There were so many beautiful quilts. Just amazing the work these competitors have done. I only included a few, but I could have taking pictures of nearly all of them. I rarely meet a quilt that I do not like.
The speaker, Lynn Gorges owns a historic textiles studio. She collects and restores antique fabrics such as quilts, uniforms, and other clothes. She gave a talk on the history of the US Sanitary Commission (USSC) and its quilts that were made for Civil War soldiers. She also explained how these quilts were constructed and what fabrics were used at that time.
The USSC was a volunteer organization formed right after the start of the Civil War. It provided assistance in the form of donated supplies and nurses to Union troops. It is estimated that between 250,000-400,000 quilts made by volunteers and shipped to soldiers in hospitals and prisons. Each quilt was stamped with the USSC stamp. These quilts were of a size to fit across a cot and easily be rolled into a nap-sack. To date only 15 of these quilts are known to still exist. Many had to be thrown away due to significant wear or sanitary reasons, having been stained with blood or severely dirty. Some were also burned after their owners were exposed to outbreaks of yellow fever.
These were a few of Lynn Gorges quilts from the 1860's. They are not USSC quilts.
The other big event this weekend was New Bern Ghost Walk put on by the New Bern Historical Society. There are multiple historical homes and buildings open and at each place there are actors dressed up telling stories about the previous owners and how they were important to New Bern's history. The event took place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. This year the theme was prominent women of New Bern's past.
Creative photo of one of the lanterns outside the historic houses on Friday evening
Keith and I took the historical tour of Cedar Grove Cemetery Saturday afternoon. This cemetery was started in 1800 when a yellow fever outbreak made it necessary to open a larger cemetery for Christ Church. It was turned over to the town of New Bern in 1853. Many prominent people and families from the area are buried here and it also contains some of the best statuary in North Carolina. It is on the National Register of Historical Places.
Scenes from Cedar Grove Cemetery
Saturday evening Keith and I did the Cedar Grove Cemetery part of the Historical Society's Ghost Walk. It was the highlight of the event. Multiple actors dressed in period clothes did stories about prominent New Bern people interred in the cemetery.
A lone spirit wandering the cemetery
People on the Ghost Walk enjoying a story from one of the spirits
This was the spirit of William H. Singleton a teenage runaway slave from near New Bern. Singleton organized the First North Carolina Colored Infantry in New Bern in the spring of 1862. Union forces controlled New Bern for the majority of the Civil War and Singleton was one of many US Colored Soldiers recruited from New Bern. They were excellent soldiers, guides, scouts, and spies.
This specter is Margaret Sharpe Gaston, the wife of Dr. Alexander Gaston. Dr. Gaston settled in New Bern in 1764. He married Margaret Sharpe in 1775. Both Dr. Gaston and his wife Margaret were loyal patriots of the American Revolution. In 1781 a raid was conducted upon New Bern by Maj. James H. Craig and his band of Tories. Dr. Gaston was attached by the Tories while he was attempting to cross the Trent River by ferry out of downtown New Bern to his plantation outside of town. Margaret had run to the wharf fearing for her husband and came upon the Tories firing upon him. Despite her pleas for mercy, Dr Gaston was killed leaving her a widow with 2 children at the age of 26. She is said to have worn black in mourning for the remainder of her life. She raised their two children, both of whom were very successful. Son William Joseph became North Carolina's eminent jurist and daughter Jane married John Louis Taylor, chief justice of the supreme court of North Carolina. Margaret continued to manage her husbands plantation with considerable success. She was also known for her piety, kindness to the sick and destitute, and faithfulness to the church. She was an outstanding figure in the community until her death in 1811.
I just can not say what a great job New Bern did with this Ghost Walk. We thoroughly enjoyed the event. Very well done and wonderful to see the whole town involved.
