Collected letters of a Confederate officer and his family detail daily
life and loss on the battlefield
Hope, sacrifice, and restoration: throughout the American Civil War and
its aftermath, the Foster family endured all of these in no small
measure. Drawing from dozens of public and privately owned letters, A.
Gibert Kennedy recounts the story of his great-great-grandfather and his
family in A South Carolina Upcountry Saga: The Civil War Letters of
Barham Bobo Foster and His Family, 1860-1863.
Barham Bobo Foster was a gentleman planter from the Piedmont who signed
the South Carolina Ordinance of Secession and served as a lieutenant
colonel in the Third South Carolina Volunteers alongside his two sons.
Kennedy's primary sources are letters written by Foster and his sons,
but he also references correspondence involving Foster's daughters and
his wife, Mary Ann.
The letters describe experiences on the battlefields of Virginia and
South Carolina, vividly detailing camp life, movements, and battles
along with stories of bravery, loss, and sacrifice. The Civil War cost
Foster his health, all that he owned, and his two sons, though he was
able to rebuild with the help of his wife and three daughters.
Supplementing the correspondence with maps, illustrations, and
genealogical information, Kennedy shows the full arc of the Foster
family's struggle and endurance in the Civil War era.
