Page 2| Page 3|Page 4 |
As regiments of United States Colored Troops restored order in the
former Confederate capital of Richmond, their professionalism surprised
ex-rebels. "What hurt the most was to see the Colored troops," a white
female Richmonder grudgingly conceded to a white Union soldier in April
1865. "We were surprised to see them so well drilled, and clothed and
equipped." Henry Chapin Letter, #10310-G
|
| |
 | |
|
| |
|
Confederate soldiers and civilians, including women, were required to
take oaths of allegiance after the war and formally apply for pardons if
they wished to obtain federal assistance, return of captured property
(excepting slaves) or restoration of their civil rights. Secretary of
State William Seward issued this pardon to Mary E. G. Gilliam of
Dinwiddie County, Virginia,on January 19, 1866. Gilliam Family Papers, #3593 | 
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
 Page 2|Page 3|Page 4 |
The end of the war not only brought defeat to the Confederacy, but also
freedom to the slaves. Eloise Connor of Virginia found it difficult to
adjust to this new relationship to her former slaves, complaining that
"My future course is still uncertain. The servants are not willing to
remain with me on the same terms." Papers of the Hill Family, #6548
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
| An 1866 broadside, "To His Excellency Andrew Johnson," in which Richmond women appeal for the imprisoned Jefferson Davis: "Woman has ever been the privileged pleader, even for those who have no special claim upon her regard. To the women of Virginia Mr. Davis can never be an object of indifference." | 
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
 |
After the war, Southern women remained loyal to the Confederacy. In
this 1866 invitation to a benefit supper to raise funds for a
Confederate cemetery, this Ladies' Memorial Association of
Charlottesville describes its mission as "to embrace the sisterhood of
those who once called the Confederate cause their own." Papers of Eugene Davis, #2483
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
| Margaret J. Preston's "Memorial Psalm/For The Tenth of May," 1878, commemorating the unofficial "Confederate Memorial Day." | 
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
 |
The Ladies Confederate Memorial Association of Charlottesville,
Virginia, issued this 1890 form letter, "Dear Sir, In the cemetery of
the University of Virginia are buried 1,091 Confederate soldiers" as
part of their fund raising appeal for the erection of a monument to
Confederate soldiers buried in a cemetery next to the University of
Virginia Cemetery. Their efforts were successful in June 1893; the
monument bore the inscription, "Fate denied them victory but crowned
them with glorious immortality."
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
|
The United Daughters of the Confederacy awarded the Southern Cross of
Honor medal to ex-Confederate soldiers (members of the United
Confederate Veterans) in recognition of their devotion to the Southern
cause. This one, ca. 1895, was awarded to William Lewis Beasley, Company
C, 4th Virginia Cavalry; on the verso is engraved the name of the
manufacturer, Charles W. Crankshaw, Atlanta, Georgia, and an
inscription, "Southern Cross of Honor-Deo vindice, 1861-1865" [God Will
Judge]. Southern Cross of Honor, #9405-D | 
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
 |
Defeat was an unexpected experience many Southern women never forgot.
This April 1903 typescript, "Recollections of the Evacuation of
Petersburg," written by Marie Morrison, describes her participation in
the burial a Confederate soldier in Petersburg on April 3, 1865. Recollections of the Evacuation of Petersburg, #10839
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
|
Virginia General Assembly, Acts and Joint Resolutions Passed by the
General Assembly of the State of Virginia During the Session of 1901-2,
Richmond: J. H. O'Bannon, Superintendent of Public Printing, 1902.
An April 2, 1902 state law established pensions for widows of Virginia
Confederate soldiers, sailors, or marines; $40.00 annually for unmarried
widows; $25.00 for remarried widows. Alderman Library/Government Documents |  Page 2
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
|
Captain J. C. Featherston, who served the Confederacy from Alabama,
collected clippings about the Civil War. The story displayed on the
left side of the scrapbook romanticizes the relationship between slaves
and mistresses. In the story, former slaves celebrate a miserable, cold
Christmas but are happily delivered from their misery by the
reappearance of their former young mistress. "What a happy Christmas it
turned out to be after all. Back at the old mansion with their own
white people! - could they be dreaming?" Papers of the Irvine, Saunders, Davis and Watts families, #38-33 |
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
 |
The right side of Captain Featherston's scrapbook features an article
about Mrs. Hayes, daughter of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. In
this article, Mrs. Hayes remembers Lincoln's assassination. Although
she was prepared to rejoice, her father "gravely and gently took (her)
up in his arms and explained to (her) that this was a terrible
deed..." Papers of the Irvine, Saunders, Davis and Watts families, #38-33
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
| Previous Section
| |
| Exhibit Home | Comments | Specials Collections Home Page | Library Home Page |