2/10/00

Janet L. McCoy

MONTGOMERY PROGRAM TO LOOK AT WOMEN AND CIVIL WAR

AUBURN --An Auburn University-directed program looking at the Civil War from the perspective of women is scheduled for Feb. 20 at Old Alabama Town in Montgomery.

"Belles' Books, History and Memoir: Southern Women's Civil War Stories" will be at 2 p.m. at the historic town, located at 301 Columbus Street. It is part of a series of statewide programs directed by AU's Center for the Arts and Humanities.

This public program will feature Leah Rawls Atkins, director emerita of the Auburn University Center for the Arts and Humanities, and Sara Hudson, professor emerita of English at AU, talking about Civil War-era diaries, memoirs and letters by Southern women.

Mary Ann Neeley, executive director of Landmarks of Montgomery/Old Alabama Town, will give the subject a local focus and talk about several Montgomery area women.

"Looking at history through diaries and journals offers us the opportunity to visit in a personal way with people from the past," said Neeley. "Landmarks is pleased to host this first program in a unique series."

"The program offers a window onto the experiences of women during the turbulent years just before, during and after the Civil War," said Jay Lamar, associate director of AU's Center for the Arts and Humanities.

"Historians have only in recent years appreciated the first-hand immediacy and insight offered by women's diaries and memoirs," Lamar said. "Belles' Books will explore the rich historical perspective of the works and discuss what the works reveal about their authors both personally and in the context of their time and place. "

The program will focus on two books written from two famous diaries -- and A Belle of the Fifties: Memoirs of Mrs.Clay of Alabama, which was co-edited and annotate by Atkins, Hudson and the late Joseph Harrison, professor emeritus of AU's Department of History.

Mary Chesnut, daughter of one South Carolina senator and wife of another, writes of her critical opinions of slavery and the limitations of Southern society on women's lives. At the same time, this educated, intellectual woman enjoys her position, especially access to the great minds and personalities of the day.

Virginia Clay-Clopton, daughter-in-law of Gov. Clement Comer Clay of Alabama and wife of Alabama senator C.C. Clay Jr., reminisces about the glory days before the war when Washington, D.C., was full of the cream of Southern society and each day brought excitement and political intrigue. A lively woman noted for her charm and wit. She paints a detailed picture of the times.

The Old Alabama Town program, sponsored by Landmarks of Montgomery and Old Alabama Town, is the first of a series of programs to be offered around the state in February, March and April.

Coordinated by the AU Center for the Arts & Humanities and the University of Alabama Press, the series is funded by a grant from the Alabama Humanities Foundation, the state arm of the National Endowment for the Humanities.