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Carolina Story: Virtual Museum of University History

Eleanor Swain Atkins (ca. 1843-1881)

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Events in President Swain's family further undermined his reputation in North Carolina. The president introduced Atkins to his daughter Eleanor, and the general was instantly smitten with the twenty-one-year-old beauty. He ordered the regimental band to serenade her every evening and presented Swain with two fine horses, intending one for Eleanor. The couple was married on August 23, 1865, but many North Carolinians never forgave Swain for so quickly consorting with the enemy.