Civil War Quilts and Stories | University Place

Pat Ehrenberg, a quilter from Ripon, WI, shares the stories behind the quilts that were sewn during the Civil War and distributed to the soldiers on the battlefields. Quilts that were made for the soldiers were a different size and shape than what most quilters would have made for their homes and they were made out of unusual fabrics due to a shortage of material during the war.
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[@nadinamedlin3432]

According to another PBS series at least 75% of people in the south did not own slaves. I'm descended from Unionists who dwelled in Southern Appalachia. Tennessee and Northwestern Alabama. They dealt with poverty and were subsistence farmers, but were exceptional at quilting and other needle arts. As the war progressed, goods of all kinds were scarce in the south. I've read of southern women who wove shoes from corn husks and followed the troops to be able to trade their husbands tobacco rations for food. Painting with a broad brush is always a sad thing, because you immediately lose a portion of your audience.

[@jackielam6284]

I appreciate her lovey quilts. Her knowledge of women in the south antebellum is lacking. My GA family goes back to the early eighteenth century. Not all white women lived on plantations surrounded by slaves to do their biding. Needlework was one of the arts young women were expected to excell at. No Southern mother would have sent her son to war without something to keep him warm. When fabric was too expensive the cut up dresses, table linens, and woven heir looms to make quilts and others necessities. Don't short sell the women of the South!

[@AnniePA1960]

I adore these quilts!! The colors, the blocks, the scrappy backgrounds all speak to me. This lecturer is very good, kept me interested and i learned a whole lot.

[@scottydog6539]

This was excellent, I love civil war fabrics. I really enjoyed this video. Thank you so very much.

[@annetteellis4188]

Great video. I loved learning about Civil war quilts. Very interesting.

[@tinyoak7758]

Love the historic reproductions. A little disappointed in the generalization concerning women of the south, I must say. My family comes from the south and not a single slave owner among them in the entire history since coming to America. They have always made their own quilts by hand quilting.

[@user-fk9cg4si6y]

I would have liked to have heard the presenter give info on how she researched civil war era quilts since she herself said there are very few that survived the rigors of war…did she read journals or letters that mention the quilts and/or fund raising events held in the north or the south? How authentic are the statements herein?

[@shellcshells2902]

Really enjoyed this video♡

[@kariowens9910]

You are wrong. The women (who were slave owners) in the south made a lot of quilts.

[@charleslong8870]

Not everyone in the south owned slaves, however, every woman (from a young age) was taught how to use a needle and thread - it was a necessity. They had to make and repair clothes, they made curtains for their homes, needle work to hang on their walls as decorations, made and tatted their pillowcases for their beds and made beautiful quilts by hand. I'm in my 70's and my family is from the south and NOT ONE family member ever owned a slave. I do, however, own many quilts that were handmade by my grandmother and great grandmother as well as many handmade pillowcases.

[@1229Jen]

I must share that I disagree with you regarding the concept of Underground Railroad quilts. Symbolism has been used throughout history as far back as ever and an oral history would make perfect sense so although an absolute proof may not exist, it is certainly quite feasible. Also, there were different colors used for the heart of the log cabin and the dark color center would mean the opposite. I continue to research and I hope you will too.

[@joybranham8250]

Unfortunately, it's a nice story, but that's all it is--a story. Absolutely NO basis in fact! The whole thing started with one woman who made up a really great tale and fed it to a gullible interviewer. Then it took on a life of its own and exploded. People get very worked up about this--people who believe it is true are fiercely partisan. Others, like me and other quilters who have delved a lot into history, are also very upset that a fairytale has been passed as true. Slaves were also quilters, but the whole idea of a "quilt code" is simplistic and naive. Please don't perpetuate this myth!

[@noquiltleftbehind]

Good inspiration for those who like to quilt with reproduction fabrics.

[@andreawalker2535]

This seems to be all her own work, and not Civil War Era.

[@lindsaygoodwin3140]

I am kind of digusted that you took time at the end to discredit the use of quilt patterns as underground railroad signs. Discrediting historical accounts of minority groups because of the lack of records from the white majority is quite frankly racist. Saying there is no written documentation is one thing, however, considering that most African American at the time were illiterate, and that written records of certain groups of people are less likely to be perserved, and more likely to be destroyed, logic would assume that records of marginalized people (especially escaped slaves) would be far and few between. Aditionally, it would have been absolutely stupid for people in the underground railroad to keep written records of such codees because it would be easier for slavers to dicover it, and most black people couldn't read it. Discrediting the patterns because of the darkness of night is a weak arguement; I'm sure people on the underground railroads would have gotten a closer look at the patterns to read them, and they were probably already looking for those quilts because the underground railroad functioned largely through word of mouth. Thus, they weren't randomly placed, they were placed to confirm that people had found what they were already looking for... just like hiking trail markers in our parks system today. Furthermore, a black center against a light background would stand out better at night due to the contrast, especially if placed in the moonlight... just like signs today. You really only give fair consideration to the presence of white records, and don't even consider why white records logically wouldn't exist, or posed any logic at all to anything that supports the Black oral history. Oral history is absolutely valuable, especially when pieced together with other oral accounts to create a... quilt of sorts. A lot of the written records we place value on, such as the Old and New Testement, are oral histories written down hundreds of years later, and are certainly not any more accurate than the oral history passed down from 160 years ago. I could make a long-list of historical "facts" with far less credibility than the Underground Railroad quilt codes. You could have discussed the controvery, and allowed people to make up their own minds or do their own research, rather than imposing your opinion on others. This is such a dissapointment from PBS.

[@joybranham8250]

Unfortunately, it's a nice story, but that's all it is--a story. Absolutely NO basis in fact! The whole thing started with one woman who made up a really great tale and fed it to a gullible interviewer. Then it took on a life of its own and exploded. People get very worked up about this--people who believe it is true are fiercely partisan. Others, like me and other quilters who have delved a lot into history, are also very upset that a fairytale has been passed as true. Slaves were also quilters, but the whole idea of a "quilt code" is simplistic and naive. Please don't perpetuate this myth!

[@melissalewis3917]

Love the quilts and the stories but i am sorry the um um ah um not so much

[@donnarogers7732]

Confuseing. I thought you would presenting Actual Civil War quilts. This foes not include any Actual knowledge of Civil War quilts, especially DOUTHERN mafe quilts. She knows very little about the South. Her main focus is Unionist .