DARK TIMES DURING OUR CIVIL WAR... LITERALLY

During the Civil War there were seas of black bonnets worn by women in mourning.

Did you know that more people lost their lives in America's Civil War than any subsequent war combined since? The blood soaked fields, not just Gettysburg, but in so many fields east of the Mississippi. 

President Lincoln said it well: "Our country is dark." He meant that literally. In 1861-1865, everywhere one looked, people, mainly women, were in black mourning their family and friends. 

When I shared this fact on the Quilts, Quakers and Questors Underground Railroad tour last week, there was a moment of silence for people who passed almost 200 years ago.  They got it immediately. This is really history. Our Michigan men died.

Now, we wear black because that "little black dress" is just sooo cute. Or, gray is the new black? Oh, the film The Blue & The Gray, which features more emotions than actual history.

History happened on our soil. There are over 300 Underground Railroad stops and markers in our State.