A Journey Through the South in 1853
edited by Emilia Gay Griffin Means
Henry Watkins Allen, second Confederate governor of Louisiana, was thirty-two years old when in 1853 he began his joumey through the South as "Guy Mannering." Although he was a recent widower, he was a carefree individual with a penchant for poker, humor, and pretty faces. His 1853 journey provided Allen with ample opportunity to pursue each avocation. A prominent member of the Baton Rouge Porcupine Benevolent Association for the Benefit of Orphans and Widows, a fraternal poker club, Allen broke the monotony of his journey with numerous games of chance. These card games are reported in Allen's inimical lighthearted style. Indeed, Allen's sense of humor seems to have sustained him in several perilous interludes during the journey.