 Ellen Shields's memoir reveals a Confederate woman's reactions to Union occupation of the city.Shields was a member of the local elite and her memoir points to the upheaval of Confederate society during the war.According to historian Joyce Broussard, Shields's memoir indicates that Confederate men, absent because of the war, were seen to have failed in their homes and in the wider community, forcing the women to use their class-based femininity and their sexuality to deal with the Union Army.