Two diaries From Middle St. John's, Berkeley, South Carolina, February-May, 1865 Journals kept by Miss Susan R. Jervey and Miss Charlotte St. J. Ravenel, at Northampton and Pooshee plantations, and reminiscences of Mrs. (Waring) Henagan; with two contemporary reports from federal officials.

A vivid window into a Southern plantation’s final days of the Civil War, this collection presents the handwritten journals of two young women navigating fear, uncertainty and the sudden collapse of familiar life. Their entries trace daily routines disrupted by marching troops, whispered rumors of burning cotton, and the unsettling presence of both Confederate deserters and Union soldiers. Through candid observations of family movements, fleeting encounters with soldiers, and the strained relations with the enslaved laborers around them, readers hear the raw immediacy of a household caught between evacuation and survival.

Accompanying the diaries are contemporary reports from federal officials, offering a broader view of the military maneuvers that loom over the personal dramas. The editorial notes provide contextual clues, helping modern listeners place these intimate moments within the larger sweep of 1865 South Carolina. Together, they form a compelling portrait of resilience and a poignantly human glimpse of a war’s closing chapter.