I thought at this late date that the O'Hara's would have been Catholic. Apparently they were but there was no religion I remember except one quote by Scarlett, "As God is my witness, as God is my witness, they're not going to lick me. I'm going to get through this, and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again."
With no pre-conceptions of the war, I felt a deep empathy for the suffering of the South, not to the point of taking sides as my Yankee heritage includes an ancestor who helped with the underground railroad in Pennsylvania.
I have a little Southern heritage but only one family member I've found so far served in the Civil War. My great grandfather's father-in-law in Illinois was a man of means and purchased a surrogate to fight in the war in his place. It was family lore but it fits. The Irish man who went in his place I sent for his war records, and he died of disease in the swamps of Louisiana. He is buried in the Baton Rouge National Cemetery.
That sacrifice left a huge impression on me. I might not be here if my great grandfather had served. They had another boy a few months after the surrogate's death and named him the surrogate's name, Alonzo, which is not a family name.
That would be my great great uncle; he never married and went to prospect for gold in Alaska. My father met him there during WWII.
Just some impressions and anecdotal happenings rerlated to the war.
Ashley was a fictional prisoner in the infamous Rock Island Confederate prison now known as Arsenal Island and which became the place I worked for many years, going back three generations.
That is an interesting story about the surrogate.
I’ve always been fascinated by that period in history, maybe partly because of seeing the movie when I was so young. Scarlett has always been my favorite female protagonist because of her ability to adapt and her spirit. Actually, those are the characteristics that built this country but are methodically being drummed out of our culture now.
Very interesting post about your great grandfather’s father-in-law’s purchased surrogate ... I grew up not far from that cemetery and walked through it several times as a child.
The O’Haras are portrayed in the movie saying a rosary at home at Tara. I forget whether Scarlett’s mother (Miss Ellen?) led the rosary or whether it was said after her death with her coffin in the room. I need to see the movie again.
Thank you for your family anecdotes. They are interesting.