The League of Extraordinary Southern Ladies

Back before the civil war, most people believed that the north was the cradle of American culture and intellectualism, what with their big cities and fancy hats. However there was also a growing hidden class of intellectuals in the south, consisting entirely of women.

It began with wealthy southern women, bored half to **** at their manors and plantations. Thanks to slavery, these women found ample time for higher pursuits like music, poetry, and art. Their husbands were only concerned with business and commerce and would leave their wives to their pursuits.

Before long, these women started to write each other and quickly developed an interest in science, politics, and international affairs.

Not long after, these penpals formed a secret society of sorts to exclusively correspond with each other. They shared and debated ideas, encouraging each other to attain ever higher accomplishments. As years passed, the group began to consist of highly accomplished and learned women. From doctors and veterinarians, to farmers and ranchers, to carpenters and merchants, to railroad engineers and scientists.

With knowledge came enlightenment and with enlightenment came wisdom. In time, the League of Extraordinary Southern Ladies collectively came to view the practice of slavery as innately abhorrent and immoral.

With their secret network in place, they went to work undermining the slavery industrial complex. Once the civil war broke out, it was obvious which side these women would side with. The League fully supported the Union, despite most of their members originating from the south.

The League carried their work out in the shadows. Most of these ladies were from wealthy families. They were often wives, mothers, and sisters of southern politicians, military officers, plantation owners, and industrialists who backed the Confederacy. As such, they became an invaluable source of intel for the North.

The burning of Atlanta was one such triumph that the Union accomplished due in large part to the information provided by the League.

The destruction of Atlanta had severe consequences for its surrounding areas. Law and order collapsed. Slaves in several plantations in the area revolted. Anarchy was budding.

Eleanor Davis was on her horse, perched on top of a high hill. The stunningly beautiful blue-eyed, golden-blonde beauty held a spyglass to her eye pointed in the direction of the city. As soon as she spotted the first column of smoke in the distance, she knew that Atlanta was done for. Eleanor had prepared for this eventuality. She put away her eyeglass and directed the horse to ride for home at full speed.

The first thing Eleanor did when she arrived at the Davis Plantation, was to release the slaves.

As she had expected, the slaves were extremely **** to leave. They had been born in captivity and had no clue how to live out in the world.

But Eleanor insisted that they depart. She provided them with everything they could ever need. Food, clothing, supplies, and even money.

“Head north,” Eleanor said, “And don’t look back.”

It had to be done. The Davis family had never ill-treated their slaves. But it was only a matter of time when they would receive word that Atlanta had fallen. Such news would make even in the most docile of slaves unpredictable.

Once the slaves had departed, Eleanor gathered the rest of the white folk in the plantation. All in all, there were 5 other white families who worked on the plantation as overseers and other skilled trades. Eleanor informed them of the fall of Atlanta and gave them a choice. Either flee south or dig their heels in until help arrives.

Two of the families decided to make a break for the south while 3 decided to stay. They were the Smiths, Millers, and Williams.

Those that stayed did so because they had family members in the Confederate army whom they were confident would return. It was mostly the fathers and older brothers who joined the army, so the remaining families mostly consisted of women, children, and younger men.

Eleanor directed the remaining families to head to the manor and promptly rode there ahead of them. She arrived at her home and dismounted at the stables.

Inside the manor, her own family was already gathered at living area, anxiously waiting for news.

Eleanor Davis had six children with her husband, Joshua Davis. Like most girls in this time period, she married young. She was now 35 years old. Her oldest child is 21-year-old Natalie Davis, followed by the 20-year-old twins, Alvin and Amelia Davis. The youngest of her brood were the triplets. Chelsea, Sydney, and Austin had just turned 18-years-old.

Eleanor’s husband, Joshua Davis, was a Confederate captain and was part of the local Confederate forces. She had not heard from him for months.

Eleanor herself was the daughter of Eugene Cooper, a Confederate Colonel. Her father had been out of state for more than a year, running with the main confederate ****.

“Listen here, y’all,” Eleanor said to her children, “Atlanta has fallen. Just like I said it would.”

“Oh, no…” said Alvin, “What about pa?”

Eleanor sighed. “He’s with the army, and they’re on the retreat, I reckon.”

“What do we do, ma?” Asked Austin.

“What we said we’d do, my boy,” Eleanor replied. She nodded at her older daughters, Natalie and Amelia. “Open up the armory and bring out the rifles.”

“A-are we going to fight?” Alvin asked.

“If we have to,” Eleanor replied. “Don’t worry your pretty heads too much, my darlings. I reckon we just need to hold out for the night. Help’s comin. You can count on it.”

The Millers, Smiths, and Williams families soon arrived and everyone busied themselves boarding up windows and reinforcing the doors of the Davis family manor.

Eleanor watched with pride as her daughters hauled out the shot and guns. They also brought tomahawks, sabers, and other weapons. The girls then busied themselves loading each rifle and distributing them among the other families.

Like her own mother, Eleanor was a member of the League of Extraordinary Southern Ladies. As such she had taught her girls how to shoot and defend themselves, among other things. All four girls were a far better shot than their brothers, who had been somewhat spoilt by their father.

By night, the manor had effectively been fortified. Eleanor divided the people into teams to take turns keeping watch throughout the night.

Eleanor wasn’t expecting the entire Union army to show up at her doorstep. She was pretty sure that the main bulk of the Union forces would depart quickly, hot on the heels of the retreating Confederates.

What worried Eleanor were stragglers, deserters, and marauders of the army, who would seize on opportunities like this to pillage and ****. She was also wary of slaves from the other plantations who would waste no time rising up against their white masters, and would be on the prowl, looking for vengeance. She had freed her own slaves for exactly this reason.

At about midnight, Eleanor’s daughters, Natalie and Chelsea approached her to take over the lead of watch duty. Unlike her sons, Eleanor had raised her daughters as League Ladies. Thus they were privy to privileged information and had a better picture of what was going on behind the scenes.

“What do we do if he doesn’t show tomorrow, ma?” Natalie asked.

Eleanor smiled wryly. “We’ll cross that stream when we get to it, darlin. Let’s just get us through the night for the time being,” she replied.

Natalie’s words had echoed some of Eleanor’s own concerns however. The League had aided the downfall of Atlanta and had planned contingencies for its aftermath. But there was only so much a secret society could do when limited to transmitting information via carrier pigeons and couriers.

So much could go wrong. Letters could fail in delivery. Enemies could have uncovered their plot. Key figures could have died in battle before fulfilling their mission.

Eleanor took a deep breath as she lay down to sleep. No. If there is anyone who can do it, it’s that boy, she thought.