author
J. L. (John Levi) Underwood
1836–1907
A Baptist minister, Civil War chaplain, and Southern memorial writer, he is best known for The Women of the Confederacy, a 1906 collection celebrating the endurance and loyalty of Confederate women. His life moved through Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, shaping a voice rooted in religion, memory, and the aftermath of war.
1 Audiobook
The Women of the Confederacy
by J. L. (John Levi) Underwood
About the author
John Levi Underwood was born in 1836 and died in 1907. Available records identify him as a Baptist minister and place his early life in Alabama, with later ties to Mississippi and Georgia.
During the American Civil War, he served as a chaplain with the 30th Alabama Regiment. After the war he settled in Georgia, where biographical records say he pastored churches including Bainbridge Baptist Church, along with congregations at Milford and Red Bluff.
Readers usually know him for The Women of the Confederacy, published in 1906. The book gathers speeches, recollections, and tributes about Confederate women during the war and Reconstruction, and it reflects the commemorative Southern viewpoint he became associated with late in life.