Post on 25-Jun-2015
Widows of the Civil War South
Southern Fatalities20,ooo SC
soldiers total
18% of entire
southern male
population600,000 lives lost combined
The Length of Mourning
• For a husband 2 to 3 years
• For a child 1 year• For a parent 1
year• For uncle or
nephew 3 months
First Stage of Mourning• Lasted at least a year• Face remained completely
covered• Women were not allowed to
interact with anyone other then the immediate household
• Only hair jewelry could be warn
• All mirrors must be covered until the mourners are out of full mourning
• Women were not allowed to attend the relatives funeral
• Were not allowed to attend any social events until they had entered middle mourning stage
Middle and Light Mourning
• A widow may send out mourning cards• May attend some function with escort• Wears black dress but is not required
to wear creped bonnet• May begin to wear jewelry• Could begin to wear lavender and
purple
Mourning Attire
•Petticoat
•Silk veil
•Crepe bonnet
•Hair jewelry
•Gloves
•Added colors such as lavender as morning progressed
The Strife of the Confederate Widow
• Pensions were only provided to those whose bodies were found• Average number of children was four, leaving large families• Little job opportunities for lower class females• Southern blockade offered few mourning garments and fabrics
to enter• Few had to time to mourn as mass casualties were reported• Many chose to mourn after the war had concluded
“Oh what losses we suffer. We bury our sons, brothers,
and husbands. Perhaps I shall wear black for my South
Carolina. For the mourning will not end.”
Elizabeth Bartley Brown’s Diary 1864
Government Aid • Widows Claim of 1871• The soldier served at least 90 days or
was honorably discharged early• Proof of soldiers death• Widow is without other means of
support• The widow was married to the solider
prior to the passing of the act• That all pensions under this acct
commence after paperwork is filed
• Obtaining pension was difficult with mass graves and large casualties making body identification near impossible
The Last Civil War Widows• Alberta Martin- married William Jasper Martin (86) at age 19• Martin joined the confederate army in 1864, married his
grandson upon his death• Received $149.OO a month until her death in 2004
The Last Confederate Funeral
• Funeral of the five members of the Hunley submarine crew in 2005
• Processional was followed by five Southern widows to symbolize the lost loved ones
What is the Significance?• The Civil War was not only simply
a war of advanced weaponry, marches, and naval battles
• Civil War widows symbolize the struggle of those forever affected by the war, beyond the battlefield
• The four men at the beginning of the presentation would never return to South Carolina, either would the 600,000 other men return home
• As the south crumbled around them, Civil War widows held tight to customs and traditions which reminded them of the glory days of the south
“ The generals son inquired after his father, questioning when he would return. I had not the heart to answer him. The sons of the South are left in darkness, and with the graves of their father, the confederacy dies.”
William Hartfield