"Full of interesting narrative regarding the author's experiences in the Civil War." - The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, 1916
"The coexistence of brutal oppression and genuine affection was but one of many contradictions in the antebellum slave system. In this postwar reflection, Mary Polk Branch recalls her life as an enslaver." -The American Yawp Reader
Up until the Civil War, Mary Polk Branch (1830-1918), wife of Civil War Colonel Joseph G. Branch, had led the idyllic life of a southern belle. She grew up on her parents' plantation known as Buena Vista, which would later become The Columbia Military Academy then later Columbia Academy.
Mary Jones Polk was born into one of the most prominent families in Tennessee. She was the daughter of Dr. William Polk (1791-1869) , and grand daughter of Col. William Polk (1758-34). James K. Polk, her cousin, had been elected president in 1849. She was the second wife of Colonel Joseph Branch, the son of Florida's Governor Branch, who she married in 1859. The couple lived together on a plantation in Arkansas that he had acquired in partnership with his father.
Memoirs of a Southern Woman "Within the Lines" is Branch's 1912 autobiography which was published by her grandson's publishing company. Mary describes life in the antebellum South, including her childhood, her marriage, and social activities. When the Civil War broke out, Mary's male family members were deeply involved, holding leadership positions in the Confederate army.
Mary describes the state of affairs in the South after the war, with repugnant praise for "kukluxers," white-hooded vigilantes who sought to protect southern privilege by harrassing targeted minorities in the South during the Reconstruction period.
