P00161
Mary Baker Eddy's experience during the Civil War
Mary Baker Eddy was engaged with the events of the American Civil War (1861-1865). As the war unfolded, she responded in the form of poetry, which was sometimes published in local newspapers, and even wrote directly to a Union general in support of his actions. Eddy was also directly impacted when her husband at the time, Daniel Patterson, was captured in Virginia and sent to a Confederate prison. Reading Eddy's writings from this period provide a valuable first person perspective on this formative time in American history.
Articles:
See how Mary Baker Eddy supported Union efforts leading up to the
Civil War, through this 1861 poem.
Read what Eddy's letter to a Union army general tells us about her
convictions on slavery.
Find out what we've learned about Eddy's support for emancipation from
her correspondence during the Civil War.
Learn about Eddy's connection to a nationally popular musical group
during the Civil War.
Find out how Eddy's opposition to slavery may have been shaped in part by her brief
time living on Hasell Street in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1844.
Podcasts:
Learn about Mary Baker Eddy's anti-slavery activism, through her
correspondence with prominent Union generals, and her husband's experiences as a
Confederate prisoner of war.
Documents:
Poem: Maj Anderson and Our Country (1861) (A10007)Click link to view "Poem: Maj Anderson and Our Country (1861)"
This poem was written in support of Major Robert Anderson's command at
Fort Sumter in South Carolina, prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.
Poem: Sonnet: 1861 (1861) (A10008)Click link to view "Poem: Sonnet: 1861 (1861)"
This sonnet references the actions of General John C. Fremont,
Commander of the Union Army of the West, who, on August 30, 1861, instituted martial
law in the state of Missouri, including the confiscation of Confederate property and
the freeing of enslaved men and women owned by rebel Missourians. Fremont's
declaration was rescinded and he was removed from his post. Lincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation was later issued on January 1, 1863.
Poem: Home on High Rock (1864) (A11385)Click link to view "Poem: Home on High Rock (1864)"
On July 4, 1864, Eddy attended a concert in Lynn, Massachusetts, given
by the "Tribe of Asa," which was led by musician Asa B. Hutchinson. She reviewed the
concert for the Lynn Reporter and composed this poem.
Poem: To the Old Year, 1865 (1865) (L11302)Click link to view "Poem: To the Old Year, 1865 (1865)"
This poem, published in the Lynn Reporter on
January 1, 1866 addresses the many challenges at the end of the Civil War and brought
hope that 1866 would be better.
Letter: Mary Baker Eddy to Benjamin F. Butler, August 17, 1861 (L02683)Click link to view "Letter: Mary Baker Eddy to Benjamin F. Butler, August 17, 1861"
Eddy wrote this letter to thank General Benjamin F. Butler for the
stance he had taken in defending the freedoms of enslaved people who had found refuge
in Union territory.
Letter: Peter Haggerty to Mary Baker Eddy, August 20, 1861 (653.68.026)Click link to view "Letter: Peter Haggerty to Mary Baker Eddy, August 20, 1861"
Eddy received this thank you from General Benjamin F. Butler's
aide-de-camp in response to her letter of support.
Letter: Daniel Patterson to Mary Baker Eddy, April 2, 1862 (L16248)Click link to view "Letter: Daniel Patterson to Mary Baker Eddy, April 2, 1862"
Eddy received this letter from her husband at the time, Daniel
Patterson, who had been captured and was being held in a Confederate prison in
Virginia. Patterson had been making a delivery to Washington, D.C. on behalf of the
governor of New Hampshire, of funds raised to help northern supporters in the South.
While visiting the battlefield at Bull Run, he accidentally crossed enemy lines and
was captured.
Letter: Daniel Patterson to Mary Baker Eddy, May 19, 1862 (L16253)Click link to view "Letter: Daniel Patterson to Mary Baker Eddy, May 19, 1862"
Patterson was transferred from Virginia to another prison in
Salisbury, North Carolina, and he writes of his experiences there.
Letter: Franklin Pierce to Mary Baker Eddy, September 17, 1862 (702.82.055)Click link to view "Letter: Franklin Pierce to Mary Baker Eddy, September 17, 1862"
Eddy's letter to Franklin Pierce is not extant; however, this is his
response to Eddy's efforts to obtain the release of her husband from Confederate
prison.