Lincoln’s Confederate ‘Little Sister’

My new longform essay, “Lincoln’s Confederate ‘Little Sister:’ Emilie Todd Helm” is now available for purchase on Amazon.com for the Kindle and related platforms (Kindle app for iPhones, iPads, and computers, 50 pages, $2.99).

As the wife of a Confederate general and the half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln, Emilie was torn between two worlds. Having lost several brothers in the Civil War, she suffered another blow when her husband was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga. In December 1863, she traveled to the White House and mourned with Mary Lincoln. Although politicians condemned the Union commander-in-chief for hosting this rebel widow, to President Lincoln she was simply “Little Sister,” a grieving family member who brought comfort to his wife. Sadly, a year later, Emilie ended contact with Mary after she blamed Lincoln for their family woes. Their relationship—fractured like their family—was another casualty of the war.

“Lincoln’s Confederate ‘Little Sister:’ Emilie Todd Helm” describes Emilie’s life, her controversial 1863 visit to the White House, and her unique role in postwar reconciliation, when she revered her husband’s Confederate legacy while commemorating Lincoln’s memory.

You can find more information or purchase this publication by clicking here.

Stuart W. Sanders is the former executive director of the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association. He is the author of Perryville Under Fire: The Aftermath of Kentucky’s Largest Civil War Battle, The Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky, and Maney’s Confederate Brigade at the Battle of Perryville. He has also contributed to multiple Civil War anthologies and has written for several magazines, including Civil War Times Illustrated, America’s Civil War, Military History Quarterly, Hallowed Ground, Blue and Gray Civil War Quarterly, and several other publications.