As winter approached the South was short of blankets for its soldiers in the field. Here’s a way for the Confederate citizenry to help out.
From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 10, 1863:
Blankets
are much needed by our soldiers in the field. Every person that can spare one or more should do so immediately, and thus prevent great suffering in the army.–Carpets, cut up and made into proper size, will keep off the cold and damp, and will be highly appreciated by all who receive them.
This idea doesn’t seem as outre as other make-do techniques, such as okra coffee. It is written that such carpeting could be made into a traveling bag, which could also be used as a “railway-rug” to keep travelers warm:
From Robert Louis Stevenson’s Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879): “… my railway-rug, which, being also in the form of a bag, made me a double castle for cold nights.”
carpetbag, circa 1860 – warm material, too
The icicle image is from wpclipart. The carpetbag image is licensed by Creative Commons.
