N. C. Women of the Confederacy Anderson C&e Mbtaty o£ the Ontoersitp of il3ort|) Carolina Collection ot iRortf) Caroliniana ^10 book toag ptegtntto .5" UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 00032770270 This book must not be taken from the Library building. LUNC-10M Ag 41 •Bfartlj Carolina Wttmtn of tlye Cottfeiteranj 'Lest We Forget' Sfartij Carolina Wttuivn of tl?0 ©onfeiteraty Written and Published by MRS. JOHN HUSKE (LUCY LONDON) ANDERSON fayetteville, n. c. Hiistorian, North Carolina Division United Daughters of the Confederacy 1926 THE FIRST CONFEDERATE MONUMENT IN NORTH CAROLINA Erected by the WOMEN of Fayetteville, December 30, 1868 In Cross Creek Cemetery INSCRIPTION: ~Nfiv shall your glory be forgot while fame her records \eep, Or Honor points the hallowed spot where valor proudly sleeps. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/northcarolinawomOOande In iCoumg Steitmtibranre This Volume is Dedicated TO NORTH CAROLINA'S WOMEN OF THE CONFEDERACY "Whose loving ministrations nursed the wounded to health, And soothed the last hours of the dying; Whose unselfish labors Supplied the wants of their defenders in the field, Whose unwavering faith in our Cause Showed ever a guiding star, Through the perils and disasters of war; Echoes sublime fortitude Sustained them under every privation and all suffering, Whose floral offerings Were yearly laid upon the graves of those Whom they loved and honored; and Whose patriotism Has taught their children To emulate the deeds of their Confederate sires." (From the "Women of the South" Supplement.) CONTENTS ****»»»*»*»* First Confederate Monument in North Carolina. Dedicative Page 3 Foreword Page 7 Women of the Confederacy Page 9 The Mothers of Many Inventions Page 12 Women Take Men's Places Page 14 Secret Service Work Page 16 Women Prepare for War Page 21 Blockade Running Into Wilmington Page 37 Women in Nursing and Hospital Work Page 40 • Picture of a Yankee Foraging Party. Courage Displayed Page 49 Canteen Work Page 59 Other Incidents of Women's Work Page 59 Heroic Women of Western North Carolina Page 71 Wit and Repartee Page 77 Literary Women of the Sixties Page 87 Christmas During the Confederacy Page 81 Women Urge Church Bells for Confederate Cannon Page 91 Other Characters of North Carolina Page 94 Founder of North Carolina Division of the U. D. C Page 97 Young Women Take Men's Places Page 102 Recollections of Young Girls Page 103 First Confederate Flags Made by North Carolina Women Page 107 First Monuments and Memorial Associations Page 116 North Carolina Mothers of Many Sons Page 123 Welcome Home, Heroes in Gray Page 133 North Carolina Verses of the Sixties Page 136 FOREWORD In presenting this little volume to the people of toy State, I do so with the hope that this may be the beginning of a REAL HISTORY of the part the women of North Carolina took in the Confederacy. It is with great happiness that I am realizing a "dream come true," in the pub- lication of these few sketches I have collected, which illustrate the his- tory of North Carolina women of the Confederacy. The many delight' ful friendships that I have made in trying to "discover 1 ' our women of the Sixties invanous communities, have more than repaid me for the hundreds of letters written. Many more names and incidents could have found a place here if all the sections of the State had responded to my "call" for facts about the women of the Confederacy. These stories that have been recorded are well authenticated, but the collection of these was like digging in the "undug 11 earth for hidden gold, hard to find, but very precious when discovered. My grateful appreciation is given to those who have allowed me to share their "memories," and to turn back the pages of history with them. To be a Daughter of the Confederacy is the greatest honor we can pay our Confederate ancestry, and it is the sacred duty of each member of this beloved organisation to fulfill the first object of the Constitution of the North Carolina Division, which is "To honor the memory of those who served and those who fell in the service of the Confederate States, * * * also to recall the part taken by Southern women in patient endurance of hardship and patriotic devotion during the struggle, as in untiring efforts after the war during the recon' struction of the South." What prouder heritage can we give our children than these records? Every land cherishes its memories, and history is nothing but memories - so when every Daughter of the Confederacy awakens to the importance of preserving these records we will have a history of our State that will fill VOLUMES. We may prove worthy descendants of these noble women of the Sixties, and in remembrance of them let us strive for their steadfastness and courage. "Their brave deeds shall brightly shine upon the books of FAME, and Time's immortal scroll will keep the record of their names. Lucy Worth London Anderson. fayetteville, N. C. August 23 rd, 192t>. NORTH CAROLINA WOMEN OF THE CONFEDERACY "The loving mothers, sisters, sweethearts, wives, Who, when the war drum's fatal summons came, Gave up the dearest treasures of their lives And bore the Martyr's cross in Freedoms name." The spirit displayed by those women of the Confederacy was worthy of the wives and mothers of the grandest heroes who ever fought on the field of battle. The women of North Carolina in the Confederacy possessed the same •X'rageous and self -reliant spirit, that was inherited from this States' Co- lenial and Revolutionary women, who acted with their men in shaping ome of the most inmportant events in the establishing of the United States of America. We point with pride to the fact that North Carolina women were the first to resist the unjust tax of England, in the Edenton "Tea Party;" that our State made the first open resistance against the Stamp Act; that the first battle of the Revolution was in Alamance County; that the first Declaration of Independence was signed (May 20, 1775) by the patriots ~,f Mecklenburg county, that at Halifax was assembled the first Provin- •ial Congress which instructed delegates to stand for Independence, and *■ the battle of Moore's Creek was fought the first real victory for the colonies. In the war between the States North Carolina has a proud heritage which should be handed down to the remotest generation — for did we not give more men to the cause and lost more than any other Southern State? The women of our State point with pride to the fact that North Carolina was: "First at Bethel, fartherest at Gettysburg and Chicamauga: nd last at Appomattox" So much the greater pride we should feel for these women of our State ot the Sixties, who are much closer in blood to our women of today than it) 'Horih Carolina Women those of one'hundred and fifty years ago, and we should pass on the in' dividual story of the self 'sacrifice and courage of North Carolina's wo- man of the Confederacy. "Let us preserve her memory and \eep fresh, Li\e flowers in dew, her noble deeds." Though it was with sorrowing hearts they saw NoYth Carolina leave the Union, yet when her State's rights were violated and their beloved State threatened by hostile foe, they showed the resolute spirit of their pioneer "mothers 1 ' when they took their stand beside their Confederate soldiers in the fight for State Sovereignty. That the women of our State today may better appreciate and value the character and achievements of the Women of the Confederacy, it is my privilege to give glimpses of these women, and I have tried to record a bit of their history, from 1861 to 1865, a great part of which is un' written. To attempt to portray as well as our imperfect records permit, the spirit, character, and deeds of the North Carolina Women of the Con' federacy, is a difficult task, for so little has been preserved as to the part individual women of the State played in the war. Their noblest eulogy is a simple portrayal of their character and work. The noble heroism of these women showed itself in uncomplain- ing suffering, in loving ministration and in the efficient discharge of ar- duous duties. Many eulogies have been given to the Women of the Confederacy but these pages are simply to ressurect a few names and incidents which could be duplicated in every section of the State. North Carolina Wo' men of the Sixties! Who shall call one a heroine more than the other, for all worked in the same way to the same end! "The humblest soul who does her bit, in God's own book of Life is writ." The way our women of the Sixties rose to meet the emergency of war should place her name high in the State's Hall of Fame. Every community had her heroine, and its special story of splendid daring, endurance, and achievement should be put on record. The story of the ingenious devices and clever makeshifts to supply needful things during the years of blockade and non-production; the ills and atrocities of Reconstruction; the records of Soldier's Aid Societies, Wayside Hospitals, and Memorial Associations; sketches of every day life in the Confederacy of the Confederacy i 1 ■ — its lights and shadows, fun, work, jokes, songs, costumes, and fare — all these are of great value in preserving for a history of these women in each section of North Carolina. 12 Horth Carolina 'Women THE MOTHERS OF MANY INVENTIONS "Our mothers wove of cornshuc\ brai Their hats and bas\ets too, Of homespun all their dresses made, Those testing days of '62. " The. women were in truth "The mothers of many inventions" and in every locality of this State and of the South there was shown the same resourcefulness in manufacturing household articles. Hats were fabri' cated from palmetto leaves, corn shucks, oat straw and broad leaved grasses, buttons made from gourds, clothes fastened with buttons of persimmon seeds, slippers made from rabbit and squirrel fur and old tent canvas. Much of the underwear, blankets, towels, jeans for clothing for the soldiers were made at home by spinning or weaving. Everything was utilized. Cartridge belts and boxes were made from layers of cloth sewed together and covered with varnish. The fur of rabbits was mixed with a small amount of cotton and carded and spun into thread and made into stockings and gloves. Roots, bark, leaves and twigs of trees were used for dye with a small amount of copperas or bluestone which was carefully preserved. A kind of clay was used for dye. Shoes were made of cowhides in the natural state and were blacked with soot taken from the bottom of iron pots used in cooking over the fire. Cloth uppers were made by the women themselves when the soles of worn-out shoes were in good condition or had enough foundation to resole. The best and warmest of the cloth was made into clothes for the men and a clean suit was always on hand in case any of them should come home. The necessity developed all their latent ingenuities as they had to find substitutes for food such as sugar, coffee, soda and tea. Sorghum was used for sugar; rye, wheat and okra for coffee; ashes of corn cobs for of the Confederacy 13 soda; and any suitable dried leaf for tea, such as sassafras and blackberry. Such household necessities as candles were made by placing drippings in a pan with a woolen rag for the wick. Pine knots were also used. Soap was made by boiling scraps of meat, meat-skins and bones in lye, obtained by placing wood ashes in a keg or barrel, or any wooden vessel, and dripping water through. Tea and coffee were sweetened with sorghum molasses. Christmas fruit cake was made for the soldiers out of dried cherries, dried whortle berries, candied watermelon rind and molasses. When beeves disappeared and there was no tallow for candles, syca- more balls were soaked in fat and burned in pans for lights, or strings twisted hard were put in bottles filled with grease or beeswax. Ink, colored with indigo or berry juice was made from oak and cedar balls. Old scraps of wall paper, summed with flour plaste, served to carry tender messages to soldiers far away. Our women of the sixties were pharmacists as well as chemists. They compounded from herbs many simple remedies for their children and servants, when there was no med' icine to be had. Nitre for gunpowder was often dug by the women from old smoke houses, and tobacco barns. Wool from old mattresses was often recarded and spun into yarns for socks to keep the soldiers from having cold feet. Carpets, heavy cur' tains and draperies were unraveled and woven into blankets for the army. In answer to a call for silk for war balloons, discarded silken dresses were pulled apart and the silk furnished. Garments discarded years before were made over for indefinite service. The homespun cloth which was woven at home was a uniform for men, women and children. To re- lieve its ugliness the women concocted dyes of various kinds from poke berries and elder berries and some of these dresses were far more prized than formerly had been the brocades and satins. These Confederate girls wore them proudly, singing the patriotic song of the South: "My homespun dress is plain I \now, My hat's palmetto too; ? But then they show what Southern girls For Southern rights will do." 14 Kiorth Carolina Women WOMEN TAKE MEN'S PLACES "Hear ye not the sound of battle, Sabres clash and mus\ets rattle? Fight away, fight away, fight away in Dixie Land." At the advent of war our women had to take up the burdens dropped by the absent fathers and brothers and with real ability they assumed control of plantations, stock and slaves, financed the homes and indus' tries of the State. Many women of wealth joined the poorer women in tilling the fields and reaping the harvests, as many of the slaves joined the Federals. The fact that these women, in a great part, kept the State fed, attests their ability, and during the last months of the war, almost the entire army of General Lee was fed by North Carolina. The bur' dens imposed on these capable women increased each day, and additional responsibilities were assumed. A few months before Lee's surrender, news reached central North Carolina that his army was without food. At once, in houses both hum- ble and stately, the women made a division even to the last peck of meal and with no thought of themselves the contribution to the army was shipped. When a tax was levied by the State for whatever re- mained in the storehouse or crib, the women met the tax with little evasion. Nothing was a sacrifice for these women, when relieving the wants of their soldiers. When the first N. C. Hospital was equipped and opened at Petersburg in October, 1861, under Doctor Peter Hines, of Raleigh, from among the women of this State, who offered their services as nurses, three very efficient ones were chosen. They were Mrs. Kennedy of Wilmington, Mrs. Beasley of Plymouth, and Miss MX. Pettigrew of Raleigh. In almost every neighborhood they organised sewing societies, knit- ting associations, hospital aid societies and nursing clubs. In many places churches were turned into hospitals and were depots for bolts of cloth, linen and flannel. Sewing machines ran day and night. At railroad of the Confederacy 15 junctions, such as Raleigh, Goldsboro, Greensboro, Charlotte, Salisbury, Weldon, Fayetteville, wayside hospitals equipped with surgeons, medi- cal supplies and rude operating tables were established., with the women volunteering as nurses. Countless women went from house to house distributing cloth to be sewed and yarns to be woven and then collected and shipped as offerings to their soldiers. After an ardous day women often worked far into the night, adding comfort to their soldier boys who were fighting for the land they loved. The women and girls made the haversacks and knapsacks of leathe 1 bound with braid, aiso the heavy coats, worn by the men, fully equipping companies of soldiers. The girls knitted hundreds of pairs of socks, made knapsacks, knit mufflers, gloves, wristlets, havelocks, (helmets) and were busy every moment. Then there were the "good things" put up in boxes and sent to camp, pies, etc., each article meaning real self' denial by those at home. We had a "Molly Pitcher" right here in our own state, (Mrs. L. M. Blalock), disguised as a Confederate soldier, she with her husband, on May 20, 1 62, joined the 26th North Carolina regiment as recruits, from Caldwell county, and was' supposed to be a young brother of her husband. She served nearly a year and took regular soldier fare, being in three big battles. Not one of the company suspected she was a woman till her husband being discharged on account of sickness, she disclosed her identi' ty and resigned. 16 Worth Carolina 'Women SECRET SERVICE WORK "God shares the gift of head and heart, And crowns blest woman with a hero's part." One of the most outstanding heroines that North Carolina can claim in the War between the States was Miss Emmeline Pigott of Carteret County. This young woman's name deserves a high place among our State's bravest women, for her cool courage was often shown in the midst of great danger. At the beginning of the war, Miss Pigott, then a young girl, had given her whole heart to the cause of the South, nursing the sick and wounded soldiers who were brought in from the attacks on our coasts. Her soldier sweetheart fell in the battle of Gettysburg and after that Emmeline Pigott felt that she must do even more for the Con- federacy. She offered herself for secret service work in the Confeder- ate Government, and bore important dispatches in large pockets adjusted under her full skirts. Many dangerous journeys were made by her be- tween New Bern (which was occupied by the Yankees) and the sea' ports, and she narrowly escaped capture very often, going through great danger to fulfill her mission. Finally this daring young girl was seized, and while being searched, she chewed up and swallowed the important message which she had con' cealed on her. If this had been discovered she would have been shot as a spy. She was imprisoned at New Bern and while there an attempt was made on her life by the administering of chloroform through her prison window. Friends worked hard to free her, but without success, but at length she sent for some influential men in New Bern whom she knew were traitors, telling them if she were brought to trial she would disclose things that would cause them to suffer. So their influence was brought to bear with the Federal authorities and she was released without a trial. The name of Emmeline Pigott is held in the highest veneration, and the Morehead City Chapter of the U. D C. is named in her honor. To of the Confederacy 17 the end of her eighty years no cause was so dear to her as the Con' federacy. Heroines of New Bern "Where the dar\ening storm of danger gathers round, There woman, with undaunted faith and courage brave, is found." When New Bern was captured by the Yankees, the women who had not escaped, suffered greatly. The story of New Bern's capture, and the suffering of its women, is told by Mrs. F. C. Roberts, a daughter of Mr. J. C. Cole, one of the most loyal of Confederates. Mrs. Roberts says, "Those who remained in New Bern could hear nothing from their loved ones, outside the town, (as the Federals were occupying New Bern) except through the underground mail." With all their vigilance the Federal troops could not discover who delivered this mail, and who received it. Governor Stanley, an old personal and political friend of her father (Mr. J. L. Cole) obtained permission for Mrs. Alexander Taylor to go freely about the town and to visit the prisioners and relieve the wants of the poor sufferers con' fined in the prisons. She had many false pockets and somehow into them the daily mail crept. On one occasion a Federal officer joined her in the street; he said, "Mrs. Taylor, it is very strange, but we cannot find out how or where this Rebel mail comes in or who receives it." Her heart was in her throat; she thought her last hour had come, and she would be shot as a spy, but she determined to die game, so she said, "Why I receive it and at this moment my pockets are full of letters; would you like to see them?" It passed as a joke, but it was rather risky, and had they been found on her, her life would have paid the forfeit. Mrs. Taylor visited the prison daily and ministered to the unfortun' ates there — often going hungry that she might have some delicacy to take them. She was called "The Prison Mother," and many a poor captive called her blessed. Among these was a lady from Beaufort, who barely escaped being shot as a spy. (This was Miss Emmeline Pigott, whose thrilling story, has been recorded). 18 N.orth Carolina Women Mrs. M. C. Cole and Mrs. Taylor, accustomed all their lives to ease and luxury, tended their own gardens, rolled the wheelbarrow, dug with Bpade and hoe, raised vegetables for their own tables and to sell. And while doing this the Federal soldiers sat on the fences and ridiculed them, calling them "gal" and "aunty" and "mama." Mrs. Elizabeth Carraway Howland also rendered valuable aid when New Bern was captured, in sending out specifications of the forts the Yankees were making and other information to our troops. She would secret the paper in a small roll inside the bone of a ham which her small daughter and son carried down the river to the Confederates. The little girl would present a bouquet of flowers to the Captain of the Federal gunboat and she would be allowed to pass without being searched. This splendid woman, who had studied medicine with her father, doctored the Confederate prisoners ill with yellow fever in New Bern, and not one of her patients died, though the Yankee doctors lost hun' dreds. She was a prison angel, secretely clothing and feeding these des- titute sufferers. These New Bern women not only suffered persecution by the Yan- kees, but went through a terrific scourge of yellow fever, caused by quantities of meat being allowed to decay on the scorching wharves. They nursed the ill and then assited in burying the dead. Mrs. Julius Lewis (before her marriage, Abigail Hart) kept Northern officers in her home to get from them news for the Confederacy. If she had been found out she would have been shot as a spy. Mrs. A. M. Meekins ran the blocade into New Bern to ascertain for General Lee the exact strength of the Federal forces there before the Confederate's attack on Fort Fisher. isguised as a country woman with a bale of cotton to sell, with her ready wit she secured the desired information and passed safely back through the Union lines. Among the splendid women of New Berne Miss Mary Attmore is an outstanding figure. Not only for her memorial work after the war, but for her indomitable courage and forceful character during the capture of New Berne. When this town had been taken by the Yankees Miss Attmore, as one of the most prominent of its women, was kept as one of the hostages to insure the safety of the Federals within, as they were in constant fear that New Berne would be fired on by troops without. In of the Confederacy 19 spite of the protests of her relations Miss Attmore refused to leave her home, but lived alone without fear. Twice she was almost choked to death by "bummers" who were intent to plunder, but miraculously es' Caped. In the grey of an early morning she awoke to find several Yan' kees digging up the graves in the family burial ground on her estate. Without hesitation or calling for help, this independent woman with great dignity of learning, appeared amongst the marauders, commanding them to put down their shovels at once, exclaiming "Is it possible that you could be be guilty of such a dastardly trick as to dig open the graves of our ancestors !" The men, to the amazement of neighbors who wit' nessed the scene, not only removed their caps, but began replacing the earth on the graves and departed, leaving this free spoken and courageous woman in possession of her dead. By her ready wit, free speech and fearlessness she compelled the ad' miration of her captors and was allowed greater liberty than the other residents of New Berne. Though a cultured and refined Southern woman, Miss Mary Attmore possessed characteristics of a general in her command of the most terrible situations, showing the spirit of her revolutionary ancestor, Thomas Att' more. The President of the North Carolina Division United Daughters of the Confederacy, Mrs. J. Dolph Long, Hannah Attmore by birth, is the great niece of this intrepid woman of the sixties. "God shares the gift of head and heart, And crowns blest woman with a hero's part. There is an unknown heroine of New Berne whose intrepid daring is worthy of record, though her name was not disclosed by Col. Stephen D. Pool, the narrator of this incident in Clark's N. C. Histories. Col. Pool says that in November '62, he was ordered to Trenton, N. C, to capture a Federal train. In the early morning hours an elderly country man dashed up on a fastly ridden horse and delivered to him a paper, which on being opened, appeared to be blank. The rider said that a young girl had ridden alone to his door in the darkness of night and dc 20 Tsjorth Carolina Women livered this note and told him to take it at full speed to any Confederate officer at Trenton, as it contained important information. Col. Pool applied to the seemingly blank sheet of paper, a hot iron, the heat bringing out the writing (probably written with milk.). It said that. the Federal General had returned to New Berne two days sooner than anticipated and was to leave that very morning with a force ac- curately detailed on the paper, on an expedition to burn the railroad bridge at Weldon. The object of Col. Poors plans being thus frustrated, he returned at once to Kinston and gave the officer in command the information which he had secured through the daring of this loyal girl of the Confederacy, Such an array of troops was placed in front and upon the flanks of the Federal General as to cause him to rapidly retrace his steps. The lady requested that her name not be told, but it was found that she was one most tenderly reared and very young, and her night ride at great personal risk to convey this important information, was greatly ap- preciated by the Confederates. This is the only story of a woman of the Confederacy recorded in the State's Regimental Histories amongst the daring deeds of the men of North Carolina. The little five year old daughter of Mrs. Corbett, Mary Bailey Mur- phy, with unusual foresight for a child, hearing that Sherman's soldiers were coming, had begged her mother to let her hide her own silver spoons and forks (old family silver, which had been given her by her grand- mother.) So this plucky little girl of the sixties dug up her box which had been buried beside that of her mother's, and hid it herself, and this was the only hidden treasure that the hummers did not find. This silver is one of her treasured possessions today, this little girl being now Mrs. Beaman, the beloved Superintendent of the North Carolina Confederate Woman's Home. of the Confederacy 21 WOMEN PREPARE FOR WAR "And when our rights were threatened, the cry rose near and far." Every community had its soldiers aid and knitting societies and each mother, wife, sweetheart and sister looked after her own dear ones on the field, and constantly sent comfortable clothing and boxes of food to them from their own depleted larders. We cannot mention many of these societies, but facts concerning some have been secured. Recollections of Fayetteville Women After the United States Arsenal at Fayetteville was taken by the Cum' berland County Militia, April 22, 1861, the women of Fayetteville re' turned to their serious work of fininshing the equipment of their soldiers for the terrible work before them, that of WAR. A reminiscence writ' ten by Miss Sarah Ann Tillinghast just after the war ended, gives us a vivid picture of how the young girls did their part in the war'work. She says: "The school girls were wild; no use was it to mention books to them; it was their plain duty to sew for the soldiers, and sew they did, though I must say that some of their work might have been criticized by particular persons. There were dress parade suits and fatigue suits to be made as well as underclothing suitable for camp life — tents, haversacks, canteens to be covered, in fact every part of the outfit except the knapsacks, was made by the volunteer labor of the women. They assembled in bees from house to house, where the most experienced ladies could oversee the dif- ficult parts of the work, such as the making of the coats which could be trusted to no novices. And when our first two companies left us, we felt that they were as well provided for as soldiers could expect to be and we girls were proud to feel that we had done our part as well as school girls could be expected to. 22 Worth Carolina Women What wonderful triumphs of genius were then achieved by the ladies in the "reconstruction" of old dresses, in "making claise auld claise look as maist as weels' the new." How garrets were ransacked for old dis- carded garments, that were brought out and surprised by having a fresh lease, on life given them in new characters. What nice bonnets were made of old black silk dress bodies, trimmed with goose , feathers, and lined with red or blue satin from the lining of old coat sleeves, hats con- structed of old discarded ones of feathers, trimmed with old coat's col' lars and cock's plumes cut off the rooster in the yard. Space fails me to tell of all the "shifts" that were made — not that we thought so much of our personal appearance as in happier times, but women will always try to "look decent" at least, and young girls will not often be found too sad to refuse to considerthe set of a dress or the becomingness of a hat. But through all the privations, real or relative, not one of us ever thought of the possibilities of giving up. To the bitter end we believed firmly in the justice and final success of the cause, and even after the devastation of Sherman's army we did not lose hope, but thought "some way" would be found out of the difficulty. The surrender of Lee came upon us like a thunderclap. We refused to believe it. "Lee surrendered!" "Lee would never surrender." Wo- men are so unreasonable, they can't see what they don't want to see really. We begged the soldiers not to give up. It could not be possible that the South was subdued. We wept and wrung our hands. "March on to death or victory!" was our cry. The war had ended as we had never believed possible; all the days of agonizing suspense our wives, mothers, sisters, and sweethearts had en- dured, while their loved ones were hourly exposed to deadly danger, the nights of sleepless anxiety, wishing yet dreading for the morning — all the privations, self-denials, losses, had been in vain. All the precious lives had been sacrificed, and defeat at last, overcome by overwhelming numbers. Desolation met our eyes all around. What was lurking among us. The earth seemed turned upside down, and chaos seemed to reign. But not long did North Carolina lie weeping in the dust. 'Twas not in her nature. She gathered herself up and went to work again. But though our generation may not realise it, I believe we can see the dawning of a new day, and our children will be better and nobler men of the Confederacy 23 and women for all we have gone through and we will be able to under- stand that the war was not in vain." Miss Alice Campbell, another young woman active in the war-work of Fayetteville, gives an account of the "Return of the Bethel Horses" of Cumberland County and the welcome they received from the citizens of this old Scotch settlement. "Our military companies, the honored old Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry, (with their motto emblazoned on their flag, "He that hath no stomach to this fight let him depart") and the LaFayette Light Infantry, with ranks full of true men, were coming home after their en- listment for the first six months of the war. We women, thinking this was the end of the war, had been making preparations for two weeks to welcome our boys home. Oh, the happy hearts and the tears of joy that were shed over our dear boys in Gray, who had returned in safety to their loved ones. This was of short duration, for every one of them went into the service again, and the terrible struggle began in earnest. "We women, spun, wove, and knit thousands of socks and gloves for our soldiers. (Note : Miss Campbell used the same knitting needles for the boys of the World War, that she used for the boys in Gray. She was the president of the Young Woman's Knitting Society in the sixties.) I had a calico dress for State occasions for which I paid ten dollars a yard and shoes that cost one hundred dollars a pair, we paid ten dollars a pound for sugar and tea, and later it could not be bought for any price. The women were busy from early morning till dewy eve. As the years passed so slowly and our forces were being diminished daily our faith was still firm that victory would at last be ours." Early in the war a number of ladies of Fayetteville formed the "Cum- berland County War Association." The minutes of this organization show a wonderful amount of work accomplished, as it included as- sistance to the needy families of the soldiers at the front. Many valuable contributions from adjoining counties were received and dispensed by the women of Cumberland. A large amount of socks was dispensed through the association con- tributed by the "Young Ladies Knitting Society" and the "Juvenile Knit- 24 T^orth Carolina 'Women ting Society." The children were not idle in doing their bit. The girls- from ten to thirteen years old knitted socks and, if they didn't finish at least one pair every two weeks, they were fined ten cents. Two little boys belonged to this society and each one knitted a pair of socks every two weeks. Letter From the Front This unique letter is an expression of appreciation from the "boys in gray:" "Camp near Petersburg, "February 16th, 1864. "The members of the third company Battalion, Washington Artillery of New Orleans, embrace this opportunity of tendering to the "Young Ladies Knitting Society" of Fayetteville, N. C, their thanks for the recent present of sixtyfive pair of socks. "Exiled from home as we are, and debarred by the exigencies of war from the attention and care of the loved ones at home such attentions are peculiarly gratifying and when the grim visage war shall hide his wrink- led front and halycon days of peace shall have returned to bless our dis- tracted country, we shall tell our mothers and sisters of their goodness and they will unite us in thanking them. "For all the soc\s the maids have made, Our than\s for all the brave, And honored be your pious trade. The soldiers sole to save." Women of Wilmington "And all we \now is that they gave A sweetness to the days now dead, For they were \ind and they were brave. Mrs. Armand J. DeRosset, of Wilmington, (born Eliza Lord) was one of our women of the sixties who was endowed with such administra- of the Confederacy 25 tive ability that it was often said of her "She should have been a general." Under her direction the Soldiers Aid Society was early organized, and for four years did its work with unabated energy. While her six sons were fighting, Mrs. DeRosset assisted her husband in his medical work, nursing the sick, being keenly active to the needy. With the valuable assistance of the women of Wilmington, (especially Mrs. Alfred Martin who was Vice-President) large supplies were made and kept on hand. Canvas bags were made to be filled with sand and used in the fortifica- tions at Fort Fisher. Canteens were covered, haversacks made, also cartridges for rifles, and powder bags for the great columbiads were made by the hundreds. Mrs. DeRosset had a large room in her own home fittted up a» a store room, seizing every chance to secure supplies through the blocade. Many a soldier blessed these women for comforts bestowed on them. Men still live who treasure the War Bibles given them, as among their most valuable possessions. Mrs. DeRosset "s ability to overcome difficulties in getting all she needed for the men was the constant wonder of those who assisted her. The following is an incident of her executive power. After the first attack of Fort Fisher the garrison, in great peril, was to be reinforced with Junior Reserves. The wires brought the news that in a few hours they would arrive, hungry and footsore. Mrs. DeRosset was asked if the ladies could feed them, the ready reply came, "Of course we can." And through the energy and resource of herself and assistants, she proved equal to the task. They nursed through the harrowing scenes of hospital life, and ten- derly buried the dead. When all was over this band of faithful women, in July, '66, organized a permanent memorial association with the pur- pose of rescuing from oblivion the names and graves of the gallant sol- diers who are buried in and near Wilmington. The sick soldiers in the hospital at Fort Fisher were supplied with nourishing food and nursed by women who corageously remained there. The wife of Major Stevenson and her sister, Mrs. Mary F. Sanders, were among those who helped to make these Confederates more comfortable, though in constant personal danger themselves. The Soldier's Aid So- ciety in Wilmington did a wonderful work for this hospital, supplying clothes, covering and quantities of provisions. 26 T^lorth Carolina Women When Wilmington was occupied by the Yankees the Rev. A. A. Watson was ordered to change the prayer of the Protestant Episcopal Church for the Confederate States and to pray for the President of the United States instead of the President of the Confederate States. This the rector refused to do. Whereupon Genral Schofeld seised the Church buildings, had all the pews and the pulpit torn out and removed, and the building converted into a hospital. Also the Methodist church on Front street was seised and turned over to a negro congregation. It was on Ash- Wednesday that the Yankees turned the congregation out of St. James Episcopal church. The following lines (the 79th Psalm) were written on that day in the Bible of Mrs. William Lord. "The heathen have entered our land they have spoiled our heritage, they have closed the doors of our sanctuary, shut the mouths of our prophets, de' spoiled us of our privileges, refused to obey the voice of God who haa said — 'Call the people together proclaim a solemn feast; our people weep, the ministers sigh.' And our cry is O Lord subdue our enemies, restore unto us our poor suffering stricken servants, the blessed means of grace and let not our sins cry for vengeance against us. Give us grace and faith to have submission to Thy holy will and so improve these sore af- flictions that they tend to Thy honor and glory and the good of our immortal souls. Amen. Eliza Hill Lord." Mrs. Robert H. Cowan, of Wilmington, suffered a most thrilling ex- perience while refugeeing near Laurinburg. Surrounded by Yankees, with two of her children at the point of death, she was subjected to every conceivable indignity. They pulled the rings from her fingers while holding her sick child and kicked the cradle of the other one with the brutal remark, "That one is dead already," while he rested his loaded gun against Mrs. Cowan's chair. The gang of marauders yelling and cursing slapped the face of the aged grandmother as he pulled the watch chain from her neck. Another ruffian threw his arm around a young daughter, saying he had just come out of the penitentiary, which they could well believe. With the sick babies, Mrs. Cowan, with her mother and young daughters (afterwards Mrs. Junius Davis, James I. Metts, and Louis DeRosset) escaped during the night to an old hut, where they lay hid while the negro regiments and greater part of Sherman's army of the Confederacy Tt passed. Just the terrible experiences of this one family would be suf' ficient to show what the women of the '60's endured. Capt. S. A. Ashe in his Monumental History of North Carolina, gives many pathetic incidents of the hopes and fears of the women of our State during this critical and heartrending period. His story of North Carolina as a scene of warfare in the Confederacy is of gripping interest and from it we have a vivid picture of those days when the women be- hind the lines showed their unflinching bravery. Capt. Ashe mentions the fact that Sherman in a letter to his wife, December 16, 1864, (taken from the Great March) by Sherman's Aide-de-camp Major Nichols, said: "We came right along, living on turkeys, chickens, pigs, bringing along our wagons loaded as they started with bread, etc. I suppose Jeff Davis will have to feed the people of Georgia now instead of collecting provisions of them to feed his armies. "The amount of burning, stealing and plundering of our army makes one feel ashamed of it." Major Nichols goes on to say in the Story of the Great March, "Al- most every inch of ground in the vicinity of the dwellings was poked by ramrods, pierced by sabres or upturned by spades. It was comical to see a group of red bearded veterans punching the unoffending earth. Nothing escaped the observation of the sharp witted soldiers." Capt. Ashe tells of a visit of General Sherman, while in Fayetteville in March '65, at the home of Colonel Frederick Childs, the commadant of the Arsenal. There resided the Colonel's sister Jennie, Mrs. Ander- son and his aged mother, from whose house at Fortress Monroe Sherman had been married. The venerable lady was somewhat afflicted with palsy. When the General entered he said: "Ah, this is no place for you. You must go to General Woodbury's (one of her daughters was the wife of the distinguished engineer General Woodbury of the United States Army). I am sorry to see you here. But as to that dam little Fred Childs — if I catch him I'll hang him as high as Haman." And, then, in a wild burst of passion, he exclaimed: "I come through now creating devastation. If that does not answer I will come through with fire and sword, and slay the people and leave desolation; and then if they do not submit, I will come through again, and leave nothing alive 28 Worth Carolina Women and sow the ground with salt." And the palsied widow of General Childs looked on aghast in horror at the spectacle. The Yankee troopers came upon the home of Mrs. Duncan Murchi- son in Cumberland County and in spite of protests, burst in the room of a young girl, who was in the last stages of typhoid fever, the child was taken from the bed in which she lay and died while the bed and the room were being seached for money and jewelry. Although over seventy years old Mr. Murchison, in spite of the pleadings of the women of his family, was dragged half clad to the near-by swamps, where he was com- pelled to stay until the raiders had left. Every act of Vandalism was committed on this plantation, but the Murchison women bore it all with heroic fortitude. Mrs. John McDaniel of Cumberland County not only had her home burned by these soldiers but her husband was carried out into the wods and hanged to a tree in order to make him give up secrets of his valu- ables. His death was prevented by some of his faithful servants and family, who rescued him from this terrible fate. The home of Mrs. Thomas McDaniel in this same community was also burned after the soldiers had taken it as their sleeping place for the night, this was certainly a very ungracious way of returning "hospitali- ty" (?)■ Both of these homes were ransacked and the furniture and all valuables demolished or stolen. The Yankees as they set fire to this residence were heard to exclaim exultingly: "Well we've burnt up an- other home of a d rich old rebel." A most unusual tribute is given to a plucky woman of the sixties of Wake County, being an inscription on her tombstone. She lies buried in a little churchyard at Fuquay Springs, near Raleigh. This is the inscription : of the Confederacy 29 "Here lies Mrs. Eliza Ann Jones, A devoted Christian Mother, Who whipped Shermans bummers While trying to ta\e her dinner Pot, which contained a hamhone being Coo\ed for her soldier'boy ." Women of Old Hillsboro "There's a pedestal high in the hall of my heart, For the Women of Dixie Land, Who nobly and proudly played their part, With a courage superbly grand." The women of Hillsboro were among the most active of our State. The late Col. Benehan Cameron loved to recall how as a little boy on his pony he would assist his mother, Mrs. Paul Cameron, an ardent South' erner and daughter of the distinguished Thomas Ruffin, in acting as messenger boy for the Ladies Aid Society. Though too young to enter the army (which he longed to do) this youngster did his part and always felt that he belonged to the Veterans Miss Rebecca Cameron (Honorary Historian of the North Carolina Division U. D. C.) gives this glimpse of the women's work in Hillsboro during the war: "Mrs. William A. Graham, (wife of ex-Governor Graham,) who gave five sons to the Confederacy, was president of the soldier's aid SO' ciety of Orange County. I think Mrs. Kate Roulhac (daughter of Hon. Paul Cameron) was vice-president, and Miss Annie Roulhac was the sec- retary. Our records were all kept in the Court House, and when the Yankees came they burned all of them. The aid society used to meet every week at the Court House and work for the soldiers and their de- pendent families. A committee was formed of which my mother, Mrs. William Cameron, was chairman and executive, of ladies who would send food for the troop trains as they passed by the Hillsboro depot. A committee of ladies would go to the depot with their servants and board 30 7