February 19, 1862
Women may not have been allowed to fight in the war, but they fought their own battle at home to provide the troops with what they needed.
On February 13, 1862, Jean Eaton, the wife of the Reverend Heald M. Eaton, conducted a meeting of The Soldiers’ Society of Kents Hill and Fayette, at Fayette Mills.
During the Civil War, local soldiers’ aid societies formed in the North and the South to provide troops with homemade supplies, such as blankets and clothing.
The organizations were primarily headed by and composed of women, such as Jean Eaton, who wanted to help the war effort.
In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln had asked "the Loyal Ladies of the North" for their help in collecting supplies. Women by the thousands in Maine and the other Union states joined their local chapters.
The societies were the local branch of the New England Women’s Auxiliary Society, part of the regional branch of the United States Sanitary Commission (which became the American Red Cross).
Northern New England – Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine – had more than 1,500 soldiers’ aid societies. The organizations raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in addition to collecting and distributing supplies.
Eaton played a role in getting this central supply system accepted by her community. Many of those with whom Eaton met were willing to collect supplies to soldiers whom they knew. Some, however, were reluctant to donate to an organization that then sent the goods to a general clearing house.
Married to a religious figure, Eaton had an advantage. Many spiritual practices encourage people to help their fellow man, whether a neighbor or a far away stranger. Eaton presented that principle to her neighbors and new found associates to convince the people of Fayette, Kents Hill, Mt. Vernon, Readfield, and Vienna that donating to the greater good was important.
- Where and when was the first soldiers’ aid society founded?
- What specific items may have been inside an aid package?