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Lucy Petway Holcombe Pickens
(June 11, 1832 - August
8, 1899)
Ms. Lucy Holcombe was the daughter of Beverly LaFayette and Eugenia Dorothea Hunt Holcombe. She was born on the family
plantation near LaGrange, TN. She attend school at La Grange Female Academy and then in 1846 enrolled in a finishing school
in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania with her older sister Anna Eliza. There she learned the etiquette and charm needed for young ladies,
which would serve her well for the remainder of her life. She attended the school until 1848. The Holcombe family moved to
Marshall, Texas and lived in the Capitol Hotel while waiting for the construction of their plantation
known as the Wyalucing. In 1857 she met Colonel Francis Wilkinson Pickens who was quite smitten with her beauty and charm.
His advances fell on deaf ears until his appointment as U. S. Ambassador to Russia. She finally accepted his proposal and
they were married at Wyalucing on April 26, 1858.
Mrs. Pickens soon became the Tsar's favorite of the Tsar Alexander and his wife, the Tsaritsa, Marie Alexandrovna. They
gave her priceless jewelry and even became the godparents of her daughter, Francis Eugenia Olga Neva. The tsar gave her the
nickname of Douschka, which means darling.
In August of 1860, the family moved back to South Carolina where Francis was elected governor three days prior to succession.
Ms. Lucy was the driving force behind her husband's election. In April 1861, she witnessed the shelling of Fort Sumter from a rooftop in Charleston. In November of 1861, a unit of the Confederate Army was formed and was named the Holcombe
Legion in honor of her devotion to the cause of succession. She designed and sewed its flag. Reportedly she financed the equipment
needed by the Holcombe Legion by selling of some of the jewels given to her by the tsar.
She has the distinct honor of being the only woman depicted on the Confederate States currency. You will find her image
on one dollar, one hundred dollar bill and she is pictured on the one thousand dollar certificates.
To learn more of Mrs. Lucy Pickens, read Queen of the Confederacy; The Innocent Deceits of Lucy Holcombe Pickens by
Elizabeth Wittenmyer Lewis
Ms. Ciara Lee has been fascinated with her heritage and history ever since childhood. Her favorite vacation locations
were those of historical significance. Being a descendent of the Jackson and Lee lineage, her love for her ancestors
is evident. Being is a native of Darlington, South Carolina, she readily embraced her heritage and love for the South.
Her passionate portrayal of an American icon brings to life the very image of Mrs. Lucy Pickens (wife of South Carolina's
wartime Governor Francis Pickens) who was considered to be the belle of the South. She is currently portraying Lucy
Pickens in a forthcoming documentary being filmed on site in Aiken and Edgewood, South Carolina.
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