Mine eyes have seen the glory : the Story of a Virginia lady, Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford, 1802-1896. Who taught her sons to hate slavery and to love the Union

This book is the story of a forthright Virginia woman, the major part of whose life was spent in fighting the institution of slavery and trying to better conditions for Negroes. With a love of country as strong as her hatred for slavery, Mary Blackford watched with heavy heart the approach of war and the enlistment of her five sons in the Confederate forces. Action and drama are provided by her lively correspondence with members of her far-flung family and friends and her observant journals are full of action and drama. The letters reproduced include her husband’s letters from Colombia, extraordinary letters from manumitted slaves reporting on conditions in Liberia, correspondence with members of the Colonization Society, and first-hand reports from various battlefronts. "The experiences of Mary Blackford and her family constitute an interesting and revealing account of ante-bellum Southern life, pointing out that Southern society had many nuances. The book contains new material on Southern opposition to slavery, the experience of Negroes sent to Liberia, the Nat Turner insurrection, and the reaction of colored folk to thralldom. Much of the material comes from the Negroes themselves."--Preface CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS Introduction Preface MINE EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY CHAPTER I. In Old Virginia CHAPTER II. Dragon’s Teeth CHAPTER III. Mission To Bogotá CHAPTER IV. Mary’s Training of Her Children CHAPTER V. Uncle Tom’s Cabin CHAPTER VI. Mary’s Children Growing Up CHAPTER VII. Shadows of the Irresistible Conflict CHAPTER VIII. Virginia Must Fight CHAPTER IX. Battles CHAPTER Χ. Yielding Place to New Epilogue NOTES INDEX Review copy with original complimentary card from Harvard University Press and a pristine, unsent 2 cent postcard for the reviewer to respond with.