southernbelles

SOUTHERN BELLES: THE HEART AND SOUL OF THE CONFEDERACY

         There can be no doubt about it, when it came to devotion to the southern cause it was the women of the south who took first place, hands down. The British officer, Arthur J. Freemantle, who toured the country to observe the war, noted that it was the famously lovely southern belles who were by far the most patriotic and combative. It was they who used all of their persuasive powers to encourage men to enlist, it was they who sewed flags, socks and uniforms and who kept the country functioning while the men were fighting the war. Wealthy southern ladies sold jewelry and heirlooms to support the cause, others worked to support the troops doing every form of job, even working behind enemy lines at the peril of their life to supply valuable information to the Confederacy. They also suffered as much if not more than the men at the front.
          When Union forces occupied the city of New Orleans, one particularly bold southern belle dumped a full chamber pot from an upstairs window on none other than the famous Yankee admiral David G. Farragut. Their opposition in New Orleans was so fierce that the Union commander, Benjamin "the Beast" Butler issued an order declaring that any women who acted in any way disrespectful towards Union forces would be treated as a prostitute. When the cruel General Sherman launched his infamous "march to the sea" there were virtually no Confederate troops to oppose them, and it was the southern ladies who stood alone at the homefront, bravely facing the marauding blue hordes who sacked and pillaged all that they had. During the siege of Petersburg, when civilians were living in near starvation conditions themselves, the women of Richmond sacrificed their effort and all the food they had to scrape together a modest Christmas meal for General Lee's army.
          The women of the south went above and beyond in the support of their country and kept the war going to the bitter end. They contributed in every way and while it would be a clear impossibility to list all those who deserve recognition, here are a very few that stand out:

The "Rebel Rose"
Rose O'Neal Greenhow

"La Belle Rebelle"
Captain Belle Boyd

"Queen of the Confederacy" Lucy Holcombe

"The South's Paul Revere" Sophia Coffee

The First Lady of the South
Mrs. Varina Davis

Afghan -$45.00, Southern Belles -Priceless Photo from Ruffin Flag Co.

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