Tamassee Tidbits #1

As you already know, each regent has a special interest or project.  For the past

several administrations, the state regent's project has been specific renovations and restorations to maintain the integrity and beauty of Tamassee's First Lady, its first building, the South Carolina Cottage.  Having a special interest or project was not difference in the early years of our society.  With the name of the South Carolina Cottage being the Grace Ward Calhoun Cottage, one would naturally think that Tamassee was the project during Grace Ward Calhoun's administration from 1914-1917.  However, I would be remiss if I did not share with you that the vision for our mountain school was not Grace Calhoun's.  To learn of Tamasssee's actual beginnings, the vision, we must step back in time even further.

 

This story begins in 1906 with the administration of Virginia Mason Bratton.  During her administration, one of her objectives on the state level was to complete the Partisan Monument located on the State House grounds.  Before this project could continue, chapters were called upon to raise funds for Continental Hall, the NSDAR original headquarters building in Washington, D.C.  In 1908, South Carolina had raised the necessary $2000 to pay for its beautiful exterior monolithic column – the first state to accomplish the payment.

 

Having met National’s requests, the state renewed its efforts to the Partisan Monument.    Plans had been largely perfected during the administration of Sara Aldrich Richardson, and a substantial sum was added to that already in the bank generated during Richardson’s term; however, the project’s completion had to be turned over to Mrs. Bratton’s successor, Frances Louise Hudson Mayes. 

 

The cost of the monument was $5,500.  Louise Mayes wanted this project completed during her administration and feared that the Daughters could not raise the required sum (as they were not educated to giving) in addition to carrying on their state and national work.  Therefore, she personally appeared before the State Legislature and made a plea for $2000.  She so entirely captivated the lawmakers that 30 minutes after her entry into the hall, she had been voted the amount she asked.

Even though Louise Mayes was interested in all phases of patriotic work, her heart yearned toward the problem of education for the mountain children, particularly those of South Carolina.  It was from her that South Carolina Daughters caught the first vision of what has developed into Tamassee DAR School.  In her first address as State Regent in 1910, she said, and I quote: “Daughters of South Carolina, in my mind the problem of education for our mountaineer is our highest and noblest work.  A state’s greatest asset is her educated citizenship.  What a waste then, is this illiteracy among the mountain whites of our own state.  It seems to me, Daughters, that this is a form of conservation that should appeal to us as an organization and one that will find a responsive chord in every womanly heart.  Could I put into motion influences and project plans which would enable me to see smoke curling from a settlement school in the mountains of my state my rosiest dream will have found its full fruition.”  These words falling from the lips of Frances Louise Hudson Mayes gave the inspiration for our mountain school. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Nuggets #1

         SCDAR Honorary State Regent Grace Colglazier Marshall stated, “Always I wore the badge of my office in pride and with great joy in the friendships and shared accomplishments of the officers and members.  Wearing the ‘ribbon of blue,’ with which each State Regent is invested is not wholly unlike wearing the ‘ribband of blue’ with which the Children of Israel were likewise adorned; for, looking upon it, she is constantly reminded of the duties for which she was chosen – and, constantly inspired to be faithful to the ideals of her organization and to hold in loving remembrance the dreams and courage of American patriots.”  The verse referring to the ribband of blue is as follows and became her Scripture verse during her administration, the first known state regent to have a Scripture verse.

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make themselves fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue – that ye may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them – that ye may remember and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.”  Numbers 15:37-39

How did the DAR arrive at the colors of blue and white on a moire’ sash?  Did our sash originally have a reference to the ribband of blue found in those verses from Numbers?  I will give you a hint.  Yes.  The reference to the ribband of blue does have significance to our forefathers.

          To get a complete picture, we must start with the colors.  The DAR’s colors of blue and white were chosen at the second official DAR meeting of October 18, 1890 in honor of the uniforms of George Washington’s staff.  The blue color is easily traced whereas a reference to the color of white is not.

The color blue stems back to coats worn during the Colonial Wars. Sometimes the provincial troops were provided the red coats of the British, and sometimes they wore plain clothes.  The blue was selected for other troops by the provincial authorities and was the prominent coat color of the different provincial troops.  George Washington’s uniforms, from 1756-1763 when as Colonel of the Virginia foot regiments, were blue and buff.

As tensions with Great Britain  grew, the colonies began to organize men into companies.  The minutemen being the most famous of these companies.  On September 21, 1774, “a Number of Gentlemen and Freeholders of Fairfax County in the Colony of Virginia” formed a company and chose as their uniforms “a regular Uniform of Blue, turn’d up with Buff; with plain yellow metal Buttons, Buff Waist Coat and Breeches, and White Stockings…”  Even though Washington was not in attendance at this meeting as he was in Philadelphia as a delegate to the First Continental Congress, his step-grandson and adopted son, George Washington Parke Custis, later stated that Washington himself selected the uniform. George Washington himself in talking about the buff color with a tailor wanted to ensure that the buff was not on the yellow side.  As one author stated, “Little did Washington realize that blue and buff would remain in his wardrobe for the rest of his life and would come to symbolize for future generations of Americans not only his own public service and sacrifices as a citizen-soldier, but also those of his Revolutionary compatriots.”

 Not long after the beginning of the American Revolution and the organization of the American Army, blue became the prescribed color for coats.  The adoption of blue and buff was clearly by design.  These were the “ancient Whig Colours of England.”  The reason assigned for the adoption of this color is that it had always been the insignia of the Whigs, the Covenanters having adopted that color from the history of the ancient Israelites, who were enjoined to put upon the fringe of their garments a ribband of blue. The term "Whig" is of Scotch origin, and was given to those English politicians who manifested opposition to the Court (the Tory government then in Power.  The colonists’ position aligned with the position of the Whigs. Orange or buff and dark blue were also the insignia of Holland, and the particular shade of dark blue which was prescribed as the regulation color for coats of the American Army was called "Dutch Blue."    

Even though many colonies strove to properly dress their respective regiments, there was no regulation for uniforms; therefore, uniforms among the officers varied with individual preferences.  Washington’s aides-de-camp as well as many of the officers adopted the blue and buff combination.  Washington himself requested that the uniforms of his Life Guard be blue and buff.  Soon, blue and buff became widely used as the uniform of the Continental Army’s officers and certain regiments although still unofficial.

The ribband or sash originated for a different reason.  When Washington reached Cambridge on July 4, 1775, he found a group of ragged, non-uniformed men in clothing that represented their work with the plow, shop, or masthead.  He also noted that the generals and staff were not receiving the military recognition due with respect to rank.  On July 10, he issued the order that the officers and their Aids-de-Camp would be distinguished by a Ribband worn across his breast, between his Coat and waistcoat.  The Commander in Chief wore a light blue ribband, the majors and Brigadier General wore a pink ribband, and the Aids-de-Camp wore a green ribband.  It just so happens that four days earlier, Washington had decided on this course of action for himself and had purchased “a Ribband to distinguish myself 3/4 [3 shillings and four pence].”  Washington’s light blue ribband appears to have been made of broad moire’ or watered silk as depicted by several portraits of George Washington.  Hence, we now see where the use of moire’ for the DAR sash and the sash worn across the chest originated.  

The only reference to white as part of his staff’s uniforms comes from June 1780 when orders were finally published that officially prescribed the uniform and insignia of generals in the Continental Army to consist of: “…a blue coat with Buff facings and lining, yellow buttons, buff facings and lining, yellow buttons, white or buff under cloaths, two Epaulettes, with two stars [for major generals, while brigadier generals had but one star – Washington alone had three stars] upon each.” 

Could it be that since buff can be considered a version of the color white that the buff as white was the intended color?  What about the blue?  In looking at the ribbons on display at Headquarters, the colors are different than what we wear today. I asked the NSDAR Archivist for their help in this mystery.  Here is their response, “According to records from the October 18, 1890 meeting, DAR originally picked the colors of dark blue and white.  As you have noted, at some point the dark blue was changed to the lighter peacock blue that DAR now uses.  We haven’t found any documentation that explains this change, but we do know that it occurred early in DAR’s history.  All of the sashes are in the peacock shade of blue, as do the early DAR rosettes that were used at the first Congress in 1892.  As far as I know, since 1892 the colors have been the same.  Sometime between October 18, 1890 and the first Congress in February 1892 the color of blue was changed from dark blue to the peacock blue we now know. “

I also asked the Archivists when the ribbands/sashes were first worn by the DAR.  They said, “We are not sure of the exact date that DAR officers began wearing sashes, but it was around 1900. The first President General to appear with a sash in a photograph was Cornelia Fairbanks (1901-1905).”  For the SCDAR, that would mean that the first state regent to wear a sash would have been Sara Aldrich Richardson State Regent from 1900-1906.

Here is a perfect example of why preserving our past is so important.  One little piece of information is not available that leads to unanswered questions or assumptions based on the information we do have.  Do not assume that information is not important for future reference.  You never know when that information will be the answer to a question.

Thank you to the Office of Historian General and the NSDAR Archivists for the information they provided!

 

  

Society Snippets #1

If you read the Chapter Clips, you saw that our first chapter, Columbia Chapter, was organized on May 10, 1893.  You may be asking yourself, “When did the SCDAR organize?”   As it turns out, the organizational date for a state society is when the first chapter was organized.  In addition, the designated centennial date for each state is date of the first chapter organized.  Our state society was organized on May 10, 1893.

Even though Rebecca Calhoun Bacon was the state regent at the time of the state’s organization, she was not the first state regent.  In the beginning, the State Regent appointments were made through the Vice President in Charge of Chapter Organization, Mrs. Flora Adams Darling.  Georgia Moore de Fontaine was the first state regent appointed for South Carolina.  Her national number is 278, and she was appointed on May 25, 1891; however, she had to resign in 1892 due to a ruling passed by the National Board of Management that the State Regent must reside within the same state.  Mrs. De Fontaine resigned as she lived in New York.

The next State Regent appointed was Julia M. Richardson.  She was appointed on January 15, 1892 and served until February 1893.  Her national number was 1031, but she was dropped in 1897.  At this point, I have been unable to determine why her appointment was such a short term and have been unable to locate any additional information on her.

The next State Regent appointed was Rebecca Calhoun Bacon.  She was appointed on February 24, 1893 and served until 1898.  Her national number was 1390, but she was dropped in 1905.  It was under her that our first chapter was organized.

Because the first chapter was organized while she was state regent and thus our state society was organized as well, she is often given credit as being the first state regent for South Carolina.