Page 48 - Arkansas Confederate Women

WORK OF CAMDEN WOMEN.

By Mrs. G. N. Stinson, of Camden.
Maj. Joseph Graham and his charming family were well-
known in Camden in the times before the war as leaders in soci-
ety. Their wealth, education and prominence made the old
Graham mansion a notable place. Maj. Graham was a first
cousin of Mrs. Stonewall Jackson, and his wife was Mary Wash-
ington, who inherited the blood of her kinsmen, George Wash-

ington and Robert E. Lee.
The first company of Confederate soldiers to leave Camden,

in 1861, was the Camden Knights. They were assigned to the
First Arkansas Eegiment 'and were ordered to far-off Virginia.
Fathers, husbands and brothers of the principal families were on
the roll of this company, and it was a sad trial to the dear ones
left behind that two or three weeks were necessary to convey a
letter to or fro. But soon other companies were formed and
ordered to different commands.

CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS'* AID SOCIETY.

The ladies of Camden, after bidding adieu to their loved

ones, dried their tears and began the life that has endeared the

ASouthern woman to the old Confederate soldier. society was

organized to make clothes for the soldiers, gather medicines and

write them cheering letters. Mrs. J. H. Graham was chosen

president and soon became the guiding light. The writer was a

member of that society and well remembers the perfect unity

that prevailed, notwthstanding the fact that all religious denomi-
nations and all classes of society were represented. Mrs. Gra-

ham gave freely of her money and her time. She fed the hun-
gry, clothed the threadbare and nursed the sick back to life. Two
soldiers died in her home, whom she had nursed as tenderly as

their mother could have done.

MAKING CLOTHES.
Whole suits of clothes and undergarments were made by