March 8, 2016
The Southern Maryland Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce that its next meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at 7:00pm at the College of Southern Maryland’s Center for Business and Industry, Chaney Enterprises Conference Center, Room BI-113, at 8730 Mitchell Road in La Plata, MD.
Guest Speaker: Carol Randell
During discussions of Civil War aid societies, the conversations often end once the immeasurable efforts of the Christian Commission, U. S. Sanitary Commission, and various Northern states aid societies such as, the Maine Camp and Hospital Association are reviewed. This limited list begs the question, did not southern ladies also join together to help provide for the needs of the soldiers? The answer is, of course they did.
Although their efforts are not as well known today, the women of the south banded together as women have during every war to help relieve suffering. This presentation will provide an overview of various southern aid societies, and the impact the had on the common solider. A few examples of the individual and organization highlighted include the South Carolina Hospital Aid Association which established and/or ran several hospitals including the Midway Hospital in Charlottesville; and women like Mrs. S. C. Law, who in 1861 helped to form the Southern Mothers, “Devoting ourselves to the care of the sick or wounded soldiers of the Army of the Confederate States of America, wherever the chances of war shall bring them near to us.”
Carol Randell, R.N. is a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel who has been active in Civil War research for more than 20 years, with a focus on the role of women and aid societies. She received her B.S. in Nursing from Saint Anselm’s College, and her M.S. in Nursing from the University of California, San Francisco. She is an active member of the Maine Camp and Hospital Association and the 20th Main re-enactment group, providing living history events at a variety of State and National Parks. Ms. Randell lives in Huntingtown, Maryland.