Incidents in the Life of Cecilia Lawton

Cecilia Lawton's life was changed forever when the bloodiest war in American history began in 1861. The daughter of a wealthy Georgia plantation owner, she was married at the age of sixteen and went to live at her husband's plantation in South Carolina, but a few months later, she found herself fleeing from the army of General William T. Sherman as it ravaged the state. She observed the aftermath of this brutal campaign in Georgia and South Carolina, writing of what she saw in vivid, horrific detail. Following the war, Cecilia and her husband Wallace Lawton struggled to survive on his ruined plantation, but after enduring many hardships and dangers, they moved away and began a new life together on a beautiful sea island near Charleston, South Carolina, where Wallace had been born and raised. There, he and other planters tried to resume the cultivation of fine sea island cotton, only to suffer a devastating loss when the scourge of the cotton caterpillar wiped out their crops. Raised in luxury and privilege, Cecilia had few of the skills expected of a farmer's wife, but despite her youth and inexperience, as well as the devastating poverty and turmoil of postwar South Carolina, she persevered and finally found success as a businesswoman in Charleston, having discovered along the way many strengths and abilities she never knew she possessed. Told in her own words, this is the true story of Cecilia Lawton, a young woman who faced incredible challenges with determination and courage.