A Butternut Christmas!

2010 has been a tremendous year for me, and now it has been capped by a terrific Christmas. Lots of family, fun, food, and a bulging stocking filled will cool and wonderful gifts. One of those gifts even came in butternut. The slender volume above was sent to me from overseas and is notable for a number of reasons. It is The Private Journal of Georgiana Gholson Walker 1862-1865. It was orginally published in 1963 as the 25th volume of the 'Confederate Centennial Studies'. My copy is part of a 750 copy reprint published in 2000. I'm not sure how many copies were in the original print run, but it seems safe to say that it is a comparitively rare volume.

However, in this case, it isn't really the rarity that makes it special; it's the author. Georgiana Gholson Walker was the wife of Norman Walker, brother of my great-grandfather John Stewart Walker. While the volume only touches briefly upon John Stewart, I still believe it is an important addition to my studies of my Civil War ancestry. I believe Norman served in the same unit as John Stewart up until his death, but at some point thereafter was named as the Confederate agent to Bermuda, where he became an important part of the story of the blockade runners.

It will be a little while before I really get into this book. I want to finish Shelby Foote first (page 740 of volume III!). You can be assurred that once I get to it, I will share anything interesting that I find.