Cyrena Bailey Stone
Unionist in Confederate Atlanta
Cyrena Bailey Stone was
a native of Vermont. In 1854, she moved to Atlanta with her Southern husband, attorney Amherst Stone, and they became part of Atlanta society.
During the Civil War, her brother-in-law Chester Stone fought for the Confederacy, but she and her husband were at
the heart of the Unionist community in Atlanta. By early 1864, however, Amherst had fled Atlanta on a blockade-running mission.
Cyrena kept a diary of her experiences as a secret sympathizer of the Union and of her interactions with other Unionists during the seven months leading up to the Battle of Atlanta in July 1864.
Degress' Battery - Battle of Atlanta
Painting by Don Troiani
The men of Mersey's Brigade retake Degress' Illinois battery of 20 lb. Parrott Rifles at the battle of Atlanta July 22, 1864.
Background
The Confederates had feared that the presence of Unionists in Atlanta could prove a corrupting force in their society, and that the city had become a hotbed of treason and enemy espionage, produced an atmosphere that
made life exceedingly difficult for Stone and her fellow Unionists. In 1862, their situation took a turn for the worse with the appointment of George W. Lee as provost marshal. Determined to stamp out disloyalty to the Confederacy and impose order on a city that was plagued with crime, Lee instigated a wave of arrests and trials of suspected Unionists.
Many left Atlanta and attempted to resettle in the North, mainly men such as Amherst Stone who sought to avoid conscription and seizure of their property. Those who remained behind learned to maintain a low profile, forged tight bonds among themselves, and constantly tested the boundaries of loyalty. Others, mainly women, served the Union cause by organizing and participating in often
risky missions of mercy to hospitals and prisons in order to provide food and solace to Northern prisoners.
Cyrena Stone and her fellow Unionists had to keep their sentiments hidden as they went about their lives, and she
concealed their identities in her diary, referring to herself only as Miss Abby. Her diary paints a dramatic picture of the lives of the small but significant minority of Unionists living in Confederate Atlanta.
Living in a city ruled by the Confederate military, who brooked little dissent, the group managed to aid Union prisoners of war, protect the interests of slaves and freedmen, and spirit military intelligence out of the city. Despite the secrecy, Cyrena's loyalties became known, and she was kept
under constant observation by the Confederate authorities. Several attempts were made to trap her into acts of sedition. She was arrested as a suspected spy (the penalty was death), but was never charged.
Her diary records her efforts and those of her fellow Unionists to maintain an optimistic outlook on the progress of the war in the face of Confederate propaganda. She was perceptive enough to see through Confederate announcements that gave accounts of victory after victory for the South.
Sherman's Arrival
Toward the end of May 1864, Cyrena
heard the northern artillery for the first time. "The sound wakened the wildest joy I have ever known." Cyrena observed that the closer General William Tecumseh Sherman drew to the city, the friendlier people became to the known supporters of the Union. One of her friends was told by a Confederate woman, "I know you can protect me when the Yankees come."
While others fled the city, Cyrena stayed. "This is my home," she wrote in July 1864, "and I wish to protect it if possible."
Large numbers of slaves were impressed to shore up the city's defenses. Some escaped rather than do this work, four of whom were hidden for a time in her house.
The Battle of Atlanta was fought on July 22, 1864, during
the Atlanta Campaign. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply center of Atlanta, Union troops defeated the Confederate forces defending the city. Despite the implication of finality in its name, the battle occurred mid-way through the campaign;
the city would not fall for another six weeks.
Living through the worst of the Battle for Atlanta, she finally met with a cousin from Vermont, a Union officer, who found her in the ruins of the city. She had, she told him, "endured all for righteousness sake."
After the
surrender of the city to General Sherman, Cyrena stood on a street corner for several hours waving her miniature Stars and Stripes. She had kept this sacred memento throughout the war, hiding it in her sugar container when not sharing it with her larger circle of Atlanta Unionists.
After Sherman finally captured Atlanta in September, Unionists enjoyed a period of relief. General Sherman's sacking of Atlanta left
mass graves, mangled bodies, and ruined structures. But former pariahs like Cyrena Stone, who hid both escaped prisoners and freed slaves and did some intelligence work for the attacking army, were then somewhat protected.
But in November, they learned of Sherman's intent to leave the city without a garrison to protect them during his March to the Sea. This brought the prospect of retribution from returning Confederate officials, and most of the
Unionists left Atlanta, including
Cyrena Stone.
Ironically, Cyrena's house was destroyed by Union shells during the fall of Atlanta in September, but she survived to see the triumph of the cause for which she had risked her life and fortune.
After Appomattox,
many Unionists returned to Atlanta, hoping to fill a leadership vacuum left by the collapse of the Confederacy. By the end of 1865, however, Andrew Johnson's generosity in granting pardons to ex-Confederates had dashed the political ambitions of the Unionists. The cohesiveness of the group of Unionists quickly crumbled, as its members turned to the task of seeking compensation from the federal government for property lost during the war.
SOURCES
H-Net ReviewsSecret YankeesWomen during the Civil WarUnionist in the ConfederacySecret Yankees: The Union Circle in Confederate Atlanta
