A Prayer For The Spirit Of Acceptance: The Journal of Martha Wayles Robertson, 1860-66
“1860-1866. Robertson's diary often takes the form of a prayer, written as a spiritual exercise in self­ examination and communion with God. An early entry considered the threat of fratricide a national error, and she asked for God to reconcile the contending parties. She quickly assumed the rhetoric of sectionalism. Later, she interpreted military reversals as God's desire to humble and chasten the Southerners for being a wicked people. Mrs. Robertson, who lived in Petersburg, Virginia, also described the effects of the siege and conditions following the surrender.”