"Memoirs of a Confederate Gentleman" is a work of historic fiction by
Thomas Tear. The story traces the lives of three family members, Charles Everson McGuire, his aunt, Euphemia
Mackinnon Everson Scott, and his wife, Josephine Abigail St. John, through the years leading up to and immediately
following the American Civil War.
Just as the famed mansion Tara and its owners the O’Hara clan of Georgia were the creation of Margaret Mitchell,
Grand Oak, and the McGuires exist only in the mind of their creator.
The inspiration for the book came to me one afternoon in March. We were to attend a Civil War reenactment
ball in April, in Annapolis, but the ball was canceled. We decided to have a dress up dinner at a historic
restaurant for our friends instead; this would give the ladies the chance to show off their new gowns.
Since Karen’s birthday was one week later, the diner became an impromptu party for her. Everyone's "present"
to Karen was to create a "persona" who had lived during the war years and read a few brief paragraphs or tell
a short story about who they had been.
Karen created the persona of Josephine, Roxanna created Aunt Effie, and I became Maj. Charles McGuire. It was
from the characters created for this evening's entertainment that the concept for the book grew.
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The Major, Josephine and Aunt Effie
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