Sarah Ann Brock Putnam (March 18, 1831 – March 22, 1911), also known by her pen name Virginia Madison, was an American author, best known for her memoir ''Richmond During the War; Four Years of Personal Observation''.

Biography

Sarah (nickname, "Sallie") Ann Brock was born in

Madison County, Virginia Madison County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,837. Its county seat is Madison. History Madison County was established in December 1792, created from Culpeper County. The cou ...

, on March 18, 1831. She was the daughter of Ansalem Brock and Elizabeth Beverley Buckner. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Brock lived with her family in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, the capital 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 ...

. In 1865, she moved to New York and began writing about her wartime experiences. Brock's book, ''Richmond During the War: Four Years of Personal Observation'', was published in 1867 and described the social and economic upheaval of the residents of that city. The book was based on her

diaries Diaries may refer to: * the plural of diary *''Diaries: 1971-1976'', a 1981 documentary by Ed Pincus *'' Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years'', a 2006 book by Michael Palin *''OFW Diaries ''OFW Diaries'' is a Philippine television documentary ...

and notes of the period and contains details about incidents involving

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

, the sick and wounded, the reality of obtaining basic supplies, and other events the city, particularly in the last few weeks of the war. Brock soon edited a collection of poetry and began writing

article Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

s as well as a novel. She married Rev. Richard Fletcher Putnam, M.A., of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

Selected works

* ''Richmond During the War: Four Years of Personal Observation'' (1867) * ''The Southern Amaranth: A Carefully Selected Collection of Poems Growing out of and in Reference to the Late War'' (1869) * ''Kenneth, My King'' (1873)

References

External links

Sarah Ann Brock
at ''Encyclopedia Virginia'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Putnam, Sarah Ann Brock 1831 births 1911 deaths 19th-century American memoirists American women memoirists 19th-century American women writers Memoirists from Virginia People from Madison County, Virginia