The Diary of Edmund Ruffin

Description

The second volume covers the fiery southern nationalist which records the events of the first couple of years of the Civil War– from the aftermath of Fort Sumter to the simultaneous disasters at Gettysburg & Vicksburg that spelled doom for the Confederacy. From his advantageous position as the resident and former owner of two Virginia plantations, Ruffin was able to write a vivid eyewitness account of the early Federal campaigns against Richmond. Both of the Ruffin homesteads, Marlbourne and Beechwood, were overrun during McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign of 1862. The journal contains interesting observations about the conduct of Virginia slaves during the campaign and the changes of master-slave relations.