Mary Chesnut: News of Lincoln's Assassination
by Mary Boykin Chesnut from A Diary from Dixie
This diary entry from a Confederate general's wife reflects her reaction to the news of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination in 1865. Born into an upper class South Carolina family, Mary Boykin Chesnut chronicled the Civil War through her eyes, and a modern edition of her diary was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1982. Students will read the entry and respond to questions on the main idea, the mood, and the vocabulary.
Reading Comprehension Passage
Mary Chesnut: News of Lincoln's Assassination
by Mary Boykin Chesnut from A Diary from Dixie
Reading Comprehension Questions
Vocabulary List
Vocabulary List
Each of the vocabulary words below are used in the reading passage. As you read the passage, pay attention to context clues that suggest the word’s meaning.
- tyrants
- vengeance
- faintest
- valuables
- blotted
- despatch/dispatch
Context Clues
Context Clues
Using context clues from the sentences in the passage, underline the correct meaning of the word in boldface.
1) “The death of Lincoln I call a warning to tyrants.”
a. hard workers b. evil followers c. other presidents d. evil leaders
2) “See if they don’t take vengeance on us, now that we are ruined and can not repel them any longer.”
a. revenge b. pity c. mercy d. pain
3) “I have not the faintest idea where he is…”
a. strongest b. weakest c. detailed d. craziest
4) “With these valuables was Hood's silver cup…”
a. garbage bags b. collections c. treasures d. toys
5) “This yellow Confederate quire of paper, my journal, blotted by entries, has been buried three days…”
a. emptied b. confused c. marked d. messed up
6) “Colonel Cadwallader Jones came with a despatch, a sealed secret despatch.”
a. photograph b. message c. gift d. puzzle