 Mittie was terrified for her brothers, Irvine and James, who were both involved in the Civil War on the Confederate side.James was a Confederate agent while Irvine was the youngest officer on the CSS "Alabama", supposedly firing the last gun before the ship sank in battle off the coast of France.These emotional crises were mitigated somewhat by the incredible maturity and management abilities of Thee and Mittie's elder daughter, Bamie, who often stepped into a leadership role, especially when Thee was often out of town in Washington, visiting Lincoln and lobbying Congress for programs to support the northern troops in the field and their families back home.