The Cormany Diaries
Subtitle: A Northern Family in the Civil War
Contributors: James C. Mohr (Editor); Richard Elliott Winslow (Editor)
Publisher: Univ of Pittsburgh Pr (Trd)
Published: November 1982
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 597
ISBN-13: 9780822934479
Subjects: American history: c 1500 to c 1800; Biography: general; c 1800 to c 1900; U.S. History - Civil War And Reconstruction (1860-1877); History - General History; History: American; USA; United States - Civil War; 1783-1865; Civil War, 1861-1865; Corman family; Diaries; History; Personal narratives; Social life and customs; United States
Description: This unique pair of diaries offers an unforgettable account of the life of an average Northern family coping with the dangers and tensions of the Civil War. There were thousands like them, but few left such a clear and indelible record of their experiences. Rachel Cormany (nee Bowman) met Samuel Cormany at Otterbein University in Ohio. After her husband enlisted in a cavalry unit, she writes poignantly of her anxieties, poverty, and loneliness. Samuel, on the other hand, is ambitious in his military career, and tells enthusiastically about his engagements that include camp life, cavalry raids, army politics, and his battles with alcohol. Editor James C. Mohr has arranged the diaries so that the voices of husband and wife alternate, and his notes enlighten many of the issues relating to the diarists and their daily lives.