20th-Century Civil War Veterans Quilts

Kansas Grand Army of the Republic/Women's Relief Corps quilt

1930s. Collection of Cindy Rennels

1913 GAR Encampment

The Civil War veterans' associations have continued working into the 21st century, and a few 20th century quilts testify to their continuing use of quilts to raise funds and create community.

Quilt dated 1922 from Vermont, perhaps a veteran's group commemorative....

Deborah Grana's Collection

Civil War Veterans' groups were quite active in the years before the beginning of World War I in 1914.

1911 GAR parade, Lorain, Ohio

Read a newspaper article about the "County's Greatest Parade" here:

http://danielebrady.blogspot.com/2011/06/lorains-big-gar-parade-june-21-1911.html

In a March post here about quilts by Civil War groups, Terri commented:

The GAR encouraged the formation of Allied Orders to aid them in its various works....the GAR finally endorsed the Sons of Veterans of the United States of America (later to become the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War) as its heir...the (Allied Orders are) Womans' Relief Corps (WRC), the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic(LGAR), the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War (DUVCW), and the Auxiliary to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (ASUVCW). All have websites.

1936 program for a

Fathers and Daughters Banquet of 

the GAR and the DUV in Washington D.C.

The Daughters of Union Veterans (DUV) eventually

replaced their mothers as leaders in assisting veterans

and memorializing their service.

20th century redwork quilt from Antiques Roadshow

GAR quilt, mid-20th century

From Buckboard Antiques

The center features the meeting room and its chairs in Turkey red embroidery.

The caption tells us it was purchased from a Springfield, Missouri estate, but most of the identifiable women who signed it were from the Stillwater/Okmulgie, Oklahoma area. Read more here:

http://www.buckboardquilts.com/museum_quality.htm

Read the accounts of a 1903 meeting of the Northern California Veterans Association in Napa County, California:

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~enderlin/calistoga/cw/calistoga-ve-1903.htm