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by Najmah Thomas (Author)
This book documents the remarkable story of a Woman's Relief Corps (WRC) chapter in Beaufort, South Carolina. The WRC is a national organization established as an official auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1883. A Woman's Relief Corps post has existed in the city of Beaufort, South Carolina, in various forms since 1892 when GAR Post David Hunter No. 9 was established in the city, with statesman Robert Smalls selected as Post Commander in 1894.
While much of the record of the early Beaufort WRC was passed on through the esteemed oral history tradition, in 2019 members commissioned a study with the purpose of ensuring their story would be documented in print form and told for many generations to come. That story intentionally centers African American women as lead agents of change and co-creators of the patriotic spirit, an important theme given the fact that historically the national WRC was primarily White-led, and in southern localities like Beaufort, completely segregated.
Beyond the Corps' main purpose of documenting their lived experiences as WRC members, this story is compelling in the larger context as the nation contends with changing notions of its national identity and definitions of patriotism.
