[ Autographs ] BATTLE OF RAYMOND CONFEDERATE DIARY A fascinating and dramatic Confederate homefront diary, about 190pp. 12mo., kept by Trudy Alston, from Raymond, Mississippi, intermittently between 1861 and 1864. As the war wore on, Trudy seems to have made entries wherever space was available in the diary, as the South was suffering a severe paper shortage at the time. All of the entries are meticulously kept in pencil, with additional sentimental entries by loved ones departing for the front. For example, one entry reads: "...[off] for Tennessee, may the God be with me for you can't, Trudy, forget me not, your true friend until death, E. O. A., Co. D. 28th Reg, Miss. Cavalry". While the diary has numerous entries relating to thewar and its hardships, by far the most dramatic is that for the battleof Raymond, Ms., on May 12, 1863 which Trudy described as the battle literally transpired in her front yard! The seven page entry for this day reads, in part: "...a battle near Raymond...the cannon are firing incessantly, it jolts every window in the house...8 thousand soldiers passed through Raymond this morning...God keep the invading foe from polluting our dear homes...we are told to stay...oh my God, our men are retreating...they are in a half mile of home, I can see them distinctly. I am now on the old field...a shell fell in our lot, our men have fall back near our spring, our reinforcements are come. Oh myGod, I look for a ball to take me every minute. We are surrounded...wehear them cheering...the wounded are being brought in every minute...Ican see every movement on the field...the battle...fiercer than ever..Yankee prisoners passed through our yard...say the fight has just begun...the wounded are coming in our house and all of our rooms are filled. Captain Norvell's company has just gone by...". Trudy records numerous other events, including the fall of Vicksburg, the capture ofher brother by the Federals and his incarceration at Camp Chase, Ohio,and the death of numerous friends and relatives in the service. A vivid and important account of a civilian's perspective on the war, overall very good.