Manuscript Database
Creator/Title
Van Meter, Mary Elizabeth Shrewsbury, 1826-1893. Diary, 1862-1863. 44 pp.
Call No.
Mss. C V
Content
Typed abstract of the wartime diary of Mary E. Van Meter of Bowling Green, Kentucky, the wife of William S. Van Meter, who with his brother Capt. Charles J. Van Meter formed the firm of Van Meter & Brother. Mary, her husband, brother-in-law, and their slaves were among the civilian refugees who fled South after the Confederate evacuation of Bowling Green, Kentucky in early 1862. Her diary describes their journey in exile through Alabama and Mississippi and her eventual return to Kentucky in early 1863. In addition to military operations and Confederate leaders, she records the hardships the party faced along their trek as well as encounters with advancing Union forces.