Antebellum Album 1840-1860 We tend to picture all 19th-century Americans facing off across the Mason-Dixon line in a deeply divided North and South. But before the Civil War the border line was not so sharply defined. Yankees and Southrons shared many connections. Families moved from one culture to another, vacationed to escape the heat or the cold, sent children to far-away boarding schools and sought economic opportunities in different markets as teachers, merchants or entrepreneurs. Inevitably immigrants married new neighbors, producing offspring who could boast of cousins from Maine to Saint Augustine. Album quilts were tangible links between Northerners and Southerners who maintained bonds in patchwork blocks inked with names and sentimental inscriptions. Mary Ellen Barnes, New York, 1845 The 2018 Block of the Month here at Civil War Quilts will look at North/South connections primarily through shared schooling. Each month we'll piece an album block popular with quilters in the antebellum (before the War) years as we read stories of schoolgirls who forged and broke links. Wincy Wadsworth, Cheraw S.C., 1851 Inscriptions from the same quilt in the collection of the North Carolina Museum of History. We'll follow that generation of women through the Civil War that changed their lives for better or worse. I'll post patterns on the last Wednesday of each month in 2018. You don't have to sign up, the patterns are free here. If you prefer you can buy a PDF download of four patterns three times during 2018 from my Etsy store. I'll mail you the paper patterns or you can print them yourself. I'll keep you posted as to how to do that during the year. I have signed up four model makers: Becky Brown promises her usual focus on reproduction prints; Denniele Bohannon is going to do a contemporary color take; Mark Lauer and Pat Styring will add new perspectives to remaking history. Mark's doing a red, green & yellow palette. You can start thinking about fabric and colors. Towards the end of 2017 I'll let you know more about what we model makers are planning.
“I loved my country too well to stand idly by, and see it insulted without lending my aid in its support. So, I shouldered my gun and went forth to meet the cowards who had run me away from my native…
Explore Andrei Goncharik's 60496 photos on Flickr!
Discussing Marie/Mary Tepe it transpires her husband had wished her to stay home and run his business instead of worrying herself with men and armies...
When it comes to shoes for one’s Civil War impression, today’s lady may be tempted to disregard the correct dress of the foot. Footwear from the 1860s, however, is unique in design and can elevate one’s historical look tremendously, adding that extra accuracy both seen by the public and experienced by the wearer. At American
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The bizarre Victorian Upstairs Downstairs romance between a wealthy barrister and his maid
I think these waists would have been worn with the spectacular jackets or at home alone. But I'd love to learn more. In any case these ar...
Explore Andrei Goncharik's 60496 photos on Flickr!
I think these waists would have been worn with the spectacular jackets or at home alone. But I'd love to learn more. In any case these ar...
DARKER ARTS " Death , so called , is a thing which makes men weep, And yet a third of life is passed in sleep " Lord Byron
By Michelle Shocklee When we think of the Civil War, many images come to mind. Men in blue and gray uniforms. Canons firing. Smoke filling battlefields. Perhaps those images are from a movie you've seen or from your own imagination as you read historical novels and history books. Names like Grant, Lee, and Sherman are as well known as the battles that took place at Gettysburg and Bull Run. There was, however, another group of soldiers that, quite honestly, don't always come to mind when I think of the Civil War. They are the black soldiers that fought in many bloody battles. It is estimated that by the end of the war, nearly 200,000 black men served in the Union Army and Navy. Nearly 40,000 black men died over the course of the war, many from disease. Black soldiers served in artillery and infantry and performed all noncombat support functions. They were carpenters, chaplains, cooks, guards, laborers, nurses, scouts, spies, steamboat pilots, surgeons, and teamsters. Nearly 80 black men were commissioned officers, and although black women could not formally join the Army, many served as nurses, spies, and scouts, the most famous being Harriet Tubman who scouted for the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers. Although there are reports of black men aiding the Confederacy, they were not officially allowed to take up arms in the Confederate Army. Joining the army, however, wasn't an easy task for black men wanting to serve. At first, they were banned from bearing arms for the U.S. Army, due to a law dating back to 1792. It is said that President Lincoln wrestled with the decision, fearing more states would secede from the Union if he allowed black men to serve in the Army. By mid-1862, however, the escalating number of former slaves (contrabands), the declining number of white volunteers, and the increasingly pressing personnel needs of the Union Army pushed the Government into reconsidering the ban. After the Union Army turned back Lee's first invasion of the North at Antietam, MD, and the Emancipation Proclamation was subsequently announced, black recruitment was pursued in earnest. As I dug into the research for my new release, The Widow of Rose Hill, I knew I wanted a black soldier to accompany Colonel Levi Maish to Texas. It was important to the story that a black man who had never been enslaved participate in the freeing of nearly 250,000 slaves who, despite the war coming to an end, did not know they were free. So I took a bit of artistic license and created the character of Corporal William Banks, aide to Colonel Maish. While there are no records that I found in my research about a black soldier serving in that capacity, I also didn't find enough evidence to declare it impossible. (The picture to the left is exactly how I envisioned Banks!) During the Battle of Nashville in December 1864, black soldiers fought alongside white Union troops, where they were credited with helping to ensure victory by repelling the Confederate charge on Overton Hill. Black infantrymen also fought gallantly at Milliken's Bend, LA; Port Hudson, LA; and Petersburg, VA. One of the most famous black regiments was the 54th Massachusetts Infantry that participated in the heroic, but ill-fated, assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina. Leading the direct assault under heavy fire, the 54th suffered enormous casualties before being forced to withdraw. The courage and sacrifice of the 54th helped to dispel doubt within the Union Army about the fighting ability of black soldiers and earned this regiment undying battlefield glory. The 1989 film "Glory" tells the story of the 54th. Although I'm a little late in celebrating Black History Month, I'd still like to take this time to remember the black men and women who served our country in more ways than we will probably ever know. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Michelle Shocklee is the award-winning author of The Planter's Daughter and The Widow of Rose Hill, the first two books in the historical romance series, The Women of Rose Hill. Her historical novella set in the New Mexico Territory is included in The Mail-Order Brides Collection. Michelle and her husband of 30+ years make their home in Tennessee. Connect with her at www.MichelleShocklee.com. THE WIDOW OF ROSE HILL Widowed during the war, Natalie Ellis finds herself solely responsible for Rose Hill plantation. When Union troops arrive with a proclamation freeing the slaves, all seems lost. How can she run the plantation without slaves? In order to save her son’s inheritance she strikes a deal with the arrogant, albeit handsome, Colonel Maish. In exchange for use of her family’s property, the army will provide workers to bring in her cotton crop. But as her admiration for the colonel grows, a shocking secret is uncovered. Can she trust him with her heart and her young, fatherless son? https://www.amazon.com/Widow-Rose-Hill-Women-Book-ebook/dp/B078CN65FH/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
WASHINGTON — Moments “frozen in amber” is what Robin Stanford calls these images from the Civil War.
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Battle of Gettysburg, major engagement in the American Civil War that was fought southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was a crushing Southern defeat. The three-day conflict involved more than 71,000 Confederate troops commanded by General Robert E. Lee and nearly 94,000 Union troops under General George Meade.
Explore Andrei Goncharik's 60198 photos on Flickr!
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CIVIL WAR QUILTS. The site is under construction. Check back on January 1st to see the first of the quilt blocks and stories.
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