Amanda Edmonds lived in 19th century northern Virginia, and she kept a diary of ten crucial years of our nation's history. Edmonds' home was frequently invaded by Union troops, she had loved friends and family members killed by disease or in battle, and was herself a defiant defender of the Confederacy. Edmonds lived in the heart of John Singleton Mosby's Confederacy; her own brothers rode in his 43rd Battalion. This diary is Amanda Edmonds' eye-witness account of the years 1857-1867: impending secession, war, and its aftermath. Edmonds writes of both Union and Confederate infantry and cavalrymen, naming the men along with their regiments and companies that passed through northern Virginia. Her diary is an incredible resource to anyone who loves social or military history. She gives an incredible, eye-witness account of war.

MHAA Board Member Lee Lawrence has heavily annotated and edited this must-have resource on northern Virginia in the Civil War.