Ella appears to have been forsaken.
I don't say that lightly. She said " I do this for the men who wore gray ", which meant a lot.
It took until the early 1870's for Confederate dead to be exhumed and brought from Gettysburg, PA to Richmond, at least. It was awful. Families knew their sons, brothers, fathers and husbands had marched into those terrible days but were never heard from again and were frantic. In the shambles post battle heck, dead lay unburied for weeks- barest inches of dirt served as graves for those who could be buried.
There's thread in Ladies Tea on the efforts to exhume and bring The Gettysburg Dead, home. Funeral processions met the coffins, some down at Rocketts, wound through Richmond to Hollywood where another mass grave had been prepared. There was just no hope of individual identification despite some incredible efforts made at doing so. Finances were a major impediment. Money raised went to exhuming and transporting the fallen ( although why the government could not have stepped in is beyond me ) .
I'm sorry, and am certain as a point of pride their flag, and probably flags from known regiments were in evidence. From reading accounts the color black predominated these processions. Defy anyone to read the non-embellished ( especially for Victorians ) newspaper accounts of bringing home the Gettysburg Dead- men who had fallen with their regiments, wearing gray, without crying. I sure did. I'm sincerely, honestly not taking sides or making a commentary on any flag or date or on the Confederacy in bringing The Gettysburg Dead into Ella Delight's conversation. It's just what struck me, that's all. " The men who wore gray ". I seem to remember the thread did not attract a ton of interest which is fine. It's there, which is what matters. Thank you, Ella.
Bringing the