Mauriel Phillips Joslyn was born in Manchester, Georgia, and is currently living in Sparta,
restoring an 1822 house with her family. Joslyn received her BA in history
from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and an MA in history
from Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia. One of the
reasons Joslyn chose to attend school in Virginia was because it was six miles
from the Virginia Military Institute, placing her near many former battlefields,
where she could continue to explore her fascination concerning the Civil War.
Her husband, who shares her interests, is a graduate of the Virginia Military
Institute.
Early in her
marriage, Joslyn worked at various sales jobs while teaching horse-riding
lessons on the side. She also worked for the library at Virginia Tech in
Blacksburg, Virginia. Her husband's job required the family to move to Summit
Point, West Virginia, where they lived in a historic house associated with the
Confederacy. During that period, Mauriel worked for the post office in
Meadowview, Virginia, and the entire family participated in Civil War
reenactments.
Josyln has published several books and articles concerning the Civil War. Her articles have
appeared in Gettysburg Magazine, United Daughters of the Confederacy
Magazine, Georgia Journal, Military Heritage, Irish Sword,
and many others. She is a member of the Society of Civil War Historians, the
Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites, the Blue and Gray Education
Association, the Georgia Historical Society, and other groups. Her book
Confederate Women is a collection of various women's wartime
experiences.
In addition, Joslyn participates in lectures and living-history events on military subjects.
Her presentations have taken her to schools, civic groups, and SCY groups, where
she often dresses in Confederate costume and brings artifacts to discuss.
As president of the Patrick Cleburne Society, Joslyn is raising money for a statue of General
Cleburne to be erected in Ringgold, Georgia. She is currently the vice-chairman
of the Georgia Civil War Commission and is writing two nonfiction screenplays
about historical personages, one dealing with the Civil War and the other
relating to the flying aces of World War I.