In Their Own Words
April 01, 1862
Pessimistic Diary Entry on Civil War
From Columbus, planter and businessman John Banks had gone four months without making any entries in his diary. With some pessimism, he now wrote:
“I have neglected to record the war news. We have had many successes and reverses since I last made any remarks, but most against us. I plant no cotton this year, and quite a disposition with many to do likewise.”
Source: John Banks, Autobiography of John Banks, 1797 - 1870 (Austell, Ga.: privately printed by Elberta Leonard, 1936), p. 25.
