Sherman in Cheraw and the Aftermath

This account begins with recollections from the May Day Ceremonies, the date still celebrated as Memorial Day in South Carolina. The events and impact before, during, and after of the arrival of General Sherman in the town of Cheraw South Carolina. The author born 1919, remembers marching as a school child with Confederate War veterans who were leading a parade to the Confederate cemetery at St. David's Church in Cheraw, South Carolina for the Tenth of May Ceremonies. This was the date of the death of General Stonewall Jackson. South Carolina and North Carolina used this date for their Memorial Day-not May 30th, which is the national holiday.

Her account of Sherman in Cheraw and The Aftermath begins with recollections from the Tenth of May Ceremonies. Her stories and photographs are from primary sources - family letters, diaries and other writings - so that the voices from the past take part in the telling of the stories, which are raw with the feelings that many Southerners have passed along for several generations.

"I am happy that these feelings are at long last behind us. But I realize that as far as this latest generation is concerned, that story of the Lost Cause Movement seems to have been forgotten. That is the purpose of this little book." The author believes that Cheraw was the epicenter of the Lost Cause Movement though she acknowledges she cannot prove this assertion. Many of her stories reveal the robust spirit of strong Southern women who belie the persistent myth of the passive, obedient Southern belle. The people, Sherman and his men encountered in Cheraw were anything but docile, and these stories reveal a defiance that lasted decades.

The author's passion for architecture comes through these pages with numerous photos of beautiful homes and buildings that show why the town's nickname is "the Prettiest Town in Dixie." Though her stories focus on Sherman in Cheraw, the author's love of genealogy, music and history can be seen in stories about the town's history.