heir wants required it. Never a day or night passed without soldiers
being entertained or clothing distributed. One night only was as long
as a soldier was allowed to enjoy their hospitality, unless in cases
of emergency. The officers of the army, whenever able, were required
to pay a nominal sum for lodging. Better beds and conveniences were
furnished them, but if they were willing to take private's "fare,"
they paid private's "fee," which was gratuitous. As a general rule,
however, the officers kept apart from the men, for the officer who
pushed himself in the private's quarters was looked upon as penurious
and mean. It was only in times of the greatest necessity that a
Southern officer wished to appear thus. If the Southern soldier was
poor, he was always proud. This hotel was called the "South Carolina
Soldiers' Home," and most of the other States inside the lines had
similar institutions. In every home throughout the whole South could
be heard the old "hand spinning wheel" humming away until far in the
night, as the dusky damsel danced backwards and forwards, keeping step
to the music of her own voice and the hum of the wheel. The old women
sat in the corners and carded away with the hand-card, making great
heaps of rolls, to be laid carefully and evenly upon the floor or the
wheel. Great chunks of pine, called "lite'ood," were regularly thrown
into the great fire place until the whole scene was lit up as by an
incandescent lamp. What happiness, what bliss, and how light the toil,
when it was known that the goods woven were to warm and comfort young
"massa" in the army. The ladies of the "big house" were not idle while
these scenes of activity were going on at the "quarter." Broaches were
reeled into "hanks" of "six cuts" each, to be "sized," "warped," and
made ready for the loom. Then the little "treadle wheel" that turned
with a pedal made baskets of spools for the "filling." By an ingenious
method, known only to the regularly initiated Southern housewife, the
thread was put upon the loom, and then the music of the weaver's beam
went merrily along with its monotonous "bang," "bang," as yard after
yard of beautiful jeans, linsey, or homespuns of every kind were
turned out to clothe the soldier boys, whose government was without
the means or opportunity to furnish them. Does it look possible at
this late day that almost the entire Southern Army was clothed by
cloth carded, spun, and woven by hand, and mostly by the w