A Diary from Dixie As written by Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of James Chesnut, Jr., United States Senator from South Carolina, 1859-1861, and afterward an Aide to Jefferson Davis and a Brigadier-General in the Confederate Army - Chesnut, Mary Boykin, 1823-1886; Avary, Myrta Lockett, 1857-1946 [Editor]; Martin, Isabella D. [Editor]