Sewing, knitting, collecting donations, organizing fairs – these are among the activities that many women, in both the North and South, undertook in an effort to fundraise for war relief projects and to provide materials and money to supply troops. South Carolina women were deeply involved in such efforts, forming Ladies’ Aid Societies throughout the state early in the war to pool resources and divide labor more effectively. These groups organized fairs, balls, auctions, theatricals, and concerts to raise funds for Confederate hospitals, in addition to making garments and collecting provisions to send to centers for troop supply.
“Money, Material, and Labor: Women’s Civil War Fundraising,” a new exhibit opening today at the SC Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, explores the history of wartime fundraising efforts, with a focus on South Carolina and Columbia. The exhibit will be on display through April 4, 2009.
Left - Broadside advertising a music festival, 1862; Right - Poster featuring founders of the Wayside Hospital for soldiers in Columbia. Despite the claim on this poster, the first Wayside Hospital was actually established in Charleston.