Dream Reports

Excerpts from the Dream Journal of Alexander S. Paxton, 4th Virginia Infantry Reverend George Junkin was furious when he saw a secession flag flying over the main building of Washington College in Lexington, Va. A native of Pennsylvania, Junkin had served as president of the college (now Washington & Lee University) for more than a decade. [...]by the next night the students of Washington College hung a new, even larger secession banner-and they, along with the faculty would not allow this flag to be removed. At a chapel session, he read his resignation letter before the students and faculty, vowing, "I'll never teach under a rebel flag!" One student in attendance at chapel that morning was Alexander Sterrett Paxton (1840-1914), a member of the class of 1861. Eventually, the Washington College boys became Company I of the 4th Virginia Infantry, part of the famous Stonewall Brigade. Dream reports provide us with a raw and unfiltered glimpse into the experiences of Civil War soldiers. In many instances, dreams proved an escape from the harsh realities of soldiering. At other times, dreams expressed soldiers' deepest and most intimate feelings, vulnerabilities, desires, fears, aspirations, anxieties and hopes. The most prominent themes to emerge in his dreams are violence, education, seeing old friends (especially women), and his work as a commissary sergeant. The following excerpts give a sense of one Confederate soldier's exciting wartime dream life. References: Alexander Sterrett Paxton Papers, Washington & Lee University Special Collections, James G. Leyburn Library; Alexander S. Paxton,...