The Civil War Diary Quilt: 121 Stories and the Quilt Blocks They Inspired

By: Rosemary Youngs

Borrowed from MQ (sort of) paperback 286 pages

Published: 2005

Genre: Non-fiction, history, quilting

I say "sort of" because this is technically "my" book. It was on the "Free" table at MQ and it looked interesting, so I grabbed it. Now that I've read it fully, I'll donate it to someone else (or just drop it back onto the Free table.

My biggest takeaways were:

• these women had an active faith in God. They prayed and praised regularly. Whether they were with the North or the South, they looked to God for deliverance.
• the Southern focus was hard for me to read. The women who wanted their "boys" to defeat the "intruders" and who saw their perspective as right and just . . . was hard for me to wrap my head around. And it made me wonder how many people down south still think they were just and right. 
• The quilt blocks were so fun to look at! Both the drawings and the fabric constructions the author and her friends made. I kept thinking, "Nope. Don't want to make these blocks." But when I got to page 176-7, I put a post-it note in. What a great use of scrappy fabric! I may make some of these, but I'm not sure what colors I'll use.
• War is ugly. Both sides - killing, pain, fear, atrocities. I'm so thankful I don't live in a war zone.
• I did like how the diary or letter matched with the name of the quilt block. Like the one I might make from the pages listed above. "Recovering Items" is about plunder and losing things.
  

 

 

 

I didn't think I would blog about specific parts of the book, but I ended up sticking post-its in various places.

Page  23 (Rachel Young King Anderson): ". . . we still have shelter and food and raiment for which we are indebted to the goodness of God alone and still look to Him and Him alone for deliverance from the horrors of war and sin, for protection and for safety. Oh that His mercies may continue with us to the end."

Rachel was one of my favorites, so I'm glad the book started with her.

Page 165 (Emma Florence LeConte Furman): "I ran upstairs to my bedroom windows just in time to see the U.S. flag run up over the State house. O what a horrid sight! What a degradation! After four long bitter years of bloodshed and hatred, now to float there at last! That hateful symbol of despotism!"

Yes, she was a teen when she wrote this. Yes, she was a passionate Southerner. But still . . . the sight of the U.S. flag to cause such a strong reaction. Wow.

Page 177 (Emma again): "How are we to get clothes? - when even calico is from $25 to $30 a yard - "

Woah! That is expensive fabric for 2025, let alone 1864! I don't buy much fabric (I get free stuff a lot), but I make very careful choices when I do purchase it. 

Page 181 (Emma): "Hurrah! Old Abe Lincoln has been assassinated! It may be abstractly wrong to be so jubilant, but I just can't help it."

Lincoln is one of my favorite presidents. He loved the Lord and tried to be a wise and just leader. He was such an incredible man. Her joy is my sorrow.

Page 205 (Rebecca Loraine Richmond): "The answer is in the power of Omniscience only, but the 'signs of the times' seem to indicate that the end is not far off."

She's actually talking about the future of the planet Earth! End times, Revelation, . . . it may sound silly, but I don't think about people in the 1860s thinking that way.

Page 212 (Susie King Taylor) Intro info: "She soon had to give up teaching and found work as a housewife or maid so she could support herself and her son. Although she worked in the Army as a nurse, black women were not allowed to work in a hospital after the war was over. . . . She was asked by many friends to write a book about her Army life, and therefore wrote 'Reminiscence of My Life in Camp' in 1902. It is a very important historical document - one of the few Civil War journals written by a black woman."

I want to read this!

Page 232 (Mary Austin Adelia Wallace) Intro info: "Mary not only attended to daily chores, but also spent time painting, putting up fences, selling livestock, lathing and delivering loads of sugarcane to the mill. Basically, Mary took over the duties of her husband. She became resourceful in finding ways to make money, taking care of the farm and finishing their new home. She spent her spare time sewing and knitting."

What a woman! Spare time? What spare time?

Page 273: "A China Doll for Abbie" by Larry Wakefield - I cried when I read the story of young soldier Billy Voice and the legacy of his promise to his little sister Abbie. When adult Abbie heard stories from Herman Dunkalow, a 90 year old man who was part of both the Civil War and WWI, I cried. Amazing.

I enjoyed this more than I expected! But I also saw a few other blocks I have made or will make . . . Snail's Trail (though they gave it a different name) for example.