The Concord Insider is a free, local newspaper in Concord, New Hampshire that carries a column which highlights happenings of the past. While reading a recent edition, I spotted this former yesteryear news entry related to textiles:
April 22, 1861: Meeting at the South Congregational Church, a group of Concord women organizes an effort to supply soldiers with "articles necessary to their comfort in the field." They have raised $200 and resolve to spend $150 on flannel for shirts for the First New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
Throughout the Union states, during the U.S. Civil War, women gathered in small groups to knit socks for soldiers, make quilts for the U.S. Sanitary Commission to distribute to soldiers, and gather other useful items to send by post. Any mail, including letters from the homefront, was most welcome by the troops. Whether working at home alone or in a group, the women's efforts were voluntary. They were doing all they could to support loved ones and others on the field of battle.
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