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