Booth's Escape Route

[Natty]

Women who went on stage were usually associated with the "nether regions" of the social scale, unfortunately - usually seen as little better than prostitutes. One reason supposedly, that Edwin Booth did NOT want his wife Mary Devlin to continue on stage after he married her.

Dances varied during the war period, with waltzes and polkas popular. Line dances such as schottishes were popular as was the Virginia Reel, based on the Roger de'Coverly dance from early Britain.

What you see in Gone with the Wind is pure "Moonlight and Magnolia" fictional myth for the most part....

Was it common for men to marry ex-dancers or was this more of an exception?
As for the grand balls, I figured that they might be nothing more than a myth. Were these dances you listed popular in the South? And what was the scoop on those Baptists? Would Lewis Powell have learned a single dance step in his life?