Civil War “Sanitary Commission” Quilts Reproduced by Donald Beld
The seven photos of Civil War reproduction quilts that are shared in this blog entry today represent quilts made by Donald Beld of California. They simulate actual “Sanitary Commission” quilts that were made in the North and sent to Union soldiers in the field.
By the way, Don founded the “Home of the Brave” program that re-creates and distributes reproduction Civil War quilts to families of U.S. fallen military in Iraq and Afghanistan. The quilts are made by volunteer quilters from across the country.
In support of the program when it first started, I supplied information to The Quilter magazine, (May 2005 issue). At the time of publication, only four original Sanitary Commission quilts were known to be extant. Since then, several more quilts of this type have been discovered. Most of the approximately 250,000 that were sent off to war from the North are lost to history.
Don is a retired hospital administrator who makes quilts with connections to history. He enjoys hand piecing but acknowledges the limitations of his mortal stay on this planet. In order to finish more quilts, he now seeks the help of a machine quilter, 50% of the time, to do the actual quilting stitches that hold the layers of a quilt together.
He loves to quilt by hand and has hand-quilted all of these Sanitary Commission quilts. As Civil War quilters would have done, he applies bindings to each quilt, in the same manner. Whenever he can, he uses authentic period fabrics, but finds the fibers so weak that he has to “tie’ the quilt in lieu of “needling” it.
The quilts shown are from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire. As you will see, Don Beld’s work is a total inspiration!
This quilt made by Don Beld simulates one that was made in Florence, Massachusetts.
Close-up of the Florence, Massachusetts Sanitary Commission quilt reproduction made by Donald Beld
Sanitary Commission quilt first made in Vernon, Connecticut; reproduced by Donald Beld
Close-up view of reproduction quilt; this quilt was first made in Vernon, CT.
Civil War quilt reproduction of a quilt first created in Brandon, Vermont
The last of four quilts shown in this file originated in Dublin, New Hampshire:
All photos seen in this file were taken by, and provided by Don Beld, to whom they are copyrighted. We have his permission to publish them.
Photo-edits were done by Patricia Cummings.
Please do not copy any of these photos to any other site for the purpose of publication, but please do tell others to enjoy them here at: http://quiltersmuse.com/blog/. Of course, you may print a copy of this page for your own personal study. Thanks!
To learn how to make a quilt in the same pattern as the Sanitary Commission Quilt located at the A.K. Smiley Public Library, Lincoln Memorial Shrine, Redlands, California, please see this file: Civil War Reproduction Quilt The original was 48″ x 84″ to fit a soldier’s cot.
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
