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“Economy Rules the Day:”
The Civil War Sacrifices of Judith Walker McGuire
by Tim Sheehan

Table of Contents | Introduction | Conclusion | Endnotes | Printable HTML version | Images | Related Web Resources

Other Contributions to Confederate Soldiers

As mentioned earlier, a rail line linking Richmond to points North runs through Ashland. Once every so often, trains carrying troops passed by the Ashland depot during the time she resided there. On 15 December 1862, trains carrying invalid soldiers from the Fredericksburg campaign to Richmond stopped at Ashland. McGuire reports in the Diary “Every lady, every child, every servant in the village, has been engaged preparing and carrying food to the wounded as the cars stopped at the depot.” People gave soldiers “coffee, tea, soup, milk, and every thing we could obtain.” The gratitude of the soldiers touched McGuire. “Ah, poor fellows, what can the ladies of Virginia ever do to compensate them for all they have done and suffered for us?” McGuire noted that the men of Ashland “were enabled to do what we could not—walk through each car, giving comfort as they went.” This restriction may have been due to the ghastly condition of the wounded. Someone informed McGuire that one of the men aboard the train had both his "eyes shot out,” a sight deemed unsuitable for women. The Diary contains several other similar events. This means of contributing to the war effort appears to have ceased after the fall of 1863. Judith McGuire did not have the time for such tasks during the remainder of the War. (55)

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This page last updated 1 January 2008