Description

Blankets and Socks

Mrs. S.C. Law was a southern woman from Memphis, Tennessee. She was so proud when her only son enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861. To support the war effort, Mrs. Law volunteered at the “Southern Mother’s Hospital”, caring for injured and sick soldiers. She began taking clothes and other supplies directly to the troops in 1862. When the city of Memphis fell to the Union Army, she made her way south to Georgia, where she continued to help care for the wounded in different hospitals. It was her mission to do all she could to support the Confederate States and the brave soldiers who fought for the South. Many years after the war ended, Mrs. Law wrote of her Christmas mission to help the troops.

It was a December night in 1863 in Columbus, Georgia. Mrs. Law could not sleep. She had just learned that Confederate soldiers in General J.E. Johnston’s divisions were in a terrible, destitute condition. They were suffering because of the cold weather and lack of blankets to keep them warm. In fact, thousands of soldiers were having to stay up all night, sleepless, and huddled around a fire to keep warm. She greatly esteemed the soldiers’ mission to protect the southern women and children from the enemy invaders from the north.

The next morning, she went to the Ladies’ Aid Society in Columbus and petitioned for them to make blankets for these brave men. She said that if they would furnish blankets, she would personally take them to Dalton, Georgia and distribute them to the soldiers. In one week, several large boxes were packed to supply the Confederate soldiers with 100 blankets, 300 pairs of socks, and several boxes of underclothing. The women also generously packed Christmas boxes filled with all sorts of food that the men could only dream of – chicken, ham, sausages, butter, pickles, bread, and cake.

Accompanied by another woman from the Ladies’ Aid Society, and her twelve-year-old nephew, who on getting back to Columbus ran away to the army, Mrs. Law traveled by train to Dalton, where she met her friend, Dr. John Erskine. He arranged for the party and supplies to be taken to his headquarters, at the home of a woman in the area. A courier and carriage were supplied for her use and her first visit was to the 154th Regiment. She met with a group of officers and was overwhelmed by what she learned. “General Hardee said that he had in his division fifteen hundred men without a blanket; General Hindman, one thousand; General Cheatham, hundreds, and many other divisions in a similar condition. General Pat Cleburne said that socks were a luxury his men did not know; he had not had a pair on for five months.” The blankets and clothes which Mrs. Law brought were distributed where there was the greatest need.

Returning to Columbus, she raised $2,500 from businesses in the city to purchase jeans and coarse cloth from the factories. The Ladies’ Aid Society went to work with these supplies. In addition, from their own homes, they took the last blankets from their beds, even cutting up carpets and lining them. “The women and children worked night and day, and in ten days [Mrs. Law] returned to the army in Dalton with seven large dry good boxes…. all packed with five hundred and thirty blankets and coverings, and sixteen hundred pairs of socks for the soldiers.”

Because of the determination of Mrs. Law and her desire to make a difference, the morale and comfort of the men in the Confederate camps greatly improved from the generous Christmas offering made by willing hands. She stated, “I wish history to recall, but for the generous help of the noble, patriotic women of Columbus, Georgia, I would have been powerless to have taken those needed stores of blankets and socks to our suffering soldiers.”

Through the year, and especially during the Christmas season, may we follow the example of Mrs. Law and the Ladies’ Aid Society, and generously give of our time and resources, following the admonition of Jesus Christ to “Go, and do thou likewise.” (Luke 10:37)

Sources:
S.C. Law, Reminiscences of the War of the Sixties between North and South, published in 1892. Digitized and accessible through Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/item/10020677/

https://emergingcivilwar.com/2021/12/23/for-the-army-of-tennessee-christmas-boxes-blankets/

This story was written by Jean Tonioli