Southern
Homespun:
Articles
in Civil War Era Newspapers
Dallas
Herald, February 8, 1860,
p. 1, c. 6
Homespun
Parties.
Old Virginia seems thoroughly aroused to action, by the alarming encroachments
of Northern fanatics and their insane teachings. From being the most
conservative State in the Union, one year ago, she has become the most
prominent [fold in newspaper] of her rights and institutions.
"Anterior" to the Revolution the ladies and gentlemen of the old
Dominion attended balls and parties, and received their most distinguished
guests, dressed in homespun clothes, one of the means adopted to show to
the Mother country that the colonies possessed within themselves all the
elements of independence. This simple circumstance was significant of a
serious fact, and one to which, the stubborn Parliament was stupidly
blind.—The signs of the times were visible throughout the land, but
"seeing, they saw not, and hearing, they heard not." At this
late day, the same spirit of encroachment that sought to burden and harass the
colonies, is seen in the efforts made by Northern Abolitionists to interrupt the
progress of the Southern States and their institutions. There is now as
much stubborn blindness in the North, as was then in the
A HOMESPUN PARTY.—Under this heading we find the following in the Richmond
Whig:
"The movement towards Southern independence is progressing steadily.
The people of Virginia are in dead earnest about this matter.—While we
gentlemen have contented ourselves, as yet, with meetings, speeches, &c.,
the ladies have begun to act. Without noise they have commenced to
give force and color to our resolutions—to put our theories into practice.
We had the pleasure, a few evenings ago, of attending a 'homespun party,' given
by [a] patriotic lady of this city, whose excellent good sense prompted her to
substitute deeds for words, and to inaugurate at once that system of
self-dependence which has been the theme of innumerable public meetings held
recently in every county of the State. The party was decided[ly] a
brilliant success. More than a hundred ladies and gentlemen, belonging to
the most respected families in the city, were present, all of whom were attired
in part or in whole in garments made of Virginia fabrics, woven in Virginia
looms. It was strictly a Virginia cloth party."
At a public meeting held in Alexandria last week it was resolved—
"That, by way of giving a practical issue to this meeting, and as the first
step towards the attainment of Southern commercial independence, the citizens of
Alexandria here assembled pledge themselves to use and wear no article of
apparel not manufactured in the State of Virginia; and to buy all our hats,
caps, boots, shoes, and clothing at home and of home manufacture, and induce our
wives and daughters to do the same; and that the directors of our several
railroad companies be and are hereby respectfully requested to pursue the same
policy with reference to all articles required by their respective roads."
In other cities and towns in Virginia "Homespun Clubs," the members of
which pledge themselves to dress in no other than Virginia fabrics, are being
organized.
Dallas
Herald, October 31, 1860,
p. 2, c. 6
List
of Premiums Awarded by the Ellis County Agricultural and Mechanical Association,
at the Third Annual Fair Thereof.
To
Mrs. J. E. Prince, on pair blankets
5 00
To
Mrs. Sarah Burgess, on fine jeans, 10 yards
5 00
To
Mrs. L. W. Connor, on negro jeans, 10 yds
2 50
on flannel
2 50
on woolen carpet
5 00
on plaid linsey
2 50
Dallas
Herald, November 7, 1860,
p. 3, c. 3
Dallas
County Agricultural and Mechanical Association.
Second
Annual Fair, Occupying 3 days.
Mrs.
R. L. McKamy, jeans
$
3 00
W.
W. Wheat, linsey, plaid
2 50
W.
W. Wheat, flannel, white
2 50
Mrs.
W. T. Edmondson, blankets, pair
3 00
Mrs.
E. J. Hawpe, coverlet, wool
3 00
W.
W. Wheat, carpeting, wool
2 50
Mrs.
H. Thomas, carpeting, rag
1 00
Mrs.
E. J. Hawpe, counterpane, cotton
1 00
Dallas
Herald, February 27, 1861,
p. 4, c. 1
Woman at Work.—The matrons of Ellis county are aroused by the present aspect
of affairs and have resolved to show their spirit, that they can imitate their
grandmothers in days of yore, when oppression forced us from beneath the British
yoke of bondage, almost as degrading as that of the servile masters of the North
at present. The women of Ellis have formed what they call "home spun
societies." They say that the immense sums of money sent on North, to
purchase finery to decorate their persons, can and ought to be expended in
encouraging home industry and home manufacturers. Hence they propose to
wear and use all such articles of Southern make as they can possible [sic]
obtain, in prefence [sic] to the Northern articles, even though our home article
be inferior. As far as articles of dress go they propose to wear nothing
manufactured at the North. If this is adhered to and the societies become
large, many a poor man's pocket will feel the weight of coin it never felt
before.—Crockett Printer.
Daily
Chronicle & Sentinel [Augusta, Ga.],
October 28, 1860, p. 3, c. 3
[account
of Fair in Atlanta, third day]
Not the least attractive feature of the day was the appearance on the Grounds,
of a party of twenty-seven ladies, teachers and pupils of the "Spring Hill
School," under the supervision of that gifted advocate of the development
of Southern Agriculture, and actual independence in the Union, Rev. C. W.
Howard, all attired in a substantial Check Homespun Dress, made fashionably full
and flowing. When this spirit of independence seizes upon the minds of our
daughters and wives, divested of its fanaticism as manifested by the sterner
sex, we may look for good practical results.
Daily
Chronicle & Sentinel [Augusta, Ga.],
November 27, 1860, p. 3, c. 2
New
Fashion for Ladies.--We observed, while on a visit to a lady friend, a bonnet
and dress of Georgia linsey and cotton, designed for the daughter of one
of our leading secessionists. The dress is made in fashionable style, a la
Gabrielle, and the bonnet is composed of white and black Georgia cotton, covered
with a net-work of black cotton, the streamers ornamented with Palmetto trees
and lone stars, embroidered in gold thread, while the feathers are formed of
white and black worsted. The entire work is domestic, as well as the
material, and exhibits considerable ingenuity. The idea illustrates the
patriotism of the ladies and their earnest sympathy with the great Southern
movement, while its execution affords convincing proof of how independent we can
be of our Northern aggressors, when we have the will to undertake and the energy
to achieve.--News Letter.
Charleston
Mercury, November 20,
1860, p. 1, c. 3
Good
Example.
To
the Editor of the Charleston Mercury:
We observed, while on visit to a lady friend, a bonnet and dress of Georgia
linsey and cotton, designed for the daughter of one of our leading
Secessionists. The dress is made in fashionable style, a la Gabrielle,
and the bonnet is composed of white and black Georgia cotton, covered with a net
work of black cotton, the streamers ornamented with Palmetto trees and Lone
Stars, embroidered in gold thread, while the feathers are formed of white and
black worsted. The entire work is domestic, as well as the material, and
exhibits considerable ingenuity. The idea illustrates the patriotism of
the ladies, and their earnest sympathy with the great Southern movement, while
its execution affords convincing proof of how independent we can be of our
Northern aggressors, when we have the will to undertake, and the energy to achieve
HOME INDUSTRY.
Daily
Chronicle & Sentinel [Augusta, Ga.],
December 2, 1860, p. 2, c. 1
Young
Lady in Georgia Homespun.--In the street yesterday (says the Columbus Times of
Friday last,) was observed one of our pretty young ladies attired in a dress of
Georgia homespun and wearing the blue cockade. The make of the dress and
the style of the cloak, gave it the appearance of silk at a distance, and
attracted the admiration of all.
Memphis
Daily Appeal [Memphis, TN], December
5, 1860, p. 2, c. 3
The Georgia girls are appearing in homespun. At the recent State fair, not
the least attractive feature was the appearance on the grounds of a party of
thirty-seven ladies, teachers and pupils of "Spring Hill school,"
attired in a substantial check homespun dress, made fashionably, full and
flowing. Thirty-seven blooming, bright-eyed southern lasses in cloth of
southern manufacture, of which the staple was peculiar to their homes was, says
a local paper, a sight worth seeing on a southern fair ground.
Bellville
[TX]Countryman, January
16, 1861, p. 2, c. 1
A Society of Ladies has been formed in Ellis County, this State, who are pledged
to wear only goods of Southern manufacture. It is called the
"Home Spun Society."
Natchez
Daily Courier, January 19,
1861, p. 4, c. 1
There
was a gay assembly at Masonic Hall on Tuesday evening, the eighth of January.
It was a "Calico Ball" given by the young men. We looked in
during the evening, and found a goodly number of votaries of the dance,
threading its giddy mazes, to the discourse of good and enlivening music.
What we took especial notes of, was the improved appearance of the ladies in
their "calico," far outvieing the more costly and extravagant toilet
of silk and satin. Never to our eyes did the fair creatures present so
lovely an appearance.
This
is a move in the right direction. The idea could be well improved by
having a party in which all, both male and female should be attired in homespun.
Who will start this ball.
Feliciana Democrat, Jan. 12.
Memphis
Daily Appeal [Memphis, TN],
January 30, 1861, p. 2, c. 6
The
Homespun Party.
From
the Milledgeville (Ga.) Union]
The ladies of this city, or at least a good many of them, had a homespun party
at Newwell's hall, on last Thursday evening, which was decidedly the most
pleasant affair that has occurred in the city for many years. The ladies
all wore homespun dresses, and their persons were tastefully and appropriately
ornamented with native jewels and charms. Many of the dresses, though of
the plainest cotton fabric, were beautiful, and the wearers looked charming in
them. Dancing, conversation, promenading, etc., marked the earlier hours
of the evening. Towards midnight a fine collation was discussed, and the
fun, frolic and flirtation was kept up till the "wee sma' hours ayant the
twal," when the company broke up in the best good humor, delighted with the
first experiment of a social gathering in plain and unpretending attire.
The animus of this party was decidedly secession, but we believe
there was perfect union among the company. Our space forbids a more
detailed account of the party, and of the characters—but we believe, by
universal consent the queenly form of Miss S. N. -----l, and the tasteful dress
of Mrs. L----r were admitted to be worthy of the highest admiration, as was also
the good humor and playfulness of the usually sober and dignified matron Mrs.
N-----t, who though not so young as she once was, was earnestly solicited for
the first dance by our gallant young mayor. The party was a perfect
success, and we hope to see it repeated in a short time. The gentlemen
were, most of them, dressed in character but they will be better prepared for
the next party.
Galveston
Weekly News, February 5,
1861
THE WOMEN
OF TEXAS
The
women of Texas, as a general rule, take as deep an interest as the men in the
present momentous state of public affairs. They have participated in the
public meetings, prepared banners, and joined in the processions; and we have
already published some well written and interesting contributions, in verse and
prose, which establish the fact that they can wield the pen with terseness and
vigor in the cause of patriotism, justice and constitutional liberty.
A
lady writes us from San Antonio: "Rather than that the South shall
submit to Lincoln's administration, I will wear for the rest of my life
home-spun or penitentiary goods, and shoes made by our negroes, and will
dispense with aught but the most absolute necessaries." This lady's
grand uncle raised a regiment in Virginia, in the Revolutionary War, equipped it
throughout and led it to battle; her grandfather was the ensign of the regiment;
her father and three of his brothers--all Kentuckians--did good service in the
war of 1812-1814--her brothers have fought well for the Republic of Texas, and
since, in Mexico, for the United States.
We
notice in our State exchanges numerous communications by ladies, all of the same
strain, all for the South resisting Black Republican rule.
Charleston
Mercury, February 6, 1861,
p. 4, c. 4
Homespun.--Two of Portsmouth's (Va.) fair daughters appeared in its streets
Tuesday in homespun, and the general verdict was they looked charming.
Albany
[Ga.] Patriot, March 21,
1861, p. 3. c. 1
Homespun
Pic-Nic.
On
Saturday last the young ladies of this city, gave what they termed a
"Homespun Pic Nic," at the Blue Spring near this city. We were
not present, but learn that a great number of the fashion and beauty of the city
were there, and several gentlemen and many of the young ladies dressed in plain
but neat Homespun dresses. This is praiseworthy. Fashion and
extravagance on the part of woman once destroyed the government of Rome.
It had risen to that degree that ordinary, but good men could not marry, for
they had not the means to support the wife's extravagance. Judging of the
fashions for the past few years, we began to feel that the once government of
the United States would fall from the same cause. We therefore applaud the
example set by our young ladies, and trust they will not abandon it. We
also learn that the dance went merrily on, and every kind of sweet meats
furnished to suit the tastes of all.
Austin
State Gazette, March 21,
1861, p. 3, c. 1
CALICO
DRESS BALL.--There will be a calico dress ball at Buaas Hall on Tuesday next,
the 26th inst. We like this, and only wish it could be a home-spun dressed
ball. Every body should be present.
[Chambersburg,
PA] Semi-Weekly Dispatch,
December 31, 1861, p. 3. c. 4
A Rebel
Letter
We are indebted to the kindness of Mr. David Piper, of this place, for the
following letter, taken from the body of a Rebel soldier, of the 10th
Alabama regiment, who was among the killed at Dranesville. It confirms the
statements we have frequently published of the great destitution prevailing at
the South in the articles of food and clothing. We publish it almost
entire, although we have endeavored to make it somewhat more readable than the
original.
Talladega, Ala., Nov. 5, 1861
Dear Son:-- . . .
There is nothing talked about here, but something to eat—that is, meat and
coffee. Almost half of the families in this part of the country are
drinking rye coffee, for there is no coffee to get for love or money, nor won't
be until Lincoln's blockade is torn up. They have bursted [sic] them up at
Charleston and New Orleans, and such a cry for wool to make clothes for the
soldiers I never heard. The ladies here are still hard at work for the
soldiers. I sewed last week for Captain Ed. Turner's company, and could
hardly save enough wool to make clothes for the little children. All the
ladies in this country wear homespun—the rich as well as the poor. There
is nothing in the stores here, and it is nothing uncommon to see a lady at
church with a homespun dress on. . . .
We hear almost everything that is done at your encampment. Be certain to
let me know if you want your blanket, for I wish to send it to you. I have
sent your envelopes, and also scraps of jeans to patch your pants with, in Tip's
and Aleck's clothes, and have marked them to you. Write to me whether your
butter and ham spoilt or not, for I was in hope they would reach you safely, and
thought they would be a good treat to you.
Write soon and often. I must now close.
Your affectionate mother.
SARAH GOVER.
To
James A. Gover.
Daily
Chronicle & Sentinel [Augusta, Ga.],
July 11, 1861, p.2, c. 2
Flannel for the Soldiers.--Some time ago, a proposition was made through the
Sun, for the ladies of the country to manufacture flannel for the volunteers in
service. Yesterday, Mr. Whitten, of Russell county, brought in a specimen,
for the inspection of the "Ladies' Society," which was manufactured by
the ladies of his family for the purpose recommended. The specimen was
exhibited to us, and shows that, with a little practice in the weaving, an
article of flannel may be produced which will answer the desired purpose.
Mr. Whitten's family are commended for their promptness in trying the experiment
suggest by our correspondent, and demonstrating that it can be made
successful.--Columbus Sun.
San
Antonio Ledger, July 19,
1861, [contributed--no page or column]
A Young Lady in Homespun.--A gay and fashionable young lady attracted the
attention on the Fair ground yesterday, because of a most handsome, and neatly
fitting copperas homespun dress, which she wore, and seemed justly proud.
She is wealthy of a fine family, and for her dress, which really was among the
handsomest of any kind on the ground, she certainly deserves a grand premium,
and we insist upon the Agricultural Society awarding her one.
We heard a number of ladies wish for a dress like it, but whether they wished it
because of the style of goods, or because they discovered it to be so popular we
will not say. But most assuredly we were delighted to see this one
Southern lady rigged out in home made cloth. Southern manufacture, and we
predict that in a short time it will be all the go. The North will then
learn that our Southern ladies can dress neatly and look sweetly without calling
upon them for fine silks and muslins or Northern manufactured goods of any kind.
Southern independence is our motto. By this dissolution of the Union the
North has everything to lose, and the South nothing.--Atlanta Locomotive.
Daily
Chronicle & Sentinel [Augusta, Ga.],
July 20, 1861, p. 3, c. 2
Winter Clothing for Our Soldiers.--The question of supplying our troops with
winter clothing is beginning to attract considerable attention.--It is now
evident that the South must depend mainly on herself for clothing material
during this war. Her magnificent crops will supply a large surplus of
breadstuffs and food, above the demand for consumption at home. But the
blockade of our ports may continue up to the season when our volunteers in the
field will require heavy woolen goods to protect them against the inclemency of
winter.
Every loom in the Confederate States ought to be busy, to supply this necessary
demand. We should not suffer the shame and disgrace of seeing these brave
men subjected to suffering, from want of foresight, energy and patriotism, on
the part of those who remain at home. We can work for our country as well
at the plow handle and the loom as in the tented field. Our woolen
factories are too few to depend upon them for the fabrics that will be necessary
to supply the demands that are now near at hand.
Every
private loom and every fair hand that can direct should not ply with unceasing
care until we are satisfied that there is not a soldier unclad among our gallant
men. It is an act of patriotism, which may be done, in main part, by our
fair countrywomen, that we are sure they will not neglect, when their attention
is properly directed to it. The efficiency, nay, the safety of our army
may depend upon it. The lady who furnishes the largest quantity of jeans
and linseys for service, this year, is entitled to a gold medal, commemorating
her patriotism. We would suggest that such a testimonial be offered, by
the merchants of our city, to the lady who brings to the market the largest
quantity of serviceable goods for winter clothing. On no account ought
this matter to be neglected by those who have the material and the
machinery.--Nashville Union.
Charleston
Mercury, July 27, 1861, p.
1, c. 4
Winter Clothing for Our Soldiers.--The question of supplying our troops with
winter clothing is beginning to attract considerable attention. It is now
evident that the South must depend mainly on herself for clothing material
during the war. Her magnificent crops will supply a large surplus of
breadstuff and food above the demand for consumption at home. But the
blockade of our ports may continue up to the season when our volunteers in the
field will require heavy woolen goods to protect them against the inclemency of
winter.
Every loom in the Confederate States ought to be busy to supply this necessary
demand. We should not suffer the shame and disgrace of seeing these brave
men subjected to suffering from want of foresight, energy and patriotism on the
part of those who remain at home. We can work for our country as well at
the plow-handle and at the loom as in the tented field. Our woolen
factories are too few to depend upon them for the fabrics that will be necessary
to supply the demands that are now near at hand.
Every private loom and every fair hand that can direct should now ply with
unceasing care until we are satisfied that there is not a soldier unclad among
our gallant men. It is an act of patriotism, which may be done, in main
part, by our fair countrywomen, that we are sure they will not neglect, when
their attention is properly directed to it. The efficiency, nay, the
safety of our army may depend upon it. The lady who furnishes the largest
quantity of jeans and linseys for service, this year, is entitled to a gold
medal commemorating her patriotism. We would suggest that such a
testimonial be offered by the merchants of our city, to the lady who brings to
the market the largest quantity of serviceable goods for winter clothing.
On no account ought this matter to be neglected by those who have the material
and the machinery.--Nashville Union.
Daily
Chronicle & Sentinel [Augusta, Ga.],
July 30, 1861, p. 2, c. 2
A Georgia
Woman.
Culverton, Hancock Co., Ga., July 27.
Editor Chronicle & Sentinel:--I read various accounts in the papers of what
the ladies are doing for our soldiers. I should like to furnish an
instance for your paper which I think quite as good if not better than any I
have seen.
Miss Mary Ezzol, a member of the Soldiers' Aid Society of this place, has,
within the last six weeks, spun, wove, cut, made and brought into the society,
eleven pair of pants for the soldiers, worth at least two dollars each.
The cloth of which they are made is what the ladies call Brown Dimity, and is as
nice an article as anybody can make with the distaff and loom. Now when it
is remembered that this lady has an invalid mother and sister to support, and
not a soul to help her, we think it will be hard to find one to excel her.--But
this is not all. She has a little farm which she cultivates with her own
hands, and she says when she "lays it by" she will be ready for a
musket and a place in the ranks of the Confederate army. She has heard
that General Scott sent word to Secretary Toombs that he would be down South in
time to gather the coming crops, and she invites him to come and gather hers.
As an inducement she keeps a good double-barrel shot gun well loaded, the
contents of which she will give him or any one he may send. Let the foe
who would press Georgia's soil with his foot beware--the Nancy Harts are not all
dead yet.
B.
The
Southern Watchman [Athens, Ga.],
August 21, 1861, p. 3, c. 4
Ladies,
Take Notice.
I
have on hand a nice lot of Linen Bird-Eye Diapers--fine Bleached Homespun--solid
colored Brilliants--10-4 Sheetings--full width Table Cloth Damask, and many
other articles, as cheap as they ever were, for cash.
(Aug.
21)
I. M. Kenney.
Wm. N. White.
Southern
Confederacy [Atlanta, Ga.],
August 25, 1861, p. 3, c. 1
Something
We Like.
On yesterday we had the pleasure of "showing up" The Franklin Printing
establishment to a party of ladies--among them Miss T., the daughter of an old
friend--dressed in beautiful checked homespun; white, blue, copperas, and
"Turkey Red" colors were beautifully woven into the fabric. It
really was refreshing. Then it fit right. It was not only spun and
wove, but cut and fit by the accomplished wearer, who has just completed a
collegiate education.
We hope every young lady in Georgia will follow this example. Let the
abominable Yankee pianos be laid aside, and give us some more of the music from
that old time-honored but now almost obsolete instrument with _two_
??ings--one about fourteen feet long, and the other lengthened at pleasure with
the lady's ?? _hand_. It does not make the variety of sounds that a high
squeaking Yankee piano does; but the strains are a gentle humming, indicative of
thrift, contentment, and independence, and has a soothing cheering effect upon
the husband. These old rusty instruments are called Spinning Wheels--Let
them be brushed up made to ???g.
Let us have more homespun dresses--enough at least to destroy the novelty; and
let us have more good warm jeans for gentlemen, and for our soldiers to wear
this winter.
Southern
Confederacy [Atlanta, Ga.],
September 27, 1861, p. 2, c. 1-2
Ladies'
Relief Society.
September 24th 1861.
.
. . The Ladies of the "Society are to have a "Fair," next Tuesday
evening, and hope for the sake of the cause prompting it, to have a full
attendance. Tickets for admission 25cts. The ladies will appear in
southern homespun.
Southern
Confederacy [Atlanta, Ga.],
September 28, 1861, p. 2, c. 1-2.
A Word to
the Ladies.
God bless them! We always love to write, or talk, to and about the dear
creatures.
The men love you all--this you know. They have told you so a thousand
times.
But these are war times, and we must give up romancing for a while. We
desire a short business chat with you this morning--have but a few moments to
spare from our constant labor--you have no idea how hard we work. Then to
the point. Don't be excited, we are not courting.
We want you with a ready hand and a willing heart to help your husbands, fathers
and brothers protect our sunny homes from an invading foe, who are waging a
cruel and relentless war upon our sacred rights--seeking to deprive us of all
that men hold dear--liberty of person, rights of property, and peace at home.
We do not expect you to shoulder a gun. Oh, no! not yet; but you can
be very useful, nevertheless. You can work. You can card and spin;
you can weave; you can cook; you can wash, (your Sunday clothes, at least); you
can iron; you can "clean up" your house; you can knit, sew, quilt, and
we could not, in a month, think of the thousand and one useful things you can
do, which you never dreamed of when you were at boarding school. . . .
Daily
Chronicle & Sentinel [Augusta, Ga.],
September 29, 1861, p. 2, c. 2
Nothing to
Wear.
We do not intend to refer now to the destitute condition of our Flora
Macflimseys--we have no disposition to allude to the feminine toilet with all
its mysteries and peculialities [sic]--but to the straits to which from the lack
of exterior habiliments, the sterner sex may be reduced by the war. .
.
As to clothing--coats, vests and pants--unless we get importations speedily from
Europe, our stock of broadcloths will be minus. If we are fastidious as to
the texture and cut of our garments, the embargo may worry us; but if we are
content, as we should be, to wear good substantial homespun, such as our
factories are daily turning out, this deprivation of Northern-made clothing will
not be reckoned among the serious ills of life. During the warm weather,
we have noticed complete suits of simple ticking--it makes a man look streaked,
but he needn't feel so. Bellville Factory goods are very serviceable, and
some of our citizens have worn entire suits (even to the cap) of this species of
goods. Our soldier's uniforms are all from cloths of our own manufacture.
The blockade won't hurt us in this respect, if we are not too finical. . .
Natchez
Daily Courier, October 2,
1861, p. 1, c. 3
Ladies
in Homespun. Many beautiful damsels were seen yesterday on King street, in
suits of homespun. We trust the example will be followed, and if our fair
ladies know how much pleasure it afforded to the volunteers and to all good
citizens, it would be generally and universally followed.
Charleston Courier.
Natchez
Daily Courier, October 16,
1861, p. 1, c. 2
To
the surprise of the Trustees, as well as of the strangers present, the
graduating classes, at the last commencement of the Mary Sharp Female College,
Tenn., read their essays in home made cotton dress, a pledge of these
young ladies to make them selves all that the present condition of country may
require her daughters to be.
Southern
Confederacy [Atlanta, Ga.],
November 3, 1861, p. 3, c. 1
A Spicy
Letter.
Messrs. Editors: I noticed in your paper of the 1st inst., (we take the
"Confederacy") an article about hoops, and some of your suggestions
thereon. . . .
You certainly don't know how costly homespun is these war times; and then you
don't know how heavy seventy-five or a hundred yards of goods are, to carry
around one's waist; and the old fashion of stuffing about with cotton is
ridiculous.
I can't write all I feel upon this subject; but if it does snow this winter,
(and I hope it will) and you ever ride that little black Indian pony near the
College, he will have to make better time than usual, or one Southern editor
will get snow-balled, certain, hoops or no hoops.
Now, if you have any sense of justice, you will publish this piece, and not burn
it, like another smartie. You can do just as you please; it won't
hurt.
Jennie Freedom.
Southern
Confederacy [Atlanta, Ga.],
November 8, 1861, p. 2, c. 1
Milledgeville, Monday, Oct. 5, 1861
[going
to the state legislature]
Nearly all of the members had on clean shirts. Some of them had new
clothes; most of them were dressed in Georgia jeans--blue, black and brown.
Natchez
Daily Courier, November
13, 1861, p. 1, c. 1
Patriotic.
The ladies of Louisville Winston county, Miss., have spun, wove and made up full
suits for the "Winston Guards," now in Virginia.
Charleston
Mercury, December 17,
1861, p. 1, c. 1
A new kind of cloth is noticed in the western papers, made of cotton and cow's
hair spun together. It is heavy and strong--well calculated for warmth and
wear--a very good substitute for wool, and, if lined, a good substitute for
blankets.
Austin
State Gazette, December
21, 1861, p. 3, c. 2
HOMESPUN.--We
are much pleased to find that many papers have entered the list in favor of
homespun. During the embargo under the administration of Mr. Madison, the
richest and finest ladies in the country vied with each other who could produce
the handsomest homespun dresses. Old pieces of silk were picked, carded,
spun, wove and made into dresses. Many of them equaled the finest silks
and cambrics. Fourth of July celebrations were held where both the ladies
and gentlemen all dressed in homespun. But these happy days of purity and
virtue are past--extravagance in dress, and almost everything else--idleness and
profligacy has usurped the place of prudence and industry. God send that
our wives and daughters, could be induced to imitate the customs of the days of
Martha Washington--then, indeed, they would be helpmates for men, instead of
drawbacks. If we were entitled to wear the "robe," we should
incessantly urge the people to reform! reform!! reform!!!
Dallas
Herald, December 25, 1861,
p. 2, c. 3
A great deal is said in our exchanges about "speculators,"
"extortioners," "blood-suckers," "vampires,"
"shylocks," &c.—about the people rising en masse and
regulating the prices of merchandise and many other things, with which we have
nothing to do. If the prices do not suit them, they need not buy,--and as
far as Texans are concerned, they can eat jerked beef and corn-dodgers, a very
wholesome diet, drink milk, sassafras tea, or mustang wine, wear homespun
clothes, and as our winters are short, wait patiently till summer, then lie in
the shade and eat water-melons. A few years ago, the pioneers of this
State had no more luxuries than they have now,--in fact, not half so many, and
yet there was but little grumbling and a great deal more reliance on self.
If the merchants ask a heavy per centage on their goods, the people need not
give it, unless they choose to do so, and as to "hard times," it is
all stuff, compared with what our forefathers suffered, and what any brave
people can suffer, in defense of their homes and their liberties.
When a people can get nothing to eat and really "nothing to wear,"
then they may talk and grumble about hard times. As Mrs. Partington
says, "nothing despises us as much," as to hear complaints of
"hard times" in Texas, when the crops have been good, and thousands of
cattle roam the prairies. Hard times are only the nightmares that affect
the lazy or the sluggish.
Washington
[Ark.] Telegraph, January
29, 1862
To
our lady friends in the country, we would earnestly recommend the propriety of
industriously pursuing the manufacture of cloth. The winter is now more
than half gone and the time for making jeans is pretty well over, but as summer
comes on, we will want summer cloth for clothing. Let any one examine the
stores, and they will see that the goods are all gone suitable for clothing.
We have worked energetically, gloriously for our soldiers, but they will need
summer clothing, and we must work just as though we never expected peace.
Those of us who have stayed at home have been wearing our old clothes and
letting all the new "truck" go to the soldiers, but the old coats and
pants are almost gone, and we will have to have some new ones. So let all
the ladies go to work. If they make more than they need for the "dear
ones" at home, send it to town and sell it; the purchasers will be plenty,
and every yard will be consumed.
Charleston
Mercury, February 7, 1862
, p. 4, c. 1
Homespun
The air is
balmy with the breath
Of the
early coming Spring,
And yet the
sweet South breeze to me
No other
thought can bring
Than of the
arms that clasped me fondly to his breast,
As through
my tears I saw him, clad in his homespun dress.
I saw him
in the winding ranks;
The sun it
glittering played,
Like a halo
of glory round his head
And upon
his trusty blade.
I envied
the steed that bore him, and the comrade at his side,
And prayed
that God would guard him, whatever might betide.
Oh! sun,
and dew, and storm, and rain,
I prithee
gently fall,
And may the
guardian angel's wing
Avert the
deadly ball;
That glory
won,
And duty
done,
I once
again may press
The hand of
him I dearly love, clad in his homespun dress.
Charleston
Mercury, February 28,
1862, p. 4, c. 5
A ball is to come off in Raleigh, N. C., to-night. The ladies are all to
be dressed in homespun, the gentlemen are to wear homespun also, and wooden
shoes.
Charleston
Mercury, March 5, 1862, p.
1, c. 6
Vice-President Stephens was sworn into office, dressed in silk clothes, woven by
the Misses Elizabeth and Sallie Sharp, of Tallaferro county, Georgia.
Southern
Confederacy [Atlanta, Ga.],
March 6, 1862, p. 3, c. 1
Country
Brown Jeans Wanted.
I wish to purchase for the "Confederate Continentals," 500 yards best
brown Jeans, delivered immediately at my store; also, for same, 500 yards
Georgia Plains and 100 pair cotton and woolen Socks.
mar6-2t
A. K. Seago.
Weekly
Columbus [GA] Enquirer, March
18, 1862, p. 3, c. 4
Improved Spinning Wheel.—Mr. H. A. Cook, of this place, has presented us with
one of his "Improved, Dixie Spinning Wheels." The
improvement is in the spindle and can be used upon the old fashioned wheels.
They spin three times as fast as the old spindles. This is a timely and
valuable invention. Everybody should have one; as everybody who can should
be spinning and weaving during the next winter. The wheels can be had at
the Foundry in this place.
[Athens Banner.
Daily
Chronicle & Sentinel [Augusta, Ga.],
March 20, 1862, p. 3, c. 1
Home Manufactured Cloth.--Mr. E. H. Chamberlain, of Edgefield District, S.
C., has shown us two specimens of cloth manufactured by Mrs. Chamberlain, which
are a novelty in their way. One specimen is made, the warp of cotton, the
filling of rabbit fur; the other of the same warp, the filling of coon fur.
Both fabrics are soft and flexible, handsome in appearance, and evidently
durable. A suite of such cloth would become any man. We hope Mr.
Chamberlain may find it profitable to manufacture this kind of cloth, that the
people may have the benefit of it for garments.
When our hunters become aware that the fur of these animals can be turned to
much good account, they will no doubt redouble their efforts to capture them.
Austin
State Gazette, March 29,
1862, p. 3, c. 2
"A
daughter of Old Virginia" talks like the noble woman that she is, in the
following address to her sex:
For the Enquirer.
Women of
the South.
What is our duty to our country? Have we nothing to do in this great
crisis? Is the war nothing to us? Have we no interests at stake?
Does the invasion of our land by a ruthless foe inflict no injury on us?
Does the treat of subjugation meet with no resentment from our bosoms?
Surely, surely, our liberties, our future hopes, our earthly happiness, our all
is at stake. And have we nothing to do? Is there no call for
exertion on our part? Yes, there is a call. Reason says, we must do
something, and that quickly. But what must we do? . . .
We
must go to work, too. The sound of the loom and the hum of the spinning
wheel must again be heard in our land. We must work wool and flax and
cotton willingly with our hands. We have worshipped at the shrine of
female vanity already too long. Let us renounce it now and forever. . .
God
grant the people of the South their rights and independence, is the daily prayer
of
A DAUGHTER OF "OLD VIRGINIA."
Weekly
Columbus [GA] Enquirer, April
1, 1862, p. 2, c. 8
Economy.—We were shown a few days since a sample of thread spun from cotton
carded on a woollen factory at Mr. J. Summerour's, Amicolala. It proves
beyond question that cotton can be manufactured into rolls on wool cards so as
to answer all the purposes of domestic use. The rolls are sold at the mill
at 20 cents per lb; and if cotton be bought below at 7 and 8 cents they would
cost much less. During the blockade we can get neither cards nor goods
from abroad, nor thread from home only at a ruinous price, therefore every
prudent house keeper will at once arrange to make their own cloth. This is
true independence, the results of which will shortly make us a great
self-sustaining nation, and a wise, good and happy people.
Charleston
Mercury, April 10, 1862,
p. 1, c. 1
Louisiana Cottonade.--We translate from L'Avant Courrier the following:
The Creole women of Attakapas have been making, for a long time, out of the
cotton grown upon the soil, certain goods much esteemed in the markets of the
South. A woman can make twenty-five ells (an ell is a yard and a half) of
cottonade a month, and this is worth three dollars an ell, which makes
seventy-five dollars. The expenses of fabrication are small. Two
years since a Tennessean brought into Attakas a certain number of machines to
clean, card and spin the cotton. There are now in this region about a
hundred of these machines, capable of making 300 ells of cottonade a month.
The cottonade sells at a price reduced to one dollar and seventy-five cents an
ell. The machine imported from Tennessee does not occupy more than four or
five square feet, and can be worked by two children.
Savannah
Republican, April 12,
1862, p. 1, c. 1
Louisiana Cottonade.—We translate from L'Avant Courrier the following:
The Creole women of Attakapas have been making, for a long time, out of the
cotton grown upon the soil, certain goods much esteemed in the markets of the
South. A woman can make twenty-five ells (an ell is a yard and a half) of
cottonade a month, and this is worth three dollars an ell, which makes
seventy-five dollars. The expenses of fabrication are small. Two
years since a Tennessean brought into Attakapas a certain number of machines to
clean, card and spin the cotton. There are now in this region about a
hundred of these machines, capable of making 300 ells of cottonade a month.
The cottonade sells at a price reduced to one dollar and seventy five cents an
ell. The machine imported from Tennessee does not occupy more than four or
five square feet, and can be worked by two children.
Weekly
Columbus [GA] Enquirer, April
15, 1862, p. 3, c. 1
Cotton Cards.—We have inadvertently neglected to call attention, editorially,
to the important fact that Messrs. J. Ennis & Co., of this city, have in
store a large lot of Cotton Cards. It is an important fact,
for such cards have for months been in much demand, and it was almost impossible
to procure them at any price. It has been stated that they cannot be
manufactured in the South, for the want of the right kind of wire. The
ingenuity and enterprise of our people will supply all such wants in time; but
it is essential that they should have cotton cards now, when the raw
material is uncommonly cheap and every process of its manufacture extravagantly
high. The cotton card, the spinning wheel and the hand loom, though they
look very much like a return to primitive and "old fogy" customs, will
act an essential part in working out our people's independence and prosperity.
Chicago
Daily Tribune, April 17,
1862, p. 3, c. 3
Letters
from Secessia. Pictures and Writings of Rebel Life. From the Camps
of Island No. 10.
Our
own correspondent with the expedition on the Mississippi, sends us a budget of
letters from the captured rebel camps of Island No. 10. They constitute
graphic pictures of phases of Southern life under the rebellion, and we give
them verbatim and liberatim without comment:
...
From another letter, dated Saline, La., Feb. 22, 1862, and signed Hassa Mobley:
"I do hope by the blessing of God that peace will be made shortly, and all
the soldiers return back to their beloved homes; and the only way is to put all
of our trust in God, and be prayerful. Are there any cotton cards in
Columbus? I heard there was some there. There is a great call for
cards here. Most all of the women and girls have gone to spinning and
weaving. You just ought to be here to see how industrious we all are.
It is the hardest times I ever saw about getting anything." . .
Weekly
Columbus [GA] Enquirer, April
22, 1862, p. 4, c. 3
Louisiana Cottonade.—We translate from L'Avant Courier the following:
The Creole women of Attakapas have been making for a long time, out of the
cotton grown upon the soil, certain goods much esteemed in the markets of the
South. A woman can make twenty-five ells (an ell is a yard and a half), of
cottonade a month, and this is worth $3 an ell, which makes $75. The
expenses of fabrication are small. Two years since a Tennessean brought
into Attakapas a certain number of machines to clean, card and spin the
cotton. There are now in this region about a hundred of these machines,
capable of making 300 ells of cottonade a month. The cottonade sells at a
price reduced to $1.75 an ell. The machine imported from Tennessee does
not occupy more than four or five square feet, and can be worked by two
children.
Austin
State Gazette, April 26,
1862, p. 4, c. 1
Cow Hair vs. Wool.—The manufacture of cow hair mixed with cotton has recently
been introduced with perfect success. It is said to be quite as warm and
durable for coarse fabrics as wool and cotton. It is being manufactured in
considerable quantities in Tennessee. One whole company has been uniformed
with it.—Ex.
Charleston
Mercury, April 29, 1862,
p. 4, c. 1
The War and
the Manufacturing Interests of the South.
A correspondent of DeBow's Review for April gives a detailed account of the
increase of manufactures in the South since the beginning of the war. The
following are a portion only of the many referred to:
In Spartanburg and Laurens, South Carolina, great manufacturing enterprise has
been exhibited. In the latter county it is mentioned, in addition to the
regular branches of manufacture, the ladies generally are making a great
quantity of most excellent cloth of various descriptions for men's wear,
children, negros, and even for themselves, which are now taking the places of
fine delaines and silks. The ladies in one battalion in that district,
recently furnished for the uniforms of one company of volunteers three hundred
and fifty yards of very nice jeans, five hundred yards of flannel, and three
hundred and fifty pairs of socks, in a very short time, made upon the
old-fashioned hand looms, which are numerous in that county--one in almost every
family--and some of the cloth for service is said to be equal, if not superior,
to the best broadcloth. In Chester every household is said to have become
a manufacturing establishment. . . . In Carthage, the entire people, it is said,
with unexampled energy, have recurred to the primeval principles and customs of
industry, economy and frugality which characterized our ancestors for many years
subsequent to the wars of '76 and 1812. . . .The women, too, animated with
becoming zeal and resolution to sustain our glorious cause, have put aside their
silks, their calicos, their head dresses, and covered up their pianos, and have
substituted the wheel, the cards, the loom, and are fostering a commendable
spirit of emulation in making the largest number of yards, and the neatest
patterns of checks and stripes for themselves and their little ones, and the
substantial jeans to clothe their husbands, their sons, and their brothers in
the army, and then for gratuitous distribution to any needy soldiers. They
are, without distinction of circle or property, all united in constant and
useful engagement in getting up domestics of every kind to add to their comforts
at home, and supply our army with blankets, clothing, and neat caps.
Defend us with your bayonets, and we will sustain you with our needles, is the
watchword with them.
Galveston
Weekly News, May 13, 1862,
p. 2, c. 5
Bryant's Station, May 3d, 1862.
Eds.
News--
.
. . The rains are abundant up here in Milam and Bell counties. Wheat looks
well and crops generally are very fine, though a great deal of land is lying
idle for want of somebody to cultivate it. Every man has gone from here to
the army. Every man is doing his best. The women and girls are
plowing in the field and spinning and weaving in the house. So we go.
We cannot starve or go naked so long as our women are so resolute and patriotic.
Bellville
[TX]Countryman, May 31,
1862, p. 1, c. 3
Bellville, May 27th, 1862.
There are a good many families making cloth of cotton and wool. This you
know is called linsey woolsy. They dye the wool before it is carded or
spun. The old lady where I board colored some the other day. She
told me she wanted a cotton basketful of little green moss. I
wondered what she could want that stuff for. I never heard that it was
good for anything before. True, in North Carolina, we used to cut down
trees in the winter when the snow was upon the ground, and fodder and hay were
scarce as they generally were there, and let the sheep eat this green moss to
keep them alive, and by this means we were saved the trouble of pulling the wool
from the dead sheep. However, I said nothing to the old lady, and after
dinner I took the cotton basket and a couple of the boys and went to the timber.
We found a plenty of moss. The boys climbed the trees and pulled it off
while I picked it up and put it in the basket. In about three hours, we
had got the basket full, when we started home. I carried the basket while
the boys walked along, one on either side, chatting and talking a good deal. . .
.
You have known some very clever old women no doubt, who would sometimes commence
to tell a story, and after commencing it tell five or six other stories before
finishing the one they started to tell or perhaps forget all about it and not
finish it at all. You probably begin to think it is going to be about so
with my moss, but I have been all the time thinking about that moss and will try
and get to it now.
After we got home, the old lady took the moss and picked it all over, picking
out all the sticks and pieces of bark and dead moss, she then took the large
kettle and spread a layer of moss all over the bottom of it and then a layer of
wool and then a layer of moss, and so moss and wool alternately until the kettle
was full. She then laid some boards across the top and put a rock on the
top to hold it down and then filled the kettle with water and boiled it.
It made the most beautiful brown color I ever saw. They used to call it a
dark snuff color in North Carolina. This is called "dyeing in the
wool," and will not wash out nor fade. The old lady has a piece of
about thirty yards in the loom now. You shall have a "Sunday go to
meeting" suit off of it, if you get home pretty soon. You would look
better in a suit of it than if dressed up in Yankee "store clothes." .
. .
G. W. Jefferson Smith.
Charleston
Mercury, June 14, 1862, p.
1, c. 2
Soldiers'
Clothing for the Winter Campaign.
[From the
Richmond Whig]
As we look for no relaxation of the blockade or cessation of the war, until the
Yankees shall be taught the impossibility of conquest, we ask the attention of
the Government to the important subject of clothing the soldiers next winter.
There is a great deal of wool in the country, and a large crop of flax will, no
doubt, be grown in many parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee; but
cotton warp constitutes the basis of all our textile fabrics. How can the
people obtain this indispensable article? The coarse yarn spun by
machinery is scarce and very costly; and though we see the cotton burned in the
face of the invader, raw cotton cannot be obtained in many portions of the
interior at any price.
There is a mechanical difficulty, also, which has impeded domestic manufacture.
Hand cards cannot be had at any price.
While our soldiers are in the field, there are at home thousands of patriotic
mothers and sisters, willing to toil in any way, and under any disadvantage, for
those who defend them. But, in many cases, these patriotic women have
neither material nor machinery to manufacture the clothing and blankets their
friends require.
We may anticipate a similar difficulty in regard to shoes and boots, though
there will be, we suppose, leather enough to produce a winter supply of so
indispensable an article.
Now, what can our Government do to provide for the winter wants of our army?
We answer, let it appoint commissioners of manufactures within the sections of
country prepared to conduct the operations referred to, and assign to them as
many skilled artizans, detailed under authority of the Act of Congress, as may
be necessary to give effect to the object of army supply.
In the meantime the Government should purchase and distribute, at low prices,
quantities of raw cotton, and if possible wool, so as to employ the industrious
poor, who have the will to work, without the means to work. These measures
will cause domestic manufactures which still linger in upper Virginia, Carolina,
and Tennessee, to revive and furnish important aid to the cause.
This plan, with the manufacture and distribution of hand cards, will meet the
emergency; for though the goods thus made may not be so good as we would wish,
they will be infinitely better than rags.
Southern
Confederacy [Atlanta, Ga.],
June 17, 1862, p. 2, c. 2
For the Confederacy.
Ladies
Impress Cotton.
Manassas, Bartow County, Ga., }
June 14, 1862.
Editors
Confederacy:
The ladies are truly a great institution.--The sufferings of our patriot
soldiers arouse all their sympathies and tender feelings, for whom they undergo
fatigue and trouble, scarcely to be expected of the softer sex.--But when
occasion makes it necessary, they can show themselves made of sterner stuff than
sighs and tears. This was illustrated by a party of ladies at Cass Depot,
in this county, to-day. A gentleman of Mannassas [sic] who now and then
indulges in little speculations, had a few bales of cotton at the depot, a part
of which the wives of some absent soldiers said they greatly needed. They
proposed to the owner to purchase what they wanted, but as they did not wish so
much as a bag, he declined to let them have it. They told him they would
take it; and in compliance with promise thus made to him, they went to the
depot, called for the Agent as a witness of their doings, and cut the rope from
one bale, took what they needed, and marched very quietly home with it. I
believe they propose to pay the owner fair compensation.
So you see some of the women of Bartow are bent on having cotton.
I do not write this to express approval or disapproval of the act, but merely to
relate the circumstance.
JEAN.
G.W.A.
The
Southern Banner [Athens, Ga.],
August 6, 1862, p. 4, c. 7
Wanted!
1000
yards country Cotton Cloths, plain, striped and checked;
1000
yards Woolen Linsey for Overshirts;
500
yards "
Jeans for Coats and Pants for all which the best market price will be paid in
cash.
July
16.
I. M. Kenney.
Washington
[Ark.] Telegraph, August
6, 1862
We were pleased to observe the industry of our country ladies with their looms.
Everywhere they are in operation. Jeans, linseys, and coarse cotton
stuffs, are being turned out in an abundance, which (considering the scarcity of
cards, and the inability of the Pike co. factory to supply yarns,) is truly
astonishing. The country ought to get cards for them at fair rates, and
our soldiers and families would soon be independent. As it is, we believe
the women will make almost enough. One lady has made a thousand yards
already. Others, perhaps, much more.
The
Southern Banner [Athens, Ga.],
August 6, 1862, p. 4, c. 7
Work for
All.
I
have purchased 1,000 dollars worth of cotton cards, which I am willing to sell
to any person for a good note for ten dollars--the note must have the name of
some person known to myself. Then I will agree to take cloth in payment
for the note, at market prices, delivered between this and July 1st, 1862.
Persons who wish to lend a helping hand in working out our independence, and at
the same time make for themselves a living, must make arrangements to get a pair
of cards, as they are the bane of our independence. The Factory's may be
burnt, but cotton cards in the hands of the working women are safe.
April
23.
Austin
State Gazette, August 27,
1862, p. 1, c. 1
We call the attention of the public to the letter of his Excellency Gov. Lubbock
to Gen. Jas. S. Besser, Financial Agent of the State Penitentiary, which will be
found in today's paper.
The letter is published for general information.
The Penitentiary is doing all it can to supply the wants of our gallant army and
their families. We fear, however, it will prove wholly inadequate to
accomplish that end.
We can but urge upon all who are in a position to do so, that they make every
yard of cloth in their power, not only for their own use, but to supply to those
who are unable to make it for themselves.
Washington
[Ark.] Telegraph,
September 3, 1862
...Every
family throughout this Department, possessed of a spinning wheel and a loom, is
requested to manufacture as large a quantity of cloth (both woolen and cotton)
as the raw material at its command will permit. Those who have no
facilities for spinning or weaving, may assist in the good work, by making up
shirts, drawers, pantaloons, coats and overcoats, and by knitting stockings, and
making hats or caps and shoes, while those who have looms adapted to the
purpose, can furnish blankets, or some other article answering the same object.
--Jno. D. Adams,
Capt. and Acting Chief Quartermaster, Trans-Mississippi District.
Savannah
Republican, September 6,
1862, p. 2, c. 5
What the
Women of Georgia are Doing for Independence.
We extract the following paragraphs from the letter signed
"Countryman," written from the "Piney Woods" to the
Thomasville Times: . . .
And I should say a word about Homespun, real Georgia Homespun, that is made and
worn to mill, to meeting, and to market, by all grades in the country.
Believe me, Mr. Editor, I have been much pleased with many of the neat plaid and
striped homespun dresses I have seen, worn by a good form, neatly made, and then
the pretty face was shaded by one of those pretty home made bonnets, and a halo
of patriotic industry all over it—it was the very love of a dress. Mr.
Editor, if you want to make a paper for the country people, you must go among
them, and see what things they fasten on. You must listen to the music of
the wheel, and the scratch, scratch, of the cards, as the rolls are being
prepared for the wheel—and then it may be out by the side of the house, under
a shelter—listen to the bang, bang, of the real Georgia loom, as some female
member of the family plys [sic] the shuttle, shifts the triddles [sic] and waves
the batten, in making the fabric that will place us in a state of independence
of Lynn and Lowell and Manchester.
Dallas
Herald, September 6, 1862,
p. 1, c. 5
We some time ago suggested that "hog, hominey [sic] and homespun"
constituted the actual necessities of life.
Some of our friends in the city smiled incredulously at the idea, and others
called it impracticable. We made use of the expression understandingly,
and that too after seeing a practical illustration of it in other parts of the
Confederacy. The people of the interior of Texas have, since then, begun
to put it into practice, and it is well they have. At the present
moment there are not enough imported goods in the State to clothe one-fifth of
its people, and not enough imported provisions to feed one in a hundred.
The time must come in the progress of events, and that too very shortly, when
the amount of dry goods in all the stores in Texas will not clothe one in a
hundred of the population. What then? Homespun, and the sooner
people learn to make it, the better for them. Hog and hominy—a rough
expression for home produce—we have all come to. Let the people put into
operation practical independence. If the country will not subsist the
population, it is not worth living in. We are not worthy [of] our
liberties if we cannot conquer them—the country is not worthy of us if it
cannot support us.—Houston Telegraph.
Bellville
[TX]Countryman, September
20, 1862, p. 1, c. 5
Almost every family in this county seems to be actively engaged in the
manufacture of cloth. Some have not yet got their looms, and some are
still in want of spinning wheels; but all seem to be making preparations in some
way to manufacture enough for home consumption.
Galveston
Weekly News, September 24,
1862, p. 2, c. 1
MAKE
YOUR OWN CLOTH.--The people of Texas are learning the practical lesson of
independence in the only school in which it probably ever could be successfully
inculcated upon the Southern people--that of necessity. It is now plain we
must make our own cloth or do without it, and we trust there is not a man or
woman in Texas who would not prefer this alternative, rather than have the
southern market opened again to Yankee goods, no matter how cheap. We
rejoice to learn from many parts of the State that the Texas women are going to
work in earnest upon domestic manufacturers, and that the old spinning wheel and
hand loom are again being brought into requisition. This is evidence not
only that we shall be independent, but that we deserve to be a free people.--The
Huntsville Item says:
"The
time was, when Texans were noted for their 'homespun' independence; they can be
so again--This universal dependence on one factory is a shame to our name.
We went, a few days ago to