History of Natchez

Ellen Shields's memoir reveals a Southern woman's reactions to Yankee occupation of the city. Shields was a member of the local elite, and her memoir portrays the upheaval of Southern society during the war. Because Southern men were absent at war, many elite women had to call on their class-based femininity and their sexuality to deal with the Yankees.

In 1860 there were 340 planters in the Natchez region who each owned 250 or more slaves; many were not enthusiastic Confederates. They were fairly recent arrivals to the South, opposed secession, and held social and economic ties to the North. These elite planters lacked a strong emotional attachment to the South; but when war came, many of their sons and nephews joined the Confederate army. Charles Dahlgren was among the recent migrants; from Philadelphia, he had made his fortune before the war. He did support the Confederacy and led a brigade, but was criticized for failing to defend the Gulf Coast. When the Yankees came, he moved to Georgia for the duration. He returned in 1865 but never recouped his fortune. He had to declare bankruptcy, and in 1870 he gave up and moved to New York City.

White Natchez became much more pro-Confederate after the war. The Lost Cause myth arose as a means for coming to terms with the South's defeat. It quickly became a definitive ideology, strengthened by its celebratory activities, speeches, clubs, and statues. The major organizations dedicated to creating and maintaining the tradition were the United Daughters of the Confederacy and United Confederate Veterans. At Natchez and other cities, although the local newspapers and veterans played a role in the maintenance of the Lost Cause, elite women particularly were important, especially in establishing cemeteries and memorials, such as the Civil