A Most Unsettled State - by NiNi Harris (Paperback)

About the Book

During the Civil War, St. Louis was under martial law. The city was divided to the core. A Most Unsettled State conveys this precarious dynamic through the pens of those who experienced it. Author NiNi Harris collects memoirs, letters, sermons, and accounts that reveal a critical time in a volatile place. Learn firsthand about the women who nursed wounded soldiers, the ministers who were appalled by slavery, and Southern sympathizers whose resentment grew as the Union gained control of St. Louis. The book contains eyewitness accounts of significant events that occurred in the streets, not to mention the writers insights and observations. Learn firsthand how Julia Dent Grant responded to the news about the Siege of Vicksburg and how her neighbors were all Southern in sentiment and could not believe that [she] was not. Experience Camp Jackson through the eyes of then-civilian William Tecumseh Sherman, who, with his seven-year-old son Willie at his side, heard the balls cutting the leaves above our heads, and saw several men and women running in all directions, some of whom were wounded.

Book Synopsis

During the Civil War, St. Louis was under martial law. The city was divided to the core. A Most Unsettled State conveys this precarious dynamic through the pens of those who experienced it. Author NiNi Harris collects memoirs, letters, sermons, and accounts that reveal a critical time in a volatile place. Learn firsthand about the women who nursed wounded soldiers, the ministers who were appalled by slavery, and Southern sympathizers whose resentment grew as the Union gained control of St. Louis. The book contains eyewitness accounts of significant events that occurred in the streets, not to mention the writers' insights and feelings.

About the Author

Life-long St. Louisan NiNi Harris has written twelve books on the ethnic history, architecture, and landscape of St. Louis. She loves discovering dusty records in a church basement, or fading photos in an old scrapbook, that reveal some image or story from our city's past.