Civil War quilts focus of Cobblestone Museum program

Civil War quilts focus of Cobblestone Museum program

CHILDS – The Cobblestone Museum has announced an exciting new program for members and the general public.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, Lynne Zacek Bassett will present a virtual lecture via Zoom titled “With Womanly Weapons Girt: Women’s Voluntarism During the Civil War.”

According to Sue Bonafini, assistant director of the Cobblestone Society and Museum, the first portion of the lecture speaks of the role of women creating needed textiles for soldiers, and the second part focus on Civil War quilts.

“Lynne Zacek Bassett is an independent scholar specializing in historic costume and textiles,” Bonafini said. “Her lecture examines the quilts and other textiles that women in the North and South created to declare their patriotism and support their fighting menfolk. Women not only supplied these absent men with necessary clothing and bedding, but with assurance their sacrifice was honored and their presence missed. The production and supply of textiles during the Civil War speak to the Herculean efforts of women on the home front.”

Among Bassett’s projects are award-winning exhibitions and catalogues, including Homefront & Battlefield: Quilts & Context in the Civil War (co-authored with Madelyn Shaw and published in 2012 by the American Textile history Museum). An author and curator, Bassett’s experience has been recognized by the American Antiquarian Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society, Historic New England and the International Quilt Study Center.

Participants in the Zoom presentation should reserve about an hour, beginning at 7 p.m., followed by a question and answer period with Bassett. While the program will be offered via Zoom to a wider audience, limited seating will be available to view the program at the Cobblestone Church.

More information is available on the Cobblestone Society’s website or by calling the Museum at (585) 589-9013.