Nancy Emerson's Beliefs

Nancy Emerson lived in Augusta County, Virginia as a Confederate supporter for the complete duration of the American Civil War. Her diary, which spans from May of 1862 to November of 1864, provides a detailed and nuanced account of the life of a white, middle classed, Christian, woman living in the Civil War era. Religion influenced a multitude of Emerson’s beliefs; from her dogged support of the Confederacy to her belief that God would ensure a Southern victory.
Emerson’s religion also shaped her support of slavery and Southern succession. Her religious views vilified both Northern Christians and the Union alike. The beliefs Emerson held and the beliefs of other Christian rebels heralded patriotism and participation during the Civil War

She believed that God would reward the pious and “righteous” South with victory over the Union. Emerson states that “Never for one moment since this struggle commenced, has my mind wavered as to the final result [of the War]. Never could I for one moment believe that a righteous God would suffer us to be trodden down”. Emerson’s statements clearly demonstrate that her belief in a righteous God informed her belief in a Confederate victory. Consequently, her conviction that God favored the South came from a general belief that the North held a population “corrupted by atheism… which greatly weakened the Northerners' scriptural faith and would lead them to eternal damnation.” (Erickson) The beliefs Emerson held closely relate to the beliefs of other Southern Christians who found themselves similarly influenced by the teachings of Southern ministers. Within the South, Christianity held enormous influence. Religious leaders “buttressed” Southern support of the Confederate cause by “reminding their countrymen of the role that divine intervention played in all things.” (Wesley) With the backing of Christian ministers the belief in a predestined victory against the Union spread throughout the Confederacy. Emerson’s optimistic belief reiterates itself multiple times throughout her diary with her referring to the fury of God as a “whirlwind” that would descend upon the land to destroy the

Within her diary Emerson often refers to the North and its soldiers as “ruthless” and “blood thirsty”. This shows that she sees a fundamental difference between the mindset of the North to the South. She refers to the piousness of the Confederate army saying “that there has been a most wonderful work of grace in our army. How could a broader seal have been set upon the righteousness of our cause”. This fundamental differential view of the two armies is a result of her bias towards the North and her belief in the holiness of the Southern perspective. Emerson even refers to the story of a dying Southern pastor who, when asked about his thought on the Civil War on his death bed proclaimed that “the cause in which we are engaged is a holy cause”. Southern Christianity placed a heavy value on patriotism. Refusal to serve in the war was taken as a direct affront to the church as well as to the nation. “Loyalty to the church and to the nation became so interchangeable that in most parts of the South to hesitate in one’s support of the Confederacy was to court the reproach of the church.” (Wesley) Emerson reflects this view in her diary where she asks God to “cleanse” any Southerner “polluted with their guilt” and save them from the “doom” that would befall the