war. I am sure there were some that continued to be the spoiled, but they were in the minority. By Ruth Thompson author of "Natchez Above The River" and The Bluegrass Dream" Natchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil WarThe Bluegrass Dream: A Wilderness Adventure of Early Settlers

The other reviewers said it all and in the length of this book there's time for agreeing with all said at one time or another. For someone who will never be part of that "set" I found it fasinating to see into the mind of one of them and especially in that time period. A quick read even for all the pages unless you really want to pay attention to the history. I have little to no interst in the history but found Sarah so interesting I wanted to read more about her. I loved the way she articulated what she perceived, and thought it a good lesson in journaling. I especially enjoyed her standards, such as her explanation of why she wouldn't allow a male friend to kiss her or her dreading the arm of a gentelman around her waist as he helped her off a carriage, a bit much, even her beloved family memebers didn't agree with her, but I found myself wishing todays society had a bit more of that modesty.

Well, I never thought I'd be writing one of these, but the last two reviews, being grossly unfair, inspired me. I read Sarah Morgan's diary about two years ago, so this is coming from memory. Whatever one may think of Ms. Morgan as a person (and judging her from contemporary standards would surely be a mistake), she was for her age extremely well-educated and articulate. Her prose is, in comparison to most today, exceptional (again, especially for her age). The same can be said of her insight (which, of course, for any person of her age, is by no means beyond reproach). Aside from constituting a valuable guide to the mind of a young southern woman during the Civil War, her story (which is anything but dull) provides historical context and perspective to the union army's ascent up the Mississippi. Without knowing something of this military campaign, I can see how another reader might not enjoy her diary. Lastly, Ms. Morgan was truly a feminist -- a word I do not particularly care for as it seems to overly excite some and unduly offend others. She was, like most women of her time, a product of a male-dominated society. She questions this society in her diary and, if I recall correctly from the preface, led her later years in a way most feminists of today would be proud. Nothing but enjoyable reading here.

So far I am enjoying the diary of Sarah Morgan, it is my opinion that Scarlett O'Hara was patterned after her. Her writing is very interesting without being droll or boring.
And as a Civil War reenactor with a Southern character, it is helpful learning how the women of the south felt and what they did while enduring the hardships of the war. Having to leave your home and all the worldly things that we all hold so dear was a hardship for many of them. Thank goodness for those who were successful in hiding family heirlooms and whatnot to pass down through the generations. It really was horrible how the "Federals" (Yankees) destroyed there homes just for the spite of it.
The long and short of it is; I am enjoying the diary very much and learning another stitch in our history.

Sarah's diary gives valuable insight on the customs, political climate, and lifestyle of her time, but as a "story" it's really dull reading. Sarah isn't that different from teens today; can't see very far outside her own social sphere and she's extremely spoiled. Frankly, I disliked her and had to struggle through this book. It was more of a reminder of why I hated rich, popular girls in high school than educational.

I hoped to use this for research in my writing and reenacting, but would never base my impression on Sarah. Mary Chesnut's "Diary from Dixie" is of far more historical value and makes for MUCH more interesting reading. Recommend for scholars of the period, but avoid Sarah Morgan if you want entertainment - it's waayyyy too dry.

Much touted "Southern Womanhood" at it's most self-absorbed. You get it all here. Crinolines, silks, swoons, duels, sabres, smiling slaves, dashing officers, horrid yankees laying waste to all that is beautiful and noble, backbiting jealousies, scandal. All of the stuff that made "Gone With the Wind" a bestseller. Tennessee Williams would have had a grand time with this narcissistic young lady. A modern day psychologist could have made a fortune on her. Imagine an egomaniacal preppie girl in a civil war setting and you have Sarah Morgan. She sighs, she weeps, she yearns for death to relieve her imagined sufferings. Gallant Confederate officers lay court to her and her sister, while she denies that they could take an interest in her plain, ordinary, self. This after spending endless pages describing her preparations to meet them, entertain them, etc. She is remarkable for her ability to deceive herself. Other than how it affects herself or her narrow circle, she is oblivious to what's happening around her. Battles that slaughtered thousands are barely, if at all, acknowledged. The slaves are pictured as happy, singing, smiling, non-entities who amaze and anger her when they give up their joyful lives to run off the the horrid yankees. Some of the other reviewers have called her a sort of "pre-feminist". A long, very long, stretch based on her mild yearnings "to be a man", or "being a worthless woman." Hardly Anthony or Stanton, or even Mary Chesnut. For the most part, she accepts, even embraces, the status quo. She describes endlessly and picturesquely her mourning over her brother killed in a duel over an imagined slight, but never questions the idiocy of the "code duello". She blathers about the "gallant grey coats", but ridicules and snickers at the common soldiers. She has no use for the lesser classes and disdains, with horror, any contact with them. There is no high adventure or heroics here. Though she whines a lot, her actual suffering is minimal. She and her family abandon their house in Baton Rouge (because of a threatened Confederate attack) and end up in a 3 story mansion in New Orleans provided by her Unionist brother. Two other brothers die of disease in the war which illicits melodramatic scenes of grief in which she portrays herself as outwardly stoic but suffering in martyred silence. In short, she is a typical adolescent, concerned only with how she looks to her circle.

Having said all that, I liked the book. It gives a vivid portrait of the thinking of what I imagine was common among the upper crust of Southern society during the horrendous slaughter they initiated. Arrogant,self-satisfied, self-righteous, horribly self-absorbed, and ruthless. By the end of the book, I wished Sherman had been less restrained, and reconstruction a lot more successful.

If you would prefer someone who actually thinks about the issues, who reports on the happenings, who questions the icons, try Mary Chesnut. Her attitudes aren't all that much different (with some notable exceptions), but her feelings are real, and, unlike Sarah, she does divorce herself from her mirror.

When reading this superb Civil War diary the reader is immediately struck by two things. One, it is hard to believe that so young a woman could have expressed herself and her feelings so beautifully, and two, it is even more amazing that everything contain in this diary is exactly as Sarah Morgan wrote it originally. That is to say, it was not polished and edited afterwards (as Mary Chestnut intended to do, but was not able). If you want to take a glimpse at what living through four years of war was like for a Southern family and especially a young Southern woman you need look no further.