A Rebel War Clerk's Diary Book

I didn't care much for this book at first. It seemed dry in comparison to other period pieces, and contained many factual errors such as reporting of the death of Gen. Meade at the Confederate battle victory at Gettysburg. The particular charm of this book is the faithful reporting of the rumors circulating in the war offices during the time period of telegraphic communication. That these errors were not corrected before printing increases the charm.

Jones goes to great length to describe living conditions in the rebel capital. He relates many items I had never heard elsewhere, such as the difficulty of the government office clerks who were not paid a living wage - do we pay rent or do we eat - not enough money to do both. He faithfully reports the market value of commodities - the price of cotton and firewood, and the going prices for fruits and vegetables, and the progress and health of his back yard vegetable garden, he seemed especially proud of his turnips, cabbages and tomatoes.

These items were shared along with the war news, he reported the progress of the at first distant war, showing the anxiety as the war moved closer to home, but much to the strength of his character he never gave up hope until the very end. These two volumes are well worth reading.