Quilting a Nation - Women of the Civil War - Lily F and Katie O - Michael's Office - Artist Statements

quilting a nation belthorne studios

Lily
Our piece is aout the roles of Women in the Civil War.  In the bottom left corner there is a picture of Rose Greenhow and her daughter.  They were messengers and spies for the Confederacy; they lived in the North and attended many parties and balls hosted by the Union.  By their heads there is a hot air balloon which were used by both the North and the South to spy on the other sides.  The mops and broom signify the women taking care of the home as their husbands and sons are fighting.  Near the mop is Mary Todd Lincoln wife of Abraham Lincoln.  She signifies women who were more politically aware than other women.  The letter and pen show that many women wrote and received letters from men fighting, and was also a way to getting information to people on the other sides.  Often women would care for the wounded soldiers in their home nursing them until they were better, which mostly happened in the South.  Harriet Tubman was a widely known woman who would help slaves escape to the North and freedom.  Pictured below her is Harriet Beecher Stowe, wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin and brought awareness of the horror of slavery to Northerners.  Also, women would sew clothes and flags among other things for "the Cause".

Katie O
The theme of our Quilt Piece is Women in the Civil War and how they played a role in it.  They took place in many historical events, yet didn't get much say, hearing or known role.  They often got a role that was not known to be big.  Yet there roles were HUGE.  The flags, women on sewing machines, thread and needle and hot air balloon represent "the Cause".  They often joined sewing circles or other groups to sew flags, clothing, and scraps for hot air balloons to spy on the other sides.  Women for "the Cause" often cooked food and housed soldiers.  The Nurse and Soldier picture with the bandages beside it represents the women having to take care of wounded soldiers.  The woman cleaning, mop and bucket, and brooms represent the women having to take care of their family atProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 ome too, alongside the soldiers.  The family in camp and the hankerchief show the sadness, and hardships of having to deal with a giant load on their shoulders.  They often wrote letters (Letter and Quill) to soldiers in camps, people on other sides, political leaders, family members and other spies.  Spies.  Often women would be a spy in parties of the other side, etcetera.  Rose Greenhow (with Daughter bottom left), Mary Todd Lincoln (beside letter), Harriet Beecher Stowe (above letter) and Harriet Tubman (top right) signify women often being famous for many different sides for different reasons, even coloured women.  Women have played a very large role in our history.