Women in the the Visual Arts and Literature

Mary Chesnut

32-cent Mary Chesnut stamp
This 32-cent stamp was issued June 29, 1995.

Mary Chesnut (1823-1913) was a South Carolina resident who kept a diary throughout the Civil War. Her diary provides particularly interesting information due to the fact that her husband, James Chesnut, was a United States senator for South Carolina until the state seceded from the Union in 1860. Chesnut was also close friends with Jefferson Davis and his wife, Varina. Now known as Mary Chesnut’s Civil War, her diary provides insight into the influences of the Civil War on daily life. This stamp was designed by Mark Hess for the American Civil War Issue. It contains an illustration of Mary Chesnut writing in her diary at a desk.