Recollections of 92 Years, 1824-1916 by Elizabeth Av...

When Elizabeth Avery Meriwether wrote these recollections of her long and courageous life, she said that her memories begin "with things as they were in the time of Moses and end with flying ships, wireless telephones, radium and other miracles".

What she accomplished in the 92 years of her life is even more miraculous.

During the Civil War, as the wife of a Confederate officer, she was banned from her home in Memphis by Union General William T Sherman. Seven months pregnant at the time, she fled with her two boys, aged three and five, on a "Rockaway" pulled by a mule. On Christmas night in 1862, and in a stranger's home, she gave birth to her third son. For the next two years, she wandered from place to place in search of food and shelter.

To feed the hungry children, Elisabeth bartered silk shoes for sugar, stole corn from a northern sympathizer who refused to sell it to her, and wrote a winning short story for a literary contest.

returned at last to her home and husband, she devoted herself to regaining their confiscated property, rearing their boys, editing her own newspaper, writing novels and speaking out for women's suffrage. In 1867 when Susan B Anthony was imprisoned fro voting in New York, Elisabeth rented a theater in Memphis and invited a large audience to come hear her announce that she would cast her cote in the upcoming election. She did - without incident - and soon was lecturing across the country.

Her crusade for women continued until her death in 1916 - the smae year the Republican and Democratic parties promised to support a Constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote.

When Elisabeth heard the good news, she said, "My work is done".

This a great read for anyone interested in the Civil War era and what became of the women folk.