THE WAR OUTSIDE MY WINDOW:
The Civil War Diary of LeRoy Wiley Gresham, 1860-1865
Edited by Janet Elizabeth Croon
The household of John Gresham was one of the most socially
prominent and wealthy families in Macon, GA in the middle of the 19th
century. John Gresham owned a textile
factory in Macon and two plantations south of the city. He was one of the largest landowners in the
state. He was active in local politics,
serving twice as Macon's mayor, and entertained many prominent people of the
day whenever they were in town.
Leroy was well-educated, inquisitive, and perceptive. His family's social position exposed him to discussions about the military, political, religious, literary, and social issues of the day. He read books and newspapers voraciously and closely followed the progress of the war. He shares his thoughts on these issues in his diary, which was clearly a very important part of his life. His entries reveal the impact of the war on Southern life as the war grinds on. Macon is out of the way of the action early on, but it is not immune to scarcities as the impact of the Union blockade comes to bear. His diary documents this deterioration of life quality on a day-to-day basis. Simultaneously, his health also deteriorates with the progression of his tuberculosis. Leroy meticulously describes his treatments and symptoms in great detail as they worsen and intensify.
During the war, Leroy changes from a naive boy, enthusiastic about the Confederacy, to a skeptical teenager. His doubts begin with newspaper stories that turn out to be untrue and expand to even include his parents when they give him rosy prognoses about his health, contrary to what he is experiencing. His family hid details of his condition from him, but Leroy became self-aware that he was dying toward the end of the war. The book includes numerous footnote annotations to clarify the subjects that Leroy discusses and a detailed description of each relative, slave, neighbor, and others with whom Leroy interacts and references in his diary. A poignant letter from his mother to her sister describing his final days serves as an epilogue.
This book is a rather fascinating account of life in the South during the Civil War. The diarist Leroy gives short, but numerous, accounts of daily life from the perspective of a wealthy family living in an important Southern city during the Civil War. His social situation is pretty atypical of the time, but his observations about all classes of society are interesting none the less. As he watches from his window, he sees the demise of his privileged white world, simultaneous with the loss of his personal health. Leroy's diary has been compared to that of Anne Frank, although their living conditions varied widely.
Ms. Croon's The War Outside My Window won the Douglas Southall Freeman award in 2018.
Editor's Note:
The Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia was delighted to host Ms. Croon as a speaker on 2021. A video of her presentation about The War Outside My Window is posted at https://cwrtdc-audio.blogspot.com/p/janetcroon-cwrtdc-zoom.html
Clinton Shatzer is a member of the Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia and the Chesapeake CWRT. His intense interest in the subject started at age 8 when he purchased a Fletcher Pratt children's book at an elementary school book fair in 1958.
