Fashion and Survival - The Bonnet Civil War Stories
Finding a well-preserved bonnet civil war reenactors would actually find authentic today tells you a lot about the daily grit of the 1860s. It's easy to look back at old tintypes and think of those headcoverings as just a quaint fashion choice, but for the women living through that era, a bonnet was a tool for survival. It protected their skin from the blistering sun, offered a tiny bit of privacy in a world turned upside down by conflict, and eventually became a symbol of how much they had to sacrifice as resources dwindled. ...