After the American Civil War, few southerners were able to publish books describing their defeated region. And journalists from outside the South were equally fatigued and quite ready to return to familiar surroundings; the thought of visiting and reporting on the war torn South was not a priority. Fortunately, an author from New England, John Townsend Trowbridge(1827-1916) was persuaded to undertake the daunting mission of traveling through the unreconstructed South and to compile a journal of his adventures. The results of this intrepid reporter's long forgotten journey was a sizeable volume that may well be one of our greatest national