SPEAKER: Gary Freeze, Catawba College, Professor of History
TOPIC: Salisbury Women in the Civil War and The Bread Riot

Gary Freeze was introduced by Holly Czuba, Progam Chair, and he spoke to the group on various roles of the women of Rowan County in the Civil War and factors affecting women during that period. Prominent factors discussed included the following:

• The impact of the extreme centralization of the Confederate government and its mandate for taxation in kind.
• The differences between soldier volunteers in 1861 and 1862 in terms of motivation to fight.
• Differences between those who volunteered/joined and those who deserted.
• Negative impact of the draft in 1862 on the women who remained behind.
• The Bread Riot- was triggered first by a reduction in while taxation remained the same, and second by the practice of merchants to create shortages of products while raising prices at the same time. Information reportedly suggests there were 39 widows identified by the county court in 1860 as in need of assistance. Letters from the period also suggest an attorney may have been retained to represent the women of the riot.
• Eileen Hanson-Kelly asked about the practice of saving letters and Dr. Freeze discussed the mail system during the War years. He ended by sharing information regarding slave ownership by Rowan County residents (45%) and legislators (80%) , and discussed the economic factors related to the Klan.

“The Republicans of today were Confederates with money.”