![Lucy Pickens](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Lucy_Pickens.jpg)
Lucy Petway Holcombe Pickens (June 11, 1832 – August 8, 1899) was a 19th-century
American socialite of Tennessee and Texas, known during and after her lifetime as the "Queen of the
Confederacy". She was also a First Lady of
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
. Described as "beautiful, brilliant, and captivating" by her male contemporaries, she helped shape the stereotype of the "
Southern belle
Southern belle () is a colloquialism for a debutante in the planter class of the Antebellum South.
Characteristics
The image of a Southern belle is often characterized by fashion elements such as a hoop skirt, a corset, pantalettes, a wi ...
." Born into a planter's family, she moved with them to
Marshall, Texas
Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Marshall was 23,392; The population of the Greater ...
, the seat of Harrison County, at age 16.
She married Colonel
Francis Wilkinson Pickens of
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
in 1858, after he was nominated as
United States ambassador to Russia
The ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to the Russian Federation. Since September 4, 2022, Elizabeth Rood is serving as the ...
. They returned to the United States in 1860 and he was elected as governor of the state several days before the legislature voted to secede from the Union. According to the 1860 census, he owned $45,400 in real estate (the equivalent of approximately $1,247,000 today) and $244,206 in personal property (about $6,768,000 today). He (and by extension his wife) also owned 276 slaves.
After the war and during Reconstruction, they found it challenging to keep their upland plantation of Edgewood productive without the aid of hundreds of enslaved people. After her husband died in 1869, Lucy Pickens adjusted to life as a young widow, and learned how to run the plantation.
Life
She was born to Beverly LaFayette Holcomb and Eugenia Dorothea (Hunt) Holcomb at their family
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
near
La Grange, Tennessee. She attended La Grange Female Academy before switching to a finishing school in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...
, with older sister Anna Eliza, from 1846–1848.
In 1848, the Holcombes moved to
Marshall, Texas
Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Marshall was 23,392; The population of the Greater ...
. They lived in the
Capitol Hotel in the county seat while waiting for the construction of the main house and outbuildings for their cotton plantation
Wyalucing. Several years later, Lucy wrote a novella entitled ''The Free Flag of Cuba,'' a romanticized account of the exploits of Cuban freedom fighter
Narciso López
Narciso López (November 2, 1797, Caracas – September 1, 1851, Havana) was a Venezuelan-born adventurer and Spanish Army general who is best known for his expeditions aimed at liberating Cuba from Spanish rule in the 1850s. His troops carrie ...
and his
failed invasion of Cuba. It was published in 1854 under the name "H. M. Hardimann." Until the early 21st century, it was believed to have been lost.
In the summer of 1857, Lucy met Colonel
Francis Wilkinson Pickens of
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, an older widower who proceeded to court her, but with little success. In January 1858, after his defeat for a Senate seat, he accepted an appointment as the US ambassador to
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. Suddenly she accepted his previous proposal, and they were married at
Wyalucing on April 26, 1858. He was old enough to be Lucy's father and had daughters from his two late wives.
The Pickens took two household slaves to Russia with them, Lucinda and Tom. Lucy became a favorite at the Russian court of
Alexander II. She and her husband were befriended by Alexander and his wife
Maria Alexandrovna, who became
godparent
In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelon ...
s to the daughter Lucy bore while in Russia, Eugenia Frances Dorothea Olga Neva—the last two names being added by the Tsarina. The Tsar called Frances ''Douschka'', "Darling" in
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
, a nickname she kept all her life.
Lucy taught Lucinda to read and write in English, and to speak French and Russian. The young slave woman cared for Douschka and later returned with the Pickens to South Carolina.
A longing for South Carolina and worries about its leaning toward
secession
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...
caused the Pickens family to return home in August 1860. They settled at the Pickens plantation of Edgewood, located in the "up country" region of the state. Francis W. Pickens was elected governor by the General Assembly of South Carolina on December 17, three days before the legislature voted to secede from the Union.
An advocate of secession, Lucy Holcombe Pickens was the only woman to be depicted on the
currency
A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins.
A more general ...
of the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
(three issues of the $100 CSA bill and one issue of the $1 CSA bill, which were printed in
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...
). She was also featured on one issue of $1,000 CSA loan certificates. In April 1861, Lucy and friends witnessed the shelling of
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battle ...
from a rooftop in
Charleston. In November 1861, a unit of the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
was formed; it was called the
Holcombe Legion
The Holcombe Legion of South Carolina fought in the American Civil War as part of the Confederate States Army. It was a true legion, being made up of different types of units, in this case cavalry (four companies) and infantry (initially eight com ...
in her honor. She designed and sewed its flag. It is claimed that she financed its equipment by the sale of some of the jewels given to her by the tsar.
During the war years, Pickens lived much of the time at her husband's plantation of Edgewood. There she had to get along with his daughters from earlier marriages, and manage overseers and, through them, the slave force. Her own family's plantation Wyalusing in Marshall, Texas, was used as the base of the Trans-Mississippi Agency of the Confederate Post Office during the war.
After the war, Francis W. Pickens chose to take the oath of loyalty in order to gain amnesty offered by President
Andrew Johnson, who had succeeded to office following the assassination of President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
. The provisional governor of South Carolina, Benjamin F. Perry, thought Pickens was unlikely to be pardoned for his part in the war as he was worth more than $20,000. Lucy, then visiting her family in Texas, sold some of her jewelry, including pieces given to her by the tsar in Russia, to raise money for them.
[Lewis, Elizabeth W., ''Queen of the Confederacy: The Innocent Deceits of Lucy Holcombe Pickens,'' University of North Texas Press, 2002, pp. 168-169. ]
Many freedmen stayed to work at Edgewood as sharecroppers, but the transition to free labor was wrenching. Lucinda stayed with Lucy Pickens to continue caring for Douschka. Francis' valet Tom left them after the end of the war and migrated to the North. Lucy accepted an offer to be Vice-Regent of South Carolina for the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, formed to purchase and preserve founding father George Washington's plantation along the Potomac River south of Washington, DC.
Beset by problems and taxes, her husband was able to retain only Edgewood (with her help), selling or losing to taxes his plantations in Mississippi and Alabama.
In 1869 Francis died. Lucy, a young widow at 37, had to learn how to manage their plantation and affairs.
[Lewis (2002), ''Queen of the Confederacy,'' pp. 175-176]
She died of a cerebral embolism at her home, Edgewood, on August 8, 1899. She was buried near her husband and daughter in Edgefield Cemetery.
Further reading
* Edmunds, John B., Jr., ''Francis W. Pickens and the Politics of Destruction,'' University of North Carolina Press, 1986.
* Lewis, Elizabeth W., ''Queen of the Confederacy: The Innocent Deceits of Lucy Holcombe Pickens,'' University of North Texas Press, 2002.
* Stone, DeWitt B., Jr., ''Wandering to Glory: Confederate Veterans Remember Evans' Brigade,'' University of South Carolina Press, 2002.
* ''The Free Flag of Cuba'', edited with an introduction by Orville and Georganne Burton.
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
Press, 2002.
References
External links
*
"Queen of the Confederacy: The Innocent Deceits of Lucy Holcombe Pickens"at
Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickens, Lucy
1832 births
1899 deaths
People from La Grange, Tennessee
Women in the American Civil War
People of South Carolina in the American Civil War
First Ladies and Gentlemen of South Carolina
People from Marshall, Texas
19th-century American women writers
19th-century American writers