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Louisa Susannah Cheves McCord (1810—1879) was born in Charleston, South Carolina, the daughter of Langdon Cheves, who was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and held other high offices. She was one of the most outstanding women of the Old South. Less serious ladies, like Mary Chestnut, described her as formidable. An active plantation mistress in the antebellum years, Mrs. McCord was also a prolific writer in a variety of genres. She made and published the first American translation of the works of the French economist Frederic Bastiat. In many articles in the journals of the day she defended the South and free trade and condemned feminism. A widow by the time of the War between the States, Mrs. McCord ran the Confederate hospital and organized refugee relief in Columbia. A dedicated Confederate, she gave her wealth, talent, energy, and only son to the cause and at the end of the war went to Canada to avoid living under Yankee rule. Her house on the edge of the South Carolina College campus was spared Sherman’s fire because a Union general wanted it as headquarters, but it was ransacked and looted as the Yankees departed. Lounsbury’s gathering is the first collection of Mrs. McCord’s writings.
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