A Feast of Reason: The Civil War Journal of James Madison Hall

By Karen Gerhardt Fort

James Madison Hall kept a journal from 1860 until just before his death in 1866, in which he recorded a daily log of events in his life and the lives of his family, slaves, and friends. It also served as a record of business dealings, money borrowed and repaid, and cost of items during the war. Hall lived in Houston County, Texas, where he was a farmer, and in Liberty County, Texas, where he was a merchant and mayor of Liberty.

This book illustrates the home life of Texans during the Civil War and includes Hall's relationship with blacks, especially a man named Billl Hicks, who became Hall's miller when Hall was away. This book traces the changing relationships betweeen slaves and masters during the early post-war transition, before Congressional Reconstruction began. Hall's feast of reason was to refuse to go into the military, even though he favored seccession; to adapt to changing needs and circumstances; and to remain a voice of fairness and moderation during these trying times.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1933337702
• ISBN13: 9781933337708
• Release Date: April 2017
• Publisher: State House Press at the Texas Center-Schrein
• Length: 326 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary