Is the book historically accurate?
Yes, it is true that Margaret Mitchell endeavored to make “Gone With The Wind” as historically accurate as possible. To do so, she enlisted the assistance of the librarians at the Carnegie Library in Atlanta (now the Atlanta-Fulton County Library). A 3-page article in the February 1940 issue of the Wilson Library Bulletin details what efforts the librarians made at MM’s request to check historical facts. Among the topics investigated: all mentions of guns, perfumes, dances, Civil War attire, music, songs, etc. MM also went to great lengths, searching through the census records, to be sure that no GWTW character carried the name of real person living during the time period covered by GWTW in the locales mentioned. Nonetheless, there are apparently some factual errors, especially about the Civil War. An article “I Didn’t Want To Get Caught Out…,” Or Gone With The Wind as History” by Albert Castel appeared in the June-July 1986 issue of the Blue & Gray Magazine. In the article, Prof. Ca
