The Civil War and the roots of a culture of volunteerism

LITCHFIELD — Women’s organizations provided vital supplies for Civil War troops, and in doing so challenged traditional social roles, according to Peter Vermilyea, who spoke to the Litchfield County Historical Society (on Zoom) on Sunday, Jan. 23.

Vermilyea is a historian and author, and the chair of the Social Studies department at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.

He began by noting that the process of forming 1,000-man regiments was somewhat haphazard. Soldiers were recruited by the states, and the bulk of the work was done at the local level.

But organizing regiments was only part of the necessary work. The soldiers needed supplies beyond their military issue.

He cited the Litchfield Enquirer, which opined in May of 1861 that “the time for speeches and idle flag waving had passed.”

In the May 16, 1861, issue the paper called for “[E]very woman and child out to be employed in doing for our volunteers.”

“In singling out women and children to turn their patriotic sentiments into action, the Enquirer presaged a nationwide trend — clearly demonstrated in Litchfield County — of women on the homefront supporting men on the battlefields,” Vermilyea said.

“While this was certainly nothing new, examining the ways in which Litchfield County women formalized this process through the establishment of Ladies’ Aid Societies provides a glimpse into how women exercised agency both to support the war effort and as an avenue for the expression of their political beliefs.”

The women involved established their own organizations and networks, and after the war many of the same women went on to work in the temperance and suffrage movements.

“They got their training” in the Ladies’ Aid societies, Vermilyea said.

Some social norms proved impossible to overcome. Vermilyea noted that newspaper appeals for donations in Winsted included instructions to bring donations to the home of a Mr. L. Clarke.

“Women were not allowed to handle the money.”

The societies supplied “staggering” amounts of goods to soldiers. In the first nine months of the war they sent some 19,506 items of clothing, 6,064 pieces of bedding, and 10,281 handkerchiefs and towels.

Sometimes the collection and donation process afforded an opportunity to take a political stance.

The women’s group in Kent sent some special socks earmarked for Confederate President Jefferson Davis. They came with a note specifying the recipient and noting the socks’ suitability for “dancing on air” — a euphemism for hanging.

“[W]ith this gesture, the women of Kent proclaimed Davis a traitor. While this may sound obvious to a 21st-century audience it is worth noting that while Davis was indicted for treason, the case was dismissed in 1869. To the women of Kent, the Civil War was no ‘brother’s war;’ it was an act of treason.”

And when African-Americans began turning up in Union camps, they were considered “contraband” and not returned, as their work would aid the rebel cause.

“Conditions could deteriorate quickly for the ‘contraband’” in situations like these, and the Litchfield County Ladies’ Aid Societies sprung to action on their behalf.”

He shared a notice from the Winsted Herald: ‘Some ladies wishing to aid in relieving the necessities of the so-called contrabands at Fortress Monroe, will send a box of second hand clothing, well-mended-up shoes, bedding, &c., on the first of November” to the aforementioned Mr. Clarke.

Politics aside, “there is no question that the primary purpose of the Ladies’ Aid Societies was to provide Union soldiers with needed items, such as vast quantities of lint [for dressing wounds] and thousands of pairs of socks and mittens — as well as delicacies like cakes and fruit.

“In doing so, the societies helped to form a strong bond between the soldiers in the fields and their home communities.”