Cornelia Peake McDonald (June 14, 1822 – January 11, 1909)[2] was an American diarist who was the author of A Diary with Reminiscences of the War and Refugee Life in the Shenandoah Valley, 1860-1865 in which she recaps her life as a woman living in Winchester, Virginia.
Her writing is significant as it recaps the views of the American Civil War from the point of a view of a woman living in one of the most frequently re-occupied towns of the conflict.
"[clarification needed] Peake was born in 1822 in Alexandria, Virginia.
She was the youngest of six children of Dr. Humphrey Peake and Annie Linton Lane.
[3] During the Civil War, her husband was away from Winchester serving as the colonel of the 7th Virginia Cavalry, leaving Cornelia to stay home with the children.