John Sergeant Wise

“The traditions of my ancestors, of my family, and of my people had all taught me that the summit of earthly glory was to be a Virginia gentleman.”

“The air of a Virginia plantation was an atmosphere of command.”

“Slavery, I have no doubt, was a curse, but in our eyes it was a patriarchal institution, and we were not conscious of its wrongs.”

“People who look back are lost.”

“Looking back upon it, I can see that we were a provincial, narrow-minded, and self-sufficient lot.”

“Of all the senseless and illogical acts of the American people, their Civil War was the most noted.”

“The best part of our lives was that we were not conscious of being provincial. We had no conception of any other life.”

“The war was not a war of sections, but of ideas.”

“There was no commercialism. Money was not the standard. It was an incident.”

“The love of the Union was a sentiment, a passion, with the Southern people.”