Civil War Bandages

From: saukcountyhistory.org

When Governor Randall made an appeal to Wisconsin women to aid in caring for the soldiers, Sauk County women stepped up to provide medical and economic support. Women began meeting at homes to sew and knit garments for the soldiers. Soon, these informal meetings turned into aid societies with officers, rules, committees and regular schedules of work.

These aid societies raised the money needed to purchase materials for their work by gathering subscriptions (a pledge of money) and by entertaining audiences, with tableaus (A type of play in which a group of people create still picture(s) to tell the story)

Some of the items women made and provided to the troops included:
Bandages - There was no absorbent cotton or gauze. Thousands of bandages were handmade by tearing old sheets into strips and rolling them into hard round rolls. Lint was provided for the bandages by scrapping old linen or cotton with a dull knife until it became a fluffy mass. Women also assembled charpies or threads pulled from white cloth and bundled into clumps. Both the lint and charpies were placed over wounds, under rolled bandages.

Posted in: Bandages,Civil War Medical Instruments and Supplies