Civil War Patriotic Quilt

Civil War Patriotic Quilt, New York, c. 1861, constructed of cotton having three central panels, the upper with an American eagle pieced of yellow and brown holding in his beak a red banner inscribed "THE UNION FOREVER" above a white dotted blue field containing thirty-four stars arranged in the Great Star pattern, above a white field containing the symbolic broken chain and pieced letters, "END OF THE WAR." The panels, quilted with stars and ships, are flanked by thirteen red and white stripes quilted alternately with guns and swords. The quilt is backed with white cotton and edged in blue, (imperfections), 84 1/2 x 79 in. Provenance: Deaccessioned from a Northeastern institute. N.B. The quilt is the handiwork of a Ladies Auxiliary group, composed chiefly of mothers and sisters of boys serving in the Union Army from in and around Sandy Creek Co., New York. It was started early in the progress of the war as the thirty-four stars represent only the thirty-four states that comprised the nation when the war broke out in 1861, (West Virginia became a state in 1863 and Nevada in 1864). At the close of the war in April 1865, the quilt was sent to Gen. Grant as a token of appreciation of his leadership and successful ending of the war. But Gen. Grant returned it with a note of thanks asking that it be sold and the funds realized applied to local charity. It was put up at auction at a rally and bid in by Mr. P.M. Newton of Sandy Creek in whose family and descendants it has since Read more…